But once they got past Game #162, they repeatedly failed baseballs Octoberquestmost memorably when the Giants Buster Posey hit that helium-sucking grand slam to cap a 2012 NLDS rally after the Reds led the series, two games to none. : Thanks to finishing with baseball's worst record two years in a row, the Nats got two No. Should the Bucks be favorites to win the East and NBA Championship? What happened? The team was bad all around, finishing next to last in the league in runs scored and first in runs allowed by a comfortable margin. The 2008 Padres had a little pop -- with three solid hitters in Adrian Gonzalez, Brian Giles and Jody Gerut as well as a legit ace in defending Cy Young winner Jake Peavy -- but not a whole lot else. (1:19). They had a bad lineup and really bad pitching (more than 900 runs allowed). At 43-119, the 2003 Tigers had the worst record in baseball since 1962 and the sixth worst since 1900. Have a comment, question or request? Best Year: 2014 (98-64) Worst Year: 2019 (72-90). Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Wednesday, Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Monday, Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Tuesday. This was the first of three 100-loss seasons that set the stage for Houston's massive rebuild that eventually paid off over the second half of the decade. Boston's best prospect, shortstop Marcelo Mayer, could make a big league impact in 2024. Mo Vaughn - Anaheim Angels - 6 Years/$80 Million. : The next two seasons were better, though still bad. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders own the worst single-season record of all time and for all eras (with one exception) finishing at 20-134 (.130 percentage) in the final year of the National League's 12-team experiment in the 1890s. : Just a particulary bad season in a string of bad seasons for the franchise. Here are the teams with the most units lost in a season over the past 20 years (based on 1 unit bets). : More losing. The Tribe hit only 79 homers and scored only 576 runs, both last in the AL by a mile. In between, there was a rather painless tanking period in which the Braves avoided taking too deep a nosedive in the standings, as the team reloaded its roster while abandoning a not-so-old ballpark (Turner Field) for a new one (SunTrust Park) closer to its suburban fan base. : After winning the 1997 World Series, Florida got rid of all its high-priced talent in the first of what would become a tradition of fire sales. : More sucking, with two straight 97-loss seasons. As with the 2011 edition, the Astros were in full tank mode in 2012, and a lost season went way off the tracks with an 8-49 stretch over July and August. The Tigers ups and downs practically match those of the Reds, but in more exaggerated fashion. : The M's were coming off a promising 2007 in which they won 88 games and finished second in the American League West. But finishing 61 games out of first place isn't your garden variety lousy season. Stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau lost significant time to injuries and were less productive when they did play. What came next? The Snakes did a lot of griping in the 2010s. You have come to the ESPN Africa edition, for other ESPN editions, click above. What came next? What came next? One-run games were a particular problem, as the Cubs were 18-36 in those affairs for a .333 winning percentage, but they had a .454 winning percentage (49-59) otherwise. The 2008 Padres had a little pop -- with three solid hitters in Adrian Gonzalez, Brian Giles and Jody Gerut as well as a legit ace in defending Cy Young winner Jake Peavy -- but not a whole lot else. : They didn't score runs. And when the savagely reviled Jeffrey Loria regime finally conceded and sold, giving hope to hundreds of Marlins fans, the new guys (Derek Jeter and Company) impossibly made things worse, both on the field and within the P.R. Just ask Frank McCourt; at the helm to start the decade, McCourt was trying to figure out how to sell a once-proud organization to bail him out of the red. : The 1995 Angels improved enough to play the Mariners in a one-game playoff for the AL West title. Fortunately for Seattle, Felix Hernandez would embark on his seven-year run of dominance the next season, giving fans something to root for. Ugh. Don't blame the pitching staff for the 24-game drop in the Mariners' record in 2010. : The Padres, coming off two straight seasons above .500, simply weren't very good at anything. Fortunately for Seattle, Felix Hernandez would embark on his seven-year run of dominance the next season, giving fans something to root for. The three playoff years, all successive and as wild card participants, netted them very little in Octoberbut at least they got there. 3: 2003 Detroit Tigers (45.01). Another team that could look at the 2010s as a tale of two decadesbut in this case, the best of times was the very, very best, as an epic championship drought was finally washed away in 2016 with the teams first World Series title in 108 years. What happened? The 10 worst MLB teams to bet on over the past 20 years (1:19), The 10 worst MLB teams to bet on over the past 20 years. (The Rangers Rougned Odor would serve up a rebuttal a year later with a right hook to Bautistas jawbut thats another story.) But it was back to losing 2014 and 2015. The Giants near-fatal mistake was to hold onto many of their championship players a bit too long, allowing for a late-decade rot. Not bad for a city thats MLBs smallest. The 2019 NL MVP might've been the worst player in baseball last year after putting up a putrid .542 OPS over 95 games. Nine teams at one point won 100 games, while 10 lost at least 100; three teams managed to do both. They won the NL East in 2012 and 2014. What came next? The wheels fell off during a 10-36 midseason stretch. What happened? Even perennial contenders like the Yankees and Cardinals occasionally put up a stinker of a season. Needless to say, the Tigers were dreadful in all phases of the game, as their "top" five starters had a collective 5.50 ERA and their offense was last in the league in virtually every category. