White Sox: A 2024 to remember, for the wrong reasons

Chicago's South Side team is completing a woeful year

It’s a Major League Baseball record nobody would ever want.

The Chicago White Sox ended a late season full of suspense Friday as they lost to the Detroit Tigers, 4-1, at Detroit.

That’s the 121st loss of the season for the Sox (39-121). That broke a tie with the 1962 New York Mets as the most losses by a team in the modern Major League Baseball era.

The scene outside Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Wednesday, as the White Sox try to avoid owning the modern Major League Baseball record for losses in a season. (Photo by John Naughton.)

There are two games left for the White Sox this season. And while a three-game winning streak against the Los Angeles Angels temporarily stayed the record, playing the Tigers on the road was a tougher task.

I attended Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Angels, a 10-inning decision.

From my seat in the stands, the team made a few mistakes but wasn’t awful.

Yet at several points during the game — following a miscue or even after the game ended with a walkoff single by Andrew Benintendi — a contingent of fans chanted “Sell the team!”

That message was directed at White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, fairly or unfairly. Some fans blame him for the team’s woes.

The home crowd in Chicago Wednesday included diehard fans along with some who hoped to see a record 121st loss. (Photo by John Naughton.)

The 1962 Mets were an expansion team known for characters and a hapless performance (40-120-1). Not even former legendary Yankee manager Casey Stengel could steer the team out of the cellar.