Baltimore Orioles and the chase for the worst record in MLB history
By David Hill
What are the Baltimore Orioles up against?
Yes, the Baltimore Orioles have had a rough season so far. But can they really have one of the all time worst seasons in the history of the game?
In the modern era, the two teams that come to mind for futility are the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1962 New York Mets. The Mets were an expansion team, with manager Casey Stengel uttering the infamous line “Can’t anybody here play this game?” It was expected that they would struggle, and by ending the season with a 40-120 record, the record for the most losses for any team in the modern era.
That performance just edged out the 1916 Athletics. The A’s, thanks in large part to the infamous $100,000 infield, were one of the first dynasties in the American League. They made the World Series four times from 1910 through 1914, before Connie Mack dismantled the team due to financial concerns. That year, the A’s reached their nadir, posting a 36-117 record. The duo of Jack Nabors and Tom Sheehan posted a combined 2-36 record as the A’s were looking for pieces for their future.
And then, there was the worst team in major league history, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. The Spiders were a successful team until the owners bought what would become the St. Louis Cardinals. They sent their best players to the Perfectos, as the Cardinals were called then, hoping to build a super team. This left the Spiders with an atrocious roster, as players like Cy Young, Bobby Wallace, and Jesse Burkett were sent over to St. Louis. Fielding a roster of has beens and never-weres, the Spiders posted a 20-134 record, losing 40 of their last 41 games, before being contracted from the National League.
On the plus side, the Baltimore Orioles are not going to be worse than the Spiders. And, chances are, they will finish with a better record than the 1916 A’s or the 1962 Mets. But there is a team that is pretty comparable.