Brief loser update.

We are into the baseball season, but not as far in as I would like to be. I sometimes try to post a loser update around the All-Star break.

But I did decide I wanted to throw up a link to this:

Why the worst MLB teams of 2023 are historically bad“.

There are a lot of stats in the article for you baseball people, but summarizing:

Simply put, it is a real thing and it is very, very unusual in a historical context. We can argue about if it will continue, but for now, this is the reality of the big league competitive landscape: There are some teams playing very badly. There are an usual number of teams playing very badly. And there are an unusually large number of teams playing so badly.

Oakland is currently 8-30, for a winning percentage of .211. That works out to 127 losses this season if trends continue. The 1962 Mets lost 120 games, and the 2003 Tigers lost 119.

2 Responses to “Brief loser update.”

  1. pigpen51 says:

    I just had to write about the Detroit Tigers. They started out playing pretty awful. Of course, they were expected to be pretty awful, so it was not surprising. But suddenly, things have turned around.
    Whether it has been their manager, A.J. Hinch, or their new General Manager, Scott Harris, who has made a lot of moves, which seem to be making a difference after being criticized during the offseason.
    In any event, Detroit is at this moment in 2nd place in the AL Central. And only about 4 games back which is actually a miracle. And their playing very good baseball, with every member contributing on both sides of the diamond, both on offense and on defense.
    Will they win their division? I think that is unlikely, given the lack of power bats in their lineup. But they are learning together as a young team, and that is important for them, come next year, when they will have some of their minor league players with pop in their bats ready for the big leagues, and some veterans contracts due to be up.
    If nothing else, the Tigers are a lot more fun to watch this year.

  2. stainles says:

    I am, like you, cautiously optimistic about the Tigers not being a record-setting worst team ever, and possibly even exceeding expectations.

    I also remain cautiously optimistic for Oakland’s chances of being that team this year.