Hot News : The Worst Seasons in Baseball History - update.
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| The 1916 Athletics, one of baseball's worst teams ever |
Modern baseball history dates to 1901, when the American League began play. Many National League teams existed before 1901, but that's as far back as I'm going with this series (which will also examine the worst two and three-season stretches in baseball history). For better or for worse, the Cleveland Spiders are long gone, and their 1899 season, in which they went just 20-134 (.130) predates the modern era. You can read more about them here though, if you're interested. The Phillies and Cardinals also had some dreadful seasons in the 1800s, but they won't be included in this series.
In the chart that follows, the sixteen "original" teams are starred (these are the teams that played in 1901). Other franchises are listed with their first year of play. Some of these teams also played in different cities or even under different names at the time of their worst season, I've made note of that too. Also, ties used to be a semi-regular occurrence in baseball, teams in early 20th century would often finish with 3 or 4 of them. I'm ignoring all ties for this series, for what that's worth.
*This post was originally written just before the 2013 season began. It has been updated to include that season's Astros.
Philadelphia pulls in eight of those twenty seasons, five for the Phillies and three for the Athletics. The St. Louis Browns put up three of the very worst records before having their identify changed and being moved to a new city as part of the Witness Protection Program. And three cheers for Boston's National League team, which had a sub-.300 season as the Doves, another as the Rustlers, and another as Braves. Of course, that franchise has also won a World Series in three different cities, so there's that.
*This post was originally written just before the 2013 season began. It has been updated to include that season's Astros.
Worst Records in Modern History:
Rank | Year | Team | W-L (W%) |
19t | 1937 | St. Louis Browns (Orioles) | 46-108 (.299) |
t19 | 1945 | Philadelphia Phillies | 46-108 (.299) |
18 | 1939 | Philadelphia Phillies | 45-106 (.298) |
17 | 1911 | St. Louis Browns (Orioles) | 45-107 (.296) |
16 | 1909 | Boston Doves (Braves) | 45-108 (.294) |
15 | 1911 | Boston Rustlers (Braves) | 44-107 (.291) |
14 | 1915 | Philadelphia Athletics | 43-109 (.283) |
13 | 1928 | Philadelphia Phillies | 43-109 (.283) |
12 | 1932 | Boston Red Sox | 43-111 (.279) |
11 | 1939 | St. Louis Browns (Orioles) | 43-111 (.279) |
10 | 1941 | Philadelphia Phillies | 43-111 (.279) |
9 | 1942 | Philadelphia Phillies | 42-109 (.278) |
8 | 1909 | Washington Senators (Twins) | 42-110 (.276) |
7 | 1952 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 42-112 (.273) |
6 | 2003 | Detroit Tigers | 43-119 (.265) |
5 | 1919 | Philadelphia Athletics | 36-104 (.257) |
4 | 1904 | Washington Senators (Twins) | 38-113 (.252) |
3 | 1962 | New York Mets | 40-120 (.250) |
2 | 1935 | Boston Braves | 38-115 (.248) |
1 | 1916 | Philadelphia Athletics | 36-117 (.235) |
Philadelphia pulls in eight of those twenty seasons, five for the Phillies and three for the Athletics. The St. Louis Browns put up three of the very worst records before having their identify changed and being moved to a new city as part of the Witness Protection Program. And three cheers for Boston's National League team, which had a sub-.300 season as the Doves, another as the Rustlers, and another as Braves. Of course, that franchise has also won a World Series in three different cities, so there's that.
