BRIDGEPORT -- The rock-bottom Chicago White Sox have finally smashed the glass floor for baseball's lousiest season ever.
With a 4-1 road loss Friday night to the Detroit Tigers, this year's White Sox have etched themselves in modern baseball history with 121 losses -- the most in a single MLB season.
The franchise surpassed the 1962 New York Mets, who managed to only drop 120 games in their first year as a big-league ball club.
The loss comes after the White Sox closed out its final home stand with a surprising three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, disappointing large crowds of sadistic Sox fans who turned out to root against their own team and bear witness to baseball history.
The surreal sweep featured a standing ovation for a Sox error Tuesday night, in which the team later pulled out their first comeback win this season; a walk-off hit Wednesday night; and an emphatic Thursday shellacking that saw the South Siders bat around the order for seven runs in an inning -- their most this year.
Shirts, signs, chants, paper bags and puffs of smoke around the stadium urged owner Jerry Reinsdorf to "Sell The Team," despite efforts to appease fans by offering beers for just $5.
The Sox pushed back a start for all-star pitcher Garrett Crochet to Friday night to better their chances of spoiling the Tigers' late-season run for a playoff spot. But the Tigers scored four runs to pull away from the Sox and clinch the American League wild-card as beloved former Chicago broadcaster Jason Benetti called the win in Detroit following an acrimonious exit with Sox management before the season.
The worn-out Sox can stretch the record with losses Saturday and Sunday against the Tigers to end the year.
The historic ineptitude has become a national talking point that drew media from across the country to the South Side earlier this week. Author Stephen King even weighed in on the team on X.com, offering fans solace by saying "Things will get better. They CAN'T get worse."
The White Sox's social media team even gotten in on the joke, tweeting memes about how they won't bother posting the final scores of recent losses.
Breaking baseball's all-time losing record seemed more of a matter of "when" than "if" for the South Siders in recent months, after the team fired its manager, held a frantic fire sale of its proven players at the trade deadline and narrowly escaped a 21-game losing streak that threatened to set another Major League record had it lasted three games longer.
It's been a steep fall for a team that recently trotted out what many thought to be a championship-level roster, winning an American League Central title on the way to a playoff series against the Houston Astros in 2021.
The team's falloff since then has been precipitous.
Amidst last year's disastrous 101-loss season, desperate Sox fans bought billboards demanding Reinsdorf sell the team, and a neighboring Bridgeport pizza shop offered a day of free pies for those looking to bury their sorrows in sausage and cheese. A mysterious shooting of two women in the outfield bleachers last season remains unsolved.
An investigation published by The Athletic last week found the White Sox have outsourced its baseball analytics to a private firm and still fly the team in a 1980s-era plane with only eight first class seats.
Reinsdorf has kept a tight inner circle, rehiring retired friend, 79-year-old Tony La Russa, to manage the team in 2021 in a surprise move that forced one podcaster to eat his words and fulfill a far-flung bet to bike from New York City to Chicago. La Russa re-retired from coaching the next season due to health issues but continues to serve as an advisor, while Reinsdorf more recently promoted team insider Chris Getz to general manager, despite calls from fans for an outside hire to clean up house.
On the field, the White Sox have underperformed low exceptions in every way, from former all-star Luis Robert having a down year to younger prospects that have yet to pan out. Two former White Sox stars -- closer Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Eloy Jiménez -- are now out of the majors, with the Baltimore Orioles demoting Jimenez to the minors and releasing Kimbrel Tuesday. Former Sox star shortstop Tim Anderson was released by the Miami Marlins in July.
Meanwhile, Reinsdorf -- who also is chairman of the Chicago Bulls ownership group -- is asking lawmakers to pour $1 billion into the billionaire's historically bad team so it can build a new South Loop ballpark along the Chicago River.
White Sox leadership sent its groundkeepers to carve out a baseball diamond at the site of the proposed stadium, inviting lawmakers on a fantasy baseball tour with former players. Several lawmakers told the Sun-Times they declined the invitation, while spokespeople for developers Related Midwest declined to say who attended.
The White Sox have pushed promotional deals and cut ticket prices throughout the season, with exception to the Crosstown Classic, and are expected to reduce payroll next year.