You want bad baseball? The Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area can give it to you. The Orioles and Nats have combined for 370 losses the last two seasons. Both cities have seen worse, though. Here are 10 teams that made the Mid-Atlantic region hang its head in shame.
10. 2009 Orioles (56-83)
This is harsh. But 14 of Baltimore’s last 23 games are against the Yankees, Red Sox and Tampa Bay. The O’s entered the weekend 5-25 against Boston and New York and 10-30 against those three teams overall. Yikes! Even with games against Toronto (six) and Cleveland (three), we’re not sure they can reach 67 wins.
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9. 1961 Senators (61-100)
MLB: “Hey, sorry about those 22 losing seasons in 27 years. You guys will turn it around soon. Fine young club you got there. Oh, by the way, your owner is actually moving that team to Minnesota, where it will rattle off 90-win seasons six times over the next decade. Here’s an expansion team for 1961, though, Good luck!”
8. 2002 Orioles (67-95)
There have been four Baltimore teams with worse records than this one. But were any of them at .500 on Aug. 23? Exactly. Mike Hargrove chaperoned a breathtaking 4-32 stretch to finish season. That included losing streaks of 10, 8 and 12 games.
7. 1963 Senators (56-106)
The worst of the “expansion” Senators, who finally fled for Texas after 1971. This club had three different managers, including a one-game stint for former star Eddie Yost. They committed 19 more errors than any other team (182) and allowed 108 more runs (812).
6. 1955 Senators (53-101)
This team should have won more games than it did. 1B Mickey Vernon and LF Roy Sievers were among the league leaders in most offensive categories. And 3B Eddie Yost was a fine player, too. The Senators didn’t have the AL’s worst pitching staff or defense, yet they managed to finish last by four games.
5. 1954 Orioles (54-100)
Before building a winner in Baltimore, the Orioles had to shake the stink of the St. Louis Browns — a team that finished first just once in its history. The franchise left St. Louis after the 1953 season. Too bad it couldn’t leave the players behind. O’s didn’t finish last, though — which was nice.
4. 1988 Orioles (54-107)
Baltimore enjoyed 24 winning seasons from 1960 to 1985. But the franchise eroded in mid-80s and hit bottom with this group. The Orioles set an MLB record by losing 21 straight to start the season. A lineup that included Hall-of-Famers Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray scored the fewest runs in baseball. Baltimore also allowed the most.
3. 1949 Senators (50-104)
These Senators went 10-4 on a May road trip, including nine wins in a row. Fans greeted them as conquering heroes when they returned. On June 5 they were 25-20 and a few days before had been alone in second place. But they won just 25 more games and endured two 11-game losing streaks.
2. 1909 Senators (42-110)
How bad were the ’09 Senators? They had Walter Johnson anchoring the rotation and still lost over 100 games. A 21-year-old Johnson was third in the majors in innings pitched (296 1/3), second in strikeouts (164) and had a 13-25 record. He also posted a 2.22 ERA.
1. 1904 Senators (38-113)
The slogan “Washington: First in war, first in peace and last in the American League” was allegedly coined by baseball writer Charles Dryden. If true, he did so after watching this wretched team go about its, um, business. Only three MLB clubs since 1901 have posted a worse winning percentage (.252).
Not quite historically bad, but …
The 2009 Naitonals should actually be ahead of the 2009 Orioles on this list of shame. Balitmore has to play in the American League East, afterall, and does have more wins. But Washington’s epic season deserves a little more space on this page. The Nats entered the weekend at 47-92. They are a good bet to surpass last year’s 102 losses and again finish with the sport’s worst record. Washington even sits seven games behind 29th-place Kansas City. But it’s clear that — while they stink — these Nats are not historically bad. This isn’t the 1962 Mets. If Washington finishes 10-13 over its final 23 games — a 57-105 record — there still will be 11 District baseball teams in 76 years that have had fewer wins and seven with a winning percentage worse than that .351 mark. And that might be the saddest part of all.
