Etc.

September 21, 2007

Not again! Baseball teams that specialize in ... losing

Now that the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays have sunk irretrievably below .500, they're assured of reaching a mark of futility: 10 consecutive losing – or at least nonwinning – seasons. Only 20 other Major League Baseball franchises in history have turned in streaks of that length or longer. According to the website OriolesHangout.com, the team that originally set the standard for season-after-season frustration was the Washington Senators, whose string of 11 straight nonwinning seasons ran from 1901 to 1911. Among current clubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers have been the most consistent also-rans, with 14 straight nonwinning campaigns. In fact, the Pirates are finishing their 15th. The Brewers, however, appear on the verge of ending their skein. The franchises with the longest nonwinning run of seasons and the years they encompass:

Chicago Cubs (1947-62) Philadelphia Phillies (1993-48)16
Boston Red Sox (1919-33) Philadelphia/Kansas City A's (1953-67) 15
Milwaukee Brewers (1993-present) Pittsburgh Pirates (1993-present) Seattle Mariners (1977-90) 14
Philadelphia A's (1934-46) Philadelphia Phillies (1919-31) 13