This morning in Baseball Prospectus, Michael Jong explained that the Florida Marlins have the worst one month record in the National League East over the last 50 years. At 1-18 (as of Tuesday morning), the Marlins have a winning percentage of .053 so far in June. According to Jong, the next worst winning percentage for an NL East team goes to the 1997 Philadelphia Phillies, who posted a 4-22 record in June (.154).
That got me thinking.
Looking at losing streaks by months is interesting, but months are just arbitrary dividers in a 162-game schedule. Why not look at team records over a 20-game period? That’s just as arbitrary. So that’s what I did.
I wanted to know how the 2011 Marlins compared to all major league teams over the last 30 years. The Marlins are in the midst of a 1-19 run, dating to June 1. That’s a .050 winning percentage. I looked to see how many other teams had recorded a .100 winning percentage or worse over a 20-game period at any point in the season. In other words, which teams posted records of either 0-20, 1-19 or 2-18 in a 20-game stretch over the last 30 years.
And the awards go to . . . .
Gold Circle of Ineptitude
The winner for ineptitude, of course, is the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who started the season with a 21-game losing streak. That’s a .000 winning percentage over the first 20 games of the season. No other team has matched that streak in the last 30 years.
Silver Circle of Ineptitude
The Silver Circle recognizes those teams who’ve posted 1-19 records (.050 winning percentage) over any 20-game stretch in the last 30 years. We start, of course, with the 2011 Florida Marlins. But the Marlins are not alone. There’s the 2005 Kansas City Royals, the 1997 Philadelphia Phillies, the 1996 Detroit Tigers, the 1988 California Angels, and the 1982 Minnesota Twins.
Bronze Medal of Ineptitude
The Bronze Medal goes to those teams that posted 2-18 records (.100) during any 20-game stretch in the last 30 years. This is a crowded field, much more crowded than I expected. A full list is below, but a few points worth noting:
In 2003, the Detroit Tigers had three separate 20-game stretches with 2-18 records. I think that pushes the 2003 Tigers to the Platinum Circle of Ineptitude. The 1996 Tigers, who had one streak of 1-19, also had a 2-18 stretch. Not the 2003 Tigers, but close. Only one other team in the last 30 years had two separate 2-18 stretches–the 1987 Baltimore Orioles.
Eleven franchises (that have been in existence for 30 years) have avoided a 2-18 stretch (or worse) since 1981: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The same is true for the Rockies and the Rays, in their shorter existence. I was surprised the Nationals/Expos made this list. Any teams surprise you?
That leaves 17 franchises that have posted at least one 2-18 record (or worse) over a 20-game stretch at some point in the last 30 years. Some have done it more than once: 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2008 Oakland A’s, 2006 Atlanta Braves, 2004 New York Mets, 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2003 Texas Rangers, 2002 Baltimore Orioles, 2001 Baltimore Orioles, 2001 Anaheim Angels, 2000 Chicago Cubs, 1999 Philadelphia Phillies, 1997 Kansas City Royals, 1994 Oakland A’s, 1992 Seattle Mariners, 1991 Cleveland Indians, 1991 New York Mets, 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1982 Atlanta Braves, and 1982 New York Mets.
The 2011 Florida Marlins have hardly cornered the market on baseball ineptitude.
Thirty Years of Streaking, Losers Edition
by admin on June 21, 2011
This morning in Baseball Prospectus, Michael Jong explained that the Florida Marlins have the worst one month record in the National League East over the last 50 years. At 1-18 (as of Tuesday morning), the Marlins have a winning percentage of .053 so far in June. According to Jong, the next worst winning percentage for an NL East team goes to the 1997 Philadelphia Phillies, who posted a 4-22 record in June (.154).
That got me thinking.
Looking at losing streaks by months is interesting, but months are just arbitrary dividers in a 162-game schedule. Why not look at team records over a 20-game period? That’s just as arbitrary. So that’s what I did.
I wanted to know how the 2011 Marlins compared to all major league teams over the last 30 years. The Marlins are in the midst of a 1-19 run, dating to June 1. That’s a .050 winning percentage. I looked to see how many other teams had recorded a .100 winning percentage or worse over a 20-game period at any point in the season. In other words, which teams posted records of either 0-20, 1-19 or 2-18 in a 20-game stretch over the last 30 years.
And the awards go to . . . .
Gold Circle of Ineptitude
The winner for ineptitude, of course, is the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who started the season with a 21-game losing streak. That’s a .000 winning percentage over the first 20 games of the season. No other team has matched that streak in the last 30 years.
Silver Circle of Ineptitude
The Silver Circle recognizes those teams who’ve posted 1-19 records (.050 winning percentage) over any 20-game stretch in the last 30 years. We start, of course, with the 2011 Florida Marlins. But the Marlins are not alone. There’s the 2005 Kansas City Royals, the 1997 Philadelphia Phillies, the 1996 Detroit Tigers, the 1988 California Angels, and the 1982 Minnesota Twins.
Bronze Medal of Ineