The Chicago White Sox entered the eighth inning on Sunday with a 2-1 lead, seemingly on the verge of a rare victory in a difficult season. However, within the span of just four batters, their lead evaporated, and with it came a harsh reality: the White Sox had just notched their 120th loss of the season, tying the post-1900 record for the most losses, a mark set by the 1962 expansion New York Mets.
As the game ended, the contrast between the two teams on the field was palpable. In the White Sox clubhouse, silence prevailed as players quietly packed up for their flight home. Meanwhile, on the other side, the San Diego Padres celebrated a 4-2 win in front of a sellout crowd of 45,197 fans, who cheered through the game’s decisive moments. With the Padres closing in on a postseason berth, fans were already chanting, “Beat L.A.!” in anticipation of a critical series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For the White Sox, the historic nature of the loss was hard to ignore. Veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi, reflecting on the magnitude of 120 losses, admitted, “I guess when you lose 120, it’s easier to brush it off, but it still stings to go through it. That’s where we’re at.”
There had been brief hope for the White Sox to avoid reaching such an unwanted milestone. Sean Burke, a right-handed rookie making just his second MLB start, delivered an impressive performance, pitching six solid innings. The White Sox even managed to take the lead with two home runs off Padres ace Yu Darvish, including one by Korey Lee, a local San Diego product. But as has often been the case this season, the team faltered late.
“Burke threw a hell of a game,” Benintendi acknowledged. “They’ve got a lineup full of experienced bats, and once they get a lead with that bullpen, it’s almost impossible to come back.”
The White Sox’s struggles in the later innings have become a recurring theme. “It seems like we’re always in it until the seventh, eighth, or ninth, and then we face their best relievers, which makes it tough,” Benintendi added. “We’ve been here before, and it just hasn’t worked out.”
With six games remaining in the season, the White Sox are on the verge of claiming the record for the most losses in a single season. Their upcoming schedule includes three games at home against the Los Angeles Angels, followed by three on the road against the Detroit Tigers, who are battling for an AL wild-card spot. A single loss in those games will put the White Sox in sole possession of the modern-day record.
The all-time record for losses belongs to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who finished with a 20-134 record. While the White Sox have not approached that historic low, the 2023 season has been one for the history books in all the wrong ways.
Interim manager Grady Sizemore kept his message short after the game, offering little in the way of reflection on the significance of the loss. “No loss is good,” he said. “We’re not focused on records like that. I think people outside the clubhouse are more fixated on it than we are. Our mindset is to move on and get ready for the next series.”
As the White Sox prepare for the final stretch of their season, they’re left to reflect on what went wrong in a campaign marked by late-game collapses, missed opportunities, and a record they’d rather forget.
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