White Sox could surpass 1988 Orioles with historic losing streak
The White Sox are currently one game shy of tying the Orioles for the second worst losing streak of all time
Despite the success the Orioles have had over the past year and a half, it feels like just yesterday that this team was stuck in the cellar of the AL East. Between 2018-2021, the Orioles went 178-368, seemingly bottoming out with a 19-game losing streak in the summer of 2021.
Thankfully, under the leadership of GM Mike Elias and AGM Sig Mejdal, the O’s are well on their way to a second straight playoff appearance and are trying to win consecutive AL East titles for the first time since the early 1970’s.
It’s appropriate to bring up those bad memories because the 2024 Chicago White Sox have completely collapsed and are amid a massive losing streak of their own. After Sunday’s loss to the Twins, the White Sox have run their losing streak to 20 games, surpassing those 2021 Orioles with the worst losing streak in recent memory.
White Sox could surpass 1988 Orioles with second worst losing streak ever
There are four other teams in MLB history to have lost 20 games in a row, the most recent being the 1969 Montreal Expos. Just two teams have lost more than 20 consecutive games, and unfortunately the Orioles are on that list as well.
In 1988, the Orioles opened the season with 21 consecutive losses en route to a 54-107 record that stood as the worst mark since the franchise had moved to Baltimore some 35 years prior. The O’s would set a new record for losses during the fallow period before Elias’ arrival, surpassing 107 losses in each of the 2018, 2019, and 2021 seasons. The only other team to reach the mark was the 1961 Phillies, who dropped 23 games in a row.
With 20 straight losses in the books and sitting at 27-87, things are extremely bleak in the south side of Chicago these days. It seems unlikely that they’ll break out of their slump before the end of the year, considering they traded their number 2 starter in Erick Fedde and their ace Garrett Crochet is being held back due to exceeding his previous high in innings pitched.
While the Sox won’t get better this year, they do have a chance to put this losing streak behind them. They have a 3-game series in Oakland starting on Monday, facing off against a struggling Oakland team that has one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors.
Orioles fans will hope the Sox hold out just a bit longer, however. If the A’s are able to capture the next two games, the Sox will surpass those 1988 Orioles and claim the second spot on the list of worst losing streaks of all time.
There’s no way to erase what either the ’88 or ’21 O’s teams did. However, if these White Sox can fall just a bit further, it’ll ease some of the frustration of seeing those bad Orioles teams so high on these lists when they come back into the mainstream.
