How Boston Red Sox Historic Losing Streak Compares

The Boston Red Sox struggles are taking on epic proportions.

Losing nine of their last ten games, the Boston Red Sox have lost eight consecutively. Eight games in a row resulting with a checkmark in the “Loss” column is never a desirable feat to accomplish.

In any season, this is less than enviable, but this has effectively destroyed their chances for success in 2020’s 60-game season. Now, eight is not a record number, but the end does not look close.

Four games against the New York Yankees meant trouble, for sure, but Boston does not look like they are in any position to beat anyone. Their ensuing opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, holds an 8-9 record.

The Red Sox’s most recent losing streak of 10 games or more came in the spring of 2014, losing 10-straight and losing another eight-straight games later that season in August.

That is bad enough in a 162-game season, but losing eight in a row in 2020’s 60-game season is a catastrophe. It is the equivalent of losing roughly 22 straight games in a 162-game season. A ten-game losing streak would amount to 27 games in a normal season.

Now, each game is still a normal game, so the Red Sox are not as bad as a team that loses 22 straight. A team that loses 22 games in a row has done exactly that. They’ve lost 22 times—the Red Sox have lost eight times.

In relation to the season, however, Boston’s poor play has been as detrimental as losing 22 straight. Their play has cost them the equivalent of roughly 14% of their season.

As far as putting the most stress on the remainder of the season (what percent of the season did they lose in one stretch), only two teams in the history of organized baseball have done worse so far.

The 1961 Phillies lost 23 straight games during their 155-game season. That is the equivalent of roughly 24 games in a modern 162-game season and about nine games in 2020’s shortened 60-game schedule. Their 23 losses put about 15% of their season in the “Loss” column.

The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys lost 27 consecutive games during their 138-game season. In an average modern 162-game season, that would round up to roughly 32 straight losses. During this 60-game schedule, that would be about 12 consecutive losses. That streak held the place for roughly 20% of their season.

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The 2020 Boston Red Sox squad is one loss shy of the Phillies’ awful percentage. They are a mere four losses away from tying the Alleghenys for the most catastrophic losing streak in baseball history, forfeiting 20% of their season.

Enduring a parade of canceled and rescheduled games, the Detroit Tigers can enjoy baseball’s second-worst losing streak of 2020. Theirs’, however, can be explained by the repeated interruptions due to the coronavirus. What excuse can the Red Sox offer?

Do they miss Mookie Betts?

Maybe they do miss him a little bit, but, despite his absence, they still have numbers hanging around the league averages: 98 runs scored, 92 runs batted in, and 27 home runs. They’re collective .249 batting average is tied with Betts’ Los Angeles Dodgers for tenth-best in the league.

The offense is not the issue.

Are there personal issues with the newly appointed manager, Ron Roenicke?

Roenicke likes to try different things on the ballfield and has, at times, even adopted Tampa Bay Rays’ manager Kevin Cash’s innovative pitching method of using an “Opening Pitcher” instead of a “Starting Pitcher.” With a similar cast to their 2018 and 2019 rosters, there is a great possibility that players simply long for the days of Alex Cora at the helm of their team.

The management might be part of the problem.

Is there pitching just as freaking god-awful as in (and perhaps worse than) 2019?

Bingo.

Guess which ballclub boasts the highest earned run average in Major League Baseball. Venture an idea for which team has surrendered the fourth-most home runs in Major League Baseball. Propose a theory for which organization has tossed the third-most walks in Major League Baseball.

The Boston Red Sox statsheet lists a 6.06 E.R.A., 38 home runs allowed, and 97 walks granted. Boston has needed their offense to score at least three runs in all six of their wins. They have scored four runs or more in eight of their 17 losses. Teams usually should not need an exorbitant amount of runs to have a shot at a victory.