It’s a well-known fact that the Chicago White Sox are struggling. They managed to break their losing streak by defeating the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, putting an end to a 21-game slide, which is tied for the second-longest in MLB history since 1900.
Even if we set aside Chicago’s recent poor performance, their 2024 winning percentage would still only be .295 – ranking as the fourth worst in the last 50 years, and significantly trailing behind any other team in the league. The Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies come in second worst with .368.
Overall, the White Sox are heading towards having the worst regular-season record in over a hundred years. Their struggles seem to be mainly focused on a single aspect of their team lineup.
Having a record of 28-88 doesn’t come without pitching difficulties, yet the White Sox’s team ERA of 4.84 is within the norm; this year, the Colorado Rockies have it worse, and in 2023, four teams went above 5.00.
Unfortunately, their batting performance is dire. Chicago’s average of 3.09 runs per game marks the lowest in the past half-century of MLB. They are scoring 1.33 runs less than the league average per game, representing the second-largest discrepancy since 1974, with the 2019 Tigers holding the record at 1.22.
Chicago’s offense often goes silent, but when it matters most, they completely vanish. The team has only managed 0.85 runs per game in the final three innings. Since 2014, only one other team has scored less than a run per game in the final three innings (excluding the altered games in 2020 due to COVID-19).
It’s not surprising that the White Sox have a 0-56 record when trailing at the end of the 6th inning. It’s challenging to make a comeback when you can’t even score a single run.
Their struggles at the plate can be partially attributed to sheer bad luck. The team’s slugging percentage of .341 falls far below their expected slugging percentage of .379 based on the historical outcomes of similarly hit balls in terms of exit velocity and launch angles, as per Baseball Savant. In fact, this margin of .038 is the widest discrepancy of any team in the past ten years.
Another notable reason behind the White Sox’s poor performance: They seem to have a recurring issue on Mondays. Since the All-Star break, two-thirds of MLB teams have secured a victory on a Monday, except for Chicago, who last won on September 18, 2023.
Image Source: Chicago White Sox @ Instagram
