When the historical past books are written, there will probably be all method of various methods to explain the historic putridness of the 2024 Chicago White Sox. The unprecedented loss whole will probably be one. The incomprehensibly unhealthy efficiency of the workforce’s place gamers will probably be one other. The three separate dropping streaks of 21, 14, and 12 video games. There will probably be ample time for all of it. The White Sox misplaced their 121st sport on Friday night time, probably the most in a contemporary period that dates to 1901. They’re additionally the worst workforce of that span by win share, sitting at 39-121 with two video games left to play. After a scrappy residence sweep of the Los Angeles Angels allowed them to keep away from a 121st loss at residence, the dam lastly broke in a 4-1 street defeat to the playoff-bound Detroit Tigers.
However perhaps probably the most trendy barometer of the White Sox disaster of 2024 is the media setting across the workforce. The membership’s rights-holding TV broadcasters have been at its throat all season. And as Chicago approached their milestone loss, the White Sox’ personal social media stopped bothering to tweet out the workforce’s outcomes (or they did till a late, surprising profitable streak). Their efforts turned out to be the one vaguely profitable factor about your entire season: “FINAL: will be discovered on the MLB app,” one postgame publish on X learn. One other had this zinger: “FINAL: the variety of runs we scored was not larger than the variety of runs they scored”. Quickly, there was solely this:
After Friday’s record-breaking loss, there was solely this a lot bleaker however humorous word:
That would be the legacy of those White Sox: that of a workforce so unhealthy that the individuals paid to place lipstick on this pig couldn’t even fake anymore. It’s onerous to think about their bosses have been even mad about it. If proprietor Jerry Reinsdorf couldn’t care sufficient to area a workforce higher than this, then what may presumably offend him? The “promote the workforce” chants that erupt at residence video games don’t appear to have an effect on him. It’s a minor marvel that the group remembered to fireplace supervisor Pedro Grifol after he began 28-99.
The South Siders have develop into a league-wide curiosity this yr, simply three seasons after they made the postseason with one of many youthful rosters in baseball. A number of ballclubs have had precipitous declines, and yearly, a pleasant chunk of Main League Baseball just isn’t actively trying to contend. However the sport has by no means seen something just like the 2024 Sox, and hopefully, it by no means will once more. This workforce is what occurs when a disgracefully unhealthy entrance workplace intersects with old style unhealthy luck. Even golf equipment that make each effort to be amongst baseball’s worst throughout a rebuild will battle to be as terrible as these Sox.
Not each a part of the 2024 White Sox is dismal. The membership’s pitching employees is unhealthy, definitely, however not even an outlier for this yr, not to mention historical past. The White Sox’ 4.71 earned run common by means of Friday was twenty eighth of the 30 groups, as was their 4.57 fielding-independent pitching mark. They acquired 146 innings out of starter Garrett Crochet, who struck out almost 13 hitters per 9 innings and was some of the efficient pitchers within the league. A number of different White Sox arms have been relatively respectable in supporting roles.
You may think, then, that the White Sox’ place gamers have been unhealthy on a stage that will be tough to place into context. You’ll be appropriate. The White Sox have precisely one hitter who has reached one win above alternative going by the calculations at FanGraphs. That participant is shortstop Paul DeJong, who has not been with the White Sox since late July, when the workforce traded him to the Kansas Metropolis Royals. Just one certified hitter on the White Sox has been league-average on the plate, going by the league-adjusted “runs created” stat. That participant, outfielder Tommy Pham, was additionally traded in July. The workforce’s finest participant, outfielder Luis Robert Jr, has been unusually unhealthy – when he hasn’t been injured.
Put collectively, White Sox hitters have been price negative-seven wins above alternative. They’ve been about 5 instances worse than the next-worst group of place gamers on any workforce within the twenty first century, because of a mixture of that unhealthy hitting and horrible protection. To observe the White Sox is to look at a parade of poorly performed balls, unhealthy throws, and head-scratching errors within the area. Not that it’s a shock they’ll’t discover the fitting gamers: in keeping with The Athletic, the 88-year-old Reinsdorf isn’t offered on analytics, an integral a part of trendy baseball. Whereas most profitable golf equipment have hordes of quantity crunchers staffing their analytics division, the White Sox don’t have one in any respect.
Then there are the common unhealthy breaks. The White Sox are ultra-bad, however shut video games have damaged towards them to a ridiculous extent. They’re 4-10 in additional innings, which start with a freebie runner positioned on second base for every workforce. They’re an inconceivable 13-29 in one-run video games, worst in baseball by miles. Their Pythagorean document, a projection of how they “ought to” carry out, says they should have gained eight extra video games than they’ve. Certainly, the White Sox can take away a silver lining from this season: They actually weren’t that distant from solely being a 110-loss workforce out of 162 video games.
However for now, as has been the case for weeks, the one White Sox staff price watching will probably be these working the social accounts.
