The 1962 Mets had a record of 40 wins and 120 losses, a winning percentage
of exactly .250 .  Given the modern schedule of 162 games, that means that
2 of their rainouts were not made up.  That is the worst major league baseball
record of all time.  The Mets were an expansion team.

Unfortunately, for fans in Detroit & Michigan, the Tigers have a legitimate
chance of breaking that "anti-record".  And they don't have the excuse of
being an expansion team - just a poorly managed franchise top-to-bottom, for
a decade.

This item is for the morbid curiosity of seeing if they'll do it or not.

BTW, if the Tigers play all their 162 games, they really need to win 43 games
to avoid being linked with the '62 Mets.  That's because they would then only
lose a maximum of 119 games.  It's true that if they go 42-120 they would be
better, percentage wise, than those Mets, but still.

Link this to sports, if you like.

116 responses total.

After their 9-7 loss to the Indians last night (Wed Aug 27), the Tigers are
now 33-98.  They need to win 10 out of their last 31 games to avoid the
anti-record.  That is ~.333 winning clip which they haven't performed at all
season.

P.S. The watch could extend beyond when summer agora gets rolled.

        If you want to see the tigers winning, I could be talked into
selling my only copies of TV broadcasts of the 1984 World Series.

(Kevin should be aware of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who set the record
for major league baseball futility by finishing with a record of 20 wins,
134 losses.  of note is that Cy Young once played for the franchise; he
won more games during the 1899 season than the Spiders did.)

(why were the Spiders so bad that year?  their owner bought the St. Louis
franchise and sent all the talent there, figuring that he'd make more
money in STL than CLE.  thus, the Spiders were forced to make-do with
minor leaguers and journeymen.  it's entirely possible that the Spiders
would have been even worse the following year, had they not fallen victim
to league contractions that cut the number of teams from 12 to 8.)

(it's true that the 1962 Mets were probably the worst baseball team in the
modern era, and they were part of an era of embarrassment that lasted at
least four years.  however, it's the Spiders that own the "worst major
league baseball record of all time."  the Tigers aren't going to break it
this season.) 

OK, make it one of those "asterisk" things, and confine it to the 162 game
schedule.  :-)

The Tigers lost last night (Thu Aug 28) at Cleveland, 8-3.  Their record is
now 33-99, and will of course be losing 100+ games, the sign of "stench" in
a team / organization.  What's worse, is that there is an exceptionally high
probability that they are about to set a new "record" for being the first team
to lose 100 games before September.  :-(

From what I have read, the 1962 Mets also lost 100 games before September.

(actually, the 1962 Mets lost their 100th game on August 29th, en route
to closing off their season with just one win in 41 games.  the Tigers
aren't even going to be the quickest to 100 losses:  the 1916 Philadelphia
A's only needed 130 games to reach the 100-loss mark.  alas, with the
shorter season, they didn't reach it until September 6th.)

(Ken slipped in, yet fit seamlessly.)

The "first to lose 100 before Sept." notion came from WJR.  They might 
have been referring to the American League...

([I've been informed that the '99 Cleveland Spiders lost their 100th
game on September 1st, 1899.  they were in the National League, so it
looks as if there's still an American League record to be broken.  the AL
didn't come into existence until after the turn of the century.)

Last night (Fri Aug 29) the Tigers doubled up the Chisox 8-4 at the COPA,
moving their record to 34-99, 9 wins away from "safety".

View hidden response.

(so the Tigers lost their 100th game tonight, making them the earliest AL
team to 100 losses ever.  they're also the second team to lose 100 games
before September, joining the aforementioned 1962 New York Mets.)

(on the plus side, I've noticed that the local sportscasters don't even
bother with asking the Tigers why they lose after each game.  in fact, I
remember one newscast where the sports guy really talked them up, focusing
on the home runs and double plays before closing with "but they lost 
anyway.")

Yep, they now have the same record as the hapless Mets after 134 games:
34 wins, 100 losses.  Need to go at least 9-19 the rest of the way...