Each Franchise's Worst Season in Modern History:
Team | Season | W-L (W%) | Played As |
Baltimore Orioles* | 1939 | 43-111 (.279) | St. Louis Browns |
Boston Red Sox* | 1932 | 43-111 (.279) | |
Chicago White Sox* | 1932 | 49-102 (.325) | |
Cleveland Indians* | 1914 | 51-102 (.333) | |
Detroit Tigers* | 2003 | 43-119 (.265) | |
Houston Astros (1962) | 2013 | 51-111 (.315) | |
Kansas City Royals (1969) | 2005 | 56-106 (.346) | |
Los Angeles Angels (1961) | 1980 | 65-95 (.406) | California Angels |
Minnesota Twins* | 1904 | 38-113 (.252) | Washington Senators |
New York Yankees* | 1912 | 50-102 (.329) | New York Highlanders |
Oakland Athletics* | 1916 | 36-117 (.235) | Philadelphia Athletics |
Seattle Mariners (1977) | 1978 | 56-104 (.350) | |
Tampa Bay Rays (1998) | 2002 | 55-106 (.342) | Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
Texas Rangers (1961) | 1963 | 56-106 (.346) | Washington Senators |
Toronto Blue Jays (1977) | 1979 | 53-109 (.327) | |
Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) | 2004 | 51-111 (.315) | |
Atlanta Braves* | 1935 | 38-115 (.248) | Boston Braves |
Chicago Cubs* | 1962 & 1966 | 59-103 (.364) | |
Cincinnati Reds* | 1934 | 52-99 (.344) | |
Colorado Rockies (1993) | 2012 | 64-98 (.395) | |
Los Angeles Dodgers* | 1905 | 48-104 (.316) | Brooklyn Superbas |
Miami Marlins (1993) | 1998 | 54-108 (.333) | Florida Marlins |
Milwaukee Brewers (1969) | 2002 | 56-106 (.346) | |
New York Mets (1962) | 1962 | 40-120 (.250) | |
Philadelphia Phillies* | 1942 | 42-109 (.278) | |
Pittsburgh Pirates* | 1952 | 42-112 (.272) | |
San Diego Padres (1969) | 1969 | 52-110 (.321) | |
San Francisco Giants* | 1902 | 48-88 (.353) | New York Giants |
St. Louis Cardinals* | 1903 | 43-94 (.314) | |
Washington Nationals (1969) | 1969 | 52-110 (.321) | Montreal Expos |
The Angels are the only team to never win fewer than 40% of their games, which is fairly impressive. The Rockies 2012 mark is the "best" worst record of any National League team. The Angels have played 52 seasons and the Rockies have played 20. Looking at only the sixteen franchises who've been around since 1901, the one with the best worst season is the Cubs. Among the eight original American League teams, it's the Indians. Each of those teams has gone longer without winning the World Series than any other team in their respective league; it's a fun coincidence that they also share this bit of history.
Many teams' worst seasons clump together into a few different eras. Let's take a look at how many of these worst seasons each decade hosted, along with the very worst record by any team in that decade.
Worst Season For Each Decade:
Decade | Worst Team | W-L (W%) | Franchises Whose Worst Record Happened Then | |
1900s | 1904 Senators | 38-113 (.252) | 4 | Twins, Giants, Dodgers, Cardinals |
1910s | 1916 Athletics | 36-117 (.235) | 3 | Indians, Yankees, Athletics |
1920s | 1928 Phillies | 43-109 (.283) | 0 | |
1930s | 1935 Braves | 38-115 (.248) | 5 | Orioles, Red Sox, White Sox, Braves, Reds |
1940s | 1942 Phillies | 42-109 (.278) | 1 | Phillies |
1950s | 1952 Pirates | 42-112 (.273) | 1 | Pirates |
1960s | 1962 Mets | 40-120 (.250) | 5 | Rangers, Cubs, Mets, Padres, Nationals |
1970s | 1979 Blue Jays | 53-109 (.327) | 2 | Mariners, Blue Jays |
1980s | 1988 Orioles | 54-107 (.335) | 1 | Angels |
1990s | 1996 Tigers | 53-109 (.327) | 1 | Marlins |
2000s | 2003 Tigers | 43-119 (.265) | 5 | Tigers, Royals, Rays, Diamondbacks, Brewers |
2010s | 2013 Astros | 51-111 (.315) | 2 | Astros, Rockies |
Only two of the original sixteen teams have had their worst record come since expansion began in 1961, the Cubs and the Tigers. Seven of the fourteen expansion teams have had their worst record in one of their first five seasons, including three who had it in their very first year (Mets, Padres, Nationals/Expos).