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images. Home run records fall like dominoes as skeptical fans, angry pitchers and an oblivious MLB grapple over if a juiced ball is to blame. Let's take a look at some of the worst free-agent signings the Bronx Bombers have made in the last 25 years. Fourth outfielder Justin Maxwell led the team in home runs with 18, with only Jed Lowrie (16) and a yet-to-emerge J.D. Oakland had a below average offense, but the real problem was the pitching (an MLB-worst 5.48 ERA and 197 home runs allowed). : More losing, basically. But in between, they were 61-101 in a season when nothing went right. 1998 AL MVP. They won the division in 1987 and made it to the World Series in 1989. Oy. But the seeds of the great Braves teams of the 1990s were in place: Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Ron Gant and others were on the 1988 team. Its not that the Yankees lacked for trying; four times they got as far as the ALCS only to be deniedthe final two times to Houston, both under suspicious circumstances as recent allegations now suggest. Seven teams got to taste championship glory, while only four teams never made it to the postseason. They were out-homered by 22, even worse than the Rockies' -20 differential. At 43-119, the 2003 Tigers had the worst record in baseball since 1962 and the sixth worst since 1900. (Up To Date: February 20, 2023) AL: Baltimore Orioles: 9,952: 1901 - 2023: Minnesota Twins: 9,801 . The Astros had a punchless lineup without a 20-homer hitter and that was fourth in the NL in team batting average but 13th in OPS. The low point, of course, came in 2012 when players all but mutinied against manager Bobby Valentine. Ugh. Visions of a dynasty beyond 2016 were muted despite repeated returns to the postseason, as October proved disappointing and led some to believe Epstein was ready to tear it all down again. The wheels fell off during a 10-36 midseason stretch. Needless to say, the Tigers were dreadful in all phases of the game, as their "top" five starters had a collective 5.50 ERA and their offense was last in the league in virtually every category. First baseman Triston Casas impressed last summer and is a prime AL Rookie of the Year candidate, and outfielder/shortstop Cedanne Rafaela is an outstanding defender with 20-20 potential. Major League Baseball Team Specific Records for Games Lost | Baseball Almanac. Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Sunday, Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Saturday: Sixers and Celtics fight for the division, Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Friday: Love to make Heat debut, XFL Week 2 preview: Texas two-step between Renegades and Roughnecks leads slate, Fantasy basketball tips and betting picks for Thursday: LeBron James and Co. look to start strong. With a record of 1,453-1785-2 over the past 20 years, it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. Oy. They couldn't pitch (4.09 ERA, second worst in the league), they couldn't hit (last in the league in runs scored), their best player was Pete Smith. Best Year:2019 (107-55) Worst Year: 2013 (51-111). Frustration continued to spring eternal as the Rockies struggle to victoriously acclimate to 5,280 feet went on and on and on without a long-term solution. Never had a winning season. Should the Bucks be favorites to win the East and NBA Championship? The wheels fell off during a 10-36 midseason stretch. , MLB MVP's, MLB Cy Young Award, MLB Rookie of the Year, Rawlings Gold Gloves, 2023 HOF results, 2024 Hall of Fame ballot, . The resulting merry-go-round led to most everyone getting a piece of the pie. The Astros had a punchless lineup without a 20-homer hitter and that was fourth in the NL in team batting average but 13th in OPS. 30. Griped about fans wearing opponents clothing in the home plate suite for all to see. The Friars played it anonymously for much of the decade, fielding no-name rosters that delivered no-gain results. No, it wasnt the Astros. How do you go from bankrupt to billionaire? Result: Seven straight NL West titles to end the decade, the woeful part of which was that it didnt bring them any world titles. The Rox at one point tried a four-man rotation with a 75-pitch limit, but that ended up in the dumpster along with all the other radical schemes to beat the mile-high madness. What happened? And prior to her 15 years with the Mets, she had been the assistant GM of Class . The 2010 season represented the nadir of that awfulness. That core group led Philadelphia to several postseason appearances, including the 2008 World Series title. And the pitching was no better: last in the NL in ERA, saves and HR allowed. No wonder overall MLB attendance slid downward during the decade. The team ended up trading two of their other productive hitters, Gary Sheffield and Fred McGriff. Plus, the offense was last in the National League in runs and OPS and second to last in home runs, and the D-backs made a league-high 139 errors. 80! The pitching was sub-par as well. At decades end, the Indians take over as the team with the longest World Series drought, in part because they couldnt beat the team (the Cubs) that previously had the longest. As we reviewed the ups and downs of the 30 Major League Baseball teams in the 2010s, we noticed one thing: There were a lot of ups and downs. 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