Starter Mike Clevinger thought about it for much of the final month of the 2023 season: the Chicago White Sox avoiding 100 losses.
“It’s definitely an ugly number and not something you want to see,” Clevinger said on Sept. 30.
The White Sox weren’t able to steer clear of the mark, instead suffering their 100th defeat that day with a 6-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox find themselves on the verge of another 100-plus loss season in 2024. They were 31-98 entering Saturday night’s game — No. 130 of the season — against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Sox have had only five 100-loss seasons in franchise history. This would be the first time they’ve had consecutive 100-loss campaigns and by far the earliest — both in terms of game number and date — they would have reached the distinction.
The 1932 and 1948 teams both lost to Hall of Fame pitchers for No. 100.
Lefty Grove pitched a complete game for the Philadelphia Athletics in a 9-6 victory against the Sox on Sept. 19, 1932. That was the 146th game of the season.
“There were no extra flourishes attached to the season’s farewell showing of the White Sox at Comiskey Park yesterday,” Irving Vaughn wrote in the Sept. 20, 1932, edition of the Tribune. “They said good-bye in keeping with their percentage status. They suffered their 100th defeat of the season. … The score was 9 to 6.”
The 1932 team finished with 102 losses.
Bob Feller got the best of the 1948 Sox, handing them their 100th defeat in a 5-2 Cleveland victory on Sept. 29. That was Game No. 150 for the Sox.
“The front-running Indians experienced a scare at the hands of the forlorn White Sox this afternoon, but recovered normalcy in time to edge closer to formal clinching of the American League pennant,” Vaughn wrote in the Sept. 30, 1948 Tribune. “With a pair of homers, they suddenly broke the spell of Frank Papish’s southpawing and proceeded to a 5 to 2 triumph behind Bob Feller. …
“For those Chicagoans who still are interested in the progress of their heroes, it was the 100th defeat of the year for the White Sox.”
That Sox team finished with 101 defeats.
The 1970 and 2018 squads had unique circumstances tied to the dates of their 100th losses.
The 1970 Sox, who hold the franchise record with 106 losses, had a doubleheader at home on Sept. 25 against the Milwaukee Brewers. They won the opener 5-1 as Luis Aparicio set a then-major-league record with his 2,219th game at shortstop.
The Sox lost the nightcap 3-2 for their 100th defeat in Game No. 156.
The 2018 team lost its 100th game on the last day of the season, Game No. 162, which also was the final appearance in the Hall of Fame career of Minnesota Twins catcher/first baseman Joe Mauer. He had a double in the Twins’ 5-4 victory on Sept. 30, 2018.
Last year’s team reached 100 losses in Game No. 161. Before the game, manager Pedro Grifol didn’t want to discuss the “milestone.”
“I know people think it’s an ugly number, but 99 (losses) is not?” he said. “I’ve never been too caught up in that. I want our guys to go out there and compete. Respect the game and finish the season strong. And wherever we end up, we end up.
“That’s not where we’re going to be next year, so I don’t get too caught up in 99 or 100 or anything like that. I really don’t. But I know it’s a big deal. People make it a big deal. It’s not for me.”
The Padres scored four runs in the first inning against Clevinger, who exited after surrendering six runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings.
The Sox lost the next day, too, to finish 61-101.
This year’s team is on pace for 123 defeats, which would top the modern-day record of 120 set by the 1962 expansion New York Mets. Grifol was fired on Aug. 8, two days after the Sox snapped an American League record-tying 21-game losing streak.
The Sox became just the second team in MLB history to lose 98-plus times over the first 129 games of a season, joining the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (29-99-1), after falling 5-2 Friday against the Tigers. The A’s lost their 100th in Game No. 130.
The Sox needed to go 12-21 in their final 33 games to avoid tying the Mets.
“When it comes to wins and losses, there’s so much that goes into it,” general manager Chris Getz said Friday. “You’ve got all the players in the starting lineup, you’ve got a bench, you’ve got a bullpen. You’ve got your starter that night. And you just hope that everyone comes together and unified to go out there and win a ballgame.
“You can’t get ahead of yourself in this game. You can’t get ahead of yourself in professional sports or really anything you do. You’ve got to focus, how you are going to put yourself in a good position to help the team that night and you hope that a win comes out of it.”
