Whipped Cream Difficulties

Red Klotz has passed away.

Klotz was a prep basketball standout in Philadelphia, twice being named that city’s high school player of the year before going on to play at Villanova. He was on the Baltimore Bullets’ 1947-48 NBA championship team. At 5 feet 7, he is tied with six others as the third-shortest NBA player ever, and was the shortest player ever to be on an NBA championship team.

He’s more famous, perhaps, as a coach, having lost “tens of thousands of games” while coaching such teams as the Boston Shamrocks, New Jersey Reds, New York Nationals, International Elite, Global Select, World All-Stars…and, perhaps most famous of all, the Washington Generals.

Klotz himself was responsible for the Globetrotters’ last recognized loss, hitting a last-second shot in 1971 at age 51 while player-coach of the New Jersey Reds. He played against the Globetrotters until he was 68, and still played pickup games until a few years before his death.

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Since we’re at the All-Star break, it seems like a good time to do a baseball loser update. Unfortunately, it really isn’t a good year for losers.

Surprisingly, Houston isn’t at the bottom of the list. Heck, they’re not even at the bottom of their division. The Astros are 40-56, with a .417 winning percentage; a mark they share with Arizona. Colorado is 40-55, .421, and my Cubs are 40-54, .426.

At rock bottom are your Texas Rangers, at 38-57, for a .400 winning percentage. I’m not saying any of these records are “good”, but compared to where the Astros were at the break last year (33-61, .351), this looks like a ray of sunshine.