This item is #184 in the Summer 2003 Agora, and #124 in sports.

I have been dreading the 120 game loss record since May.  I kept 
expecting they'd have a winning streak, but it hasn't happened.  I 
don't believe it will happen now.

The Tigers have a few abysmal records they can set:
* 120 losses is the most in modern baseball, as mentioned
* 40 wins is the least in modern baseball
& The .250 winning percentage of the Mets is another mark to avoid

The Cleveland Spiders were not part of "modern baseball".  That began 
in 1901 when the American League was started.  This is why the 1962 
Mets are cited in newspaper articles about "worst teams ever", and the 
Spiders are occasionally mentioned as a footnote.

I think 120 losses is inevitable for this team at this point.  There 
is no hope for anyone in the organization to lead the team to 9 more 
victories.  They've all quite justifiably given up on the season.

The Tigers lost twice again this holiday weekend, 8-4 Sunday to the Chisox,
7-4 today to the Tribe (both at the COPA).  With their now 34-102 record, the
Freep says that they will join the Philly A's as the only teams to have
clinched last place in their division as early as Sept. 1.  Based on their
record so far this season, I don't see how they can achieve 9-19...

I'm kind of hoping they'll set all of those records: less than forty wins,
more than 120 losses, and worse than .250.  That way, they'll have it all
behind them, with no where to go but up.

Dunno - we've been thinking for years that it couldn't get any worse!  :-)

(I agree with #18 and #19.)

The Tigers have to play 28 games in September.  As far as I know, none 
are postponements which won't be made up.

Their remaining games are against:
Sep 2-4 Cleveland (next worst team in the AL Central)
Sep 5-7 at Toronto (68-69; middle of the pack and out of contention
                    in the AL East)
Sep 9-11 at New York (best record in the AL)
Sep 12-14 Kansas City (still contending for the division)
Sep 16-18 Toronto
Sep 19-21 at Minnesota (still contending for the division)
Sep 22-24 at Kansas City
Sep 25-28 Minnesota

So most of the teams we'll be playing have a reason to want to play 
well.  The Tigers don't really care, and haven't for a long time, aside 
from a few guys like Dmitri Young and Bobby Higginson, who don't like 
to quit, and some of the young guys who can play for next year or even 
hope to get traded.

In my estimation, the Tigers are likely to win maybe 2-3 more games 
this year.  Three wins leaves them with a record of 37-125.  I consider 
the 120 loss season to be pretty well clinched at this point.

I *hate* the idea of the Tigers having these records for horrid 
baseball.  My earliest memories of baseball are Al Kaline, Norm Cash 
and Mickey Lolich winning the 1968 World Series.  I'm afraid my son's 
are going to be of this year.

Is there any reason to expect much improvement for the 2004 season?
It would probably be hard to get to 120 losses again, but 100 losses
would seem to be well within grasp.  :/

The Tigers need better players.  They don't have them inside the 
system, for sure, with maybe one or two exceptions, so if they're to 
improve for next year, they need to bring in good free agents.

They've dumped (or certainly will dump) $17 million in salaries this 
year; Damion Easley, Dean Palmer, Shane Halter and Craig Paquette.  
The hope would come from the possibility that Mike Ilitch will use 
some of that money to improve the ball club.

$17 million could bring a fair amount of improvement.  Look a year 
down the road, dump Bobby Higginson's $12 million salary, and a total 
of $29 million could bring a *lot* of improvement.  Baseball salaries 
are depressed right now.  You don't need to pay $25 million per year 
(Alex Rodriguez money) to bring in a star.

Even so, it might be a vain hope.  Ilitch invested a ton of his own 
money to build Comerica Park, and his investment has not paid off in 
attendance.  He's losing money, but doesn't say how much he's losing.