The 2003 Tigers are the only team in the last fifty years to win less than 30% of their games, something that was far more common in the pre-expansion era. I suspect with so many more teams, it's that much harder for any one of them to be that much worse than their competition. Hats off to that Detroit team, they lost with the kind of gusto your grandfather could appreciate.
Of course, while every franchise has a worst season, some franchises have had a whole lot more bad seasons than others. There have been 59 seasons in modern history in which a team won less than one third of its games.
7: Athletics
6: Braves
5: Red Sox, Twins
4: Orioles, Mets
3: Tigers, Pirates
2: Yankees, Cardinals
1: Astros, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, Nationals, White Sox
0: Indians, Royals, Angels, Mariners, Rays, Rangers, Cubs, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, Giants
All seven of the Athletics' sub-.333 seasons came while they were still in Philadelphia, which means 18 of the 58 worst seasons came from teams playing in the City of Brotherly Love. All six of the Braves sub-.333 seasons came while they were still in Boston, meaning 11 of the 58 worst seasons came from teams playing there. With 29 sub-.333 seasons between them, Philadelphia and Boston have combined for nearly half of the 59 worst records in modern baseball history. On the other end of the spectrum, Chicago has had just one season that bad, despite having had a team in each league since 1901.
A small number of those teams weren't even the worst team in baseball that season, and in many seasons the worst team isn't nearly that bad.
There you have it, the worst seasons in modern history, and the worst of every decade, and the worst by every franchise. In Part II of this series, I'll look at the worst back-to-back seasons.
The 2003 Tigers are the only team in the last fifty years to win less than 30% of their games, something that was far more common in the pre-expansion era. I suspect with so many more teams, it's that much harder for any one of them to be that much worse than their competition. Hats off to that Detroit team, they lost with the kind of gusto your grandfather could appreciate.
Of course, while every franchise has a worst season, some franchises have had a whole lot more bad seasons than others. There have been 59 seasons in modern history in which a team won less than one third of its games.
Most Seasons With Winning% Below .333:
11: Phillies7: Athletics
6: Braves
5: Red Sox, Twins
4: Orioles, Mets
3: Tigers, Pirates
2: Yankees, Cardinals
1: Astros, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, Nationals, White Sox
0: Indians, Royals, Angels, Mariners, Rays, Rangers, Cubs, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, Giants
All seven of the Athletics' sub-.333 seasons came while they were still in Philadelphia, which means 18 of the 58 worst seasons came from teams playing in the City of Brotherly Love. All six of the Braves sub-.333 seasons came while they were still in Boston, meaning 11 of the 58 worst seasons came from teams playing there. With 29 sub-.333 seasons between them, Philadelphia and Boston have combined for nearly half of the 59 worst records in modern baseball history. On the other end of the spectrum, Chicago has had just one season that bad, despite having had a team in each league since 1901.
A small number of those teams weren't even the worst team in baseball that season, and in many seasons the worst team isn't nearly that bad.
Most Seasons With Worst Record in MLB:
13: Phillies12: Twins11: Athletics10: Orioles7: Pirates6: Red Sox, Braves, Mets5: Tigers4: Indians, Rays, Blue Jays, Nationals3: Astros, White Sox, Mariners, Rangers, Padres2: Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, Giants1: Royals, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Reds, Marlins0: Angels, Rockies, Brewers
Every one of the sixteen original teams has finished with the worst record at least once. The Yankees (1912) and Reds (1934) at just once apiece are both very impressive. I was surprised to see the Cubs have finished with the worst record only twice in franchise history, and to see that the Royals have held that distinction only once.
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There you have it, the worst seasons in modern history, and the worst of every decade, and the worst by every franchise. In Part II of this series, I'll look at the worst back-to-back seasons.------
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