White Sox join 1962 Mets with record 120 losses

SAN DIEGO -- White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore understands the interest in his 2024 squad reaching 120 losses, which it did with a 4-2 setback against the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.

That defeat tied the South Siders with the 1962 Mets for the most losses in baseball’s modern era (since 1901). They equaled the American League record of 119 established by the 2003 Tigers with a setback on Saturday.

• These teams lost at least 110 games

But wins and losses aren’t the focus for the White Sox, at this point, as much as pure development and information gathering for the future.

“No loss is good,” Sizemore said. “Everyone outside of this clubhouse will be more obsessed with it than us. We’re going to put this one behind us and get ready for the next series back home.”

The next series back home, beginning Tuesday night against the Angels, also marks the last home series of the season, followed by a three-game finale this weekend in Detroit. With two losses in that three-game Angels set, the White Sox would become the first to lose 60 home games in a campaign.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, there are losing plateaus such as that one strewn across this season’s landscape. And yes, there is interest in this futility, sort of how people are interested in checking out bad movies after reading or viewing rough reviews.

Sizemore and White Sox players remain upbeat but seem a little worn down. Worn down by losing, with a five-game losing streak dropping their ledger to 16-62 away from home. Worn down by talking about losing, as well.

“Same as every other loss, they all suck,” veteran left fielder Andrew Benintendi said. “How many there are doesn’t matter to us. When you lose 120, it’s easier to brush off. But it sucks to have to go through it. No one wants to go through it. That’s where we’re at.”

Added catcher Korey Lee, who homered off Yu Darvish: “We are not going to be happy about it. If you are happy about it, then I don’t know what you are doing here. It’s obviously hard, but at the same time, you’ve got to focus on one day at a time.”

The White Sox loss on Sunday was almost textbook for a team with a 36-120 record and a Major League-worst 36 blown saves. The Sox also lead MLB with 56 losses after holding a lead and 23 when leading after six innings. The White Sox had a 2-1 lead entering the eighth, behind the homers from Lee and Miguel Vargas and dominant mound work from rookie Sean Burke.

Burke allowed one run on two hits while striking out eight, setting the stage for Prelander Berroa, who hurled a scoreless seventh. Fortunes changed in the eighth when Donovan Solano doubled off Berroa and pinch-hitter Luis Arraez doubled off reliever Fraser Ellard to tie the game.

A wild pitch moved pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge to third, and Jurickson Profar launched a sacrifice fly to right for the 3-2 advantage. Fernando Tatis Jr., who began his career as a White Sox international signee, homered to close out the rally with an emphatic celebration, putting an exclamation mark behind another rough day for the White Sox.

“There are definitely moments where it starts to creep in, like what’s going to happen today,” first baseman Gavin Sheets said recently. “You try to find a way to play and focus on each day and not let the record decide the game.

“It’s hard. It’s hard to be in the present in terms of that. It’s hard to allow the record not to creep in and attack each game. It’s part of being a professional.”

This team has stayed together even in the face of record losses. Lee spoke of the work with Burke on Sunday as one of his favorite games to catch this season, while always praising his fellow teammates for having each other’s backs on and off the field.

Players such as Burke or Vargas have been here for only part of these 120 losses which is true across a roster having used a franchise-record 63 players and 34 pitchers. Those losses sting just the same.

“Very sad,” Vargas said. “We don’t want that. Nobody wants that. At the end of the day, it happened. Now we have to think about what is going on next.”

Added Lee: “You’ve got to take some of the good out of every day. The good is coming in here with this group of guys and doing the thing we all love to do.”