The reason for the lack of attendance is lack of a quality ball team.  
This team was, I believe, 2nd in total wins for the first 90 years of 
it's existence.  Detroiters are used to winning, or were 15 years 
ago.  And they *support* their winning baseball teams.  The 1984-87 
Tigers set records for attendance in baseball.

When he bought the Red Wings, Ilitch didn't start paying for salary 
until they showed signs of becoming a good team.  Obviously the Tigers 
are not showing such signs.

Still, the hope exists that he'll get some better players.  Ilitch is 
a former Tiger minor league ballplayer, and the belief exists that he 
loves baseball more than hockey.  Also, he might be getting 
embarrassed enough to do something.  Baseball is not hockey; he's not 
going to bring in surprise foreign player as he did in hockey and turn 
the franchise into a world-beater.

I think we'll see maybe a 70 win team next year.  It'll seem like a 
huge improvement; it'll *be* a huge improvement.  But 70 win teams are 
still in last place in baseball.

I'm looking ahead to 2006.  Building a baseball team takes time.  We 
could be watching a 90 game winner by then.  Or not; so far Ilitch has 
not achieved a winner in Detroit and so there's really no reason to 
assume he ever will.

The Tigers beat Cleveland 8-6 last night (Tue Sept 2) at the COPA.  Their
record is now 35-102.  Before that game, I was thinking they would go 6-20
the rest of the way, to finish up 40-122, setting the loss anti-record.
What's *your* prediction?

I expect them to finish with 125 losses, so if they play all their 
games, that's 37-125.

They won again tonight, in 12 innings, on a home run by Shane Halter.  
6-5.  So they're 36-102.  I wrote the 125 game prediction before I 
looked at the score for tonight's game, but I'm going to stick with it.

Only 7 wins away now from "safety", with 24 games in which to accomplish that.

They won again today.  Hey, three in a row!  It's looking possible 
they'll win 40 games (they're at 37 now), and maybe even 43 -- the 
number they'd have to win to avoid the 1962 Mets' record of 120 losses.

Yes, though they did try to give away the game with a 2-base error with 2 outs
in the 9th, they hung on for the win.  They start a 3-game series in Toronto
this weekend.  At 37-102, it looks like going at least 6-17 the rest of the
way is feasible, which would be fine with me.

Keep in mind that being regarded "the worst" is something you don't want. 
Notice how everyone mentions the '62 Mets, not the 2nd or 3rd worst teams,
whoever they might be.

Just when you thought there was "hope", the Tigers lost all 3 at Toronto over
the weekend:  8-6, 1-0 (10), 8-0.  That makes 'em 37-105 with 20 games to go.
That's 6 series, where they'll need to average 1 win per series for "safety".

Meanwhile, some coincidental humor:
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/arlonjanis/archive/arlonjanis-20030906.ht
ml

This response has been erased.

No relation.

(son and dad, unless you meant "no relation to the comic strip.")  ;)

In the "Arlo & Janis" comic strip, Arlo and Janis are husband and wife.

The Tigers lost 4-2 to the Yankees last night in NYC (Tue Sept 9).
That makes 'em 37-106 with 19 games to go.

Heh, the NY Times had interesting coverage, both of the game and of the 
Tigers.  The Tigers reportedly kept the game in doubt until very late,
which doesn't make division-leading New York look good in a close pennant
race.  We can call it a moral victory for Detroit.  :)

Last night (Wed Sep 10) the Yankees slaughtered the Tigers 15-5.
That makes 'em 37-107 with 18 games to go.  Winning 6 of those games, mostly
against teams in contention for the playoffs, makes reaching "safety" more
and more unlikely.  The Tigers happen to be in NYC one more day, 9/11.

This response has been erased.

The Tigers have now clinched the worst record among all Major League teams.
THey are 22 games behind the second-worst team, Tampa Bay.

They have 5 series left, against KC, Toronto, Minn, KC, Minn.  All teams
over .500.  KC and Minn are still trying to win the AL Central, but Toronto
has been all but mathematically eliminated.  So maybe Toronto is our best
shot.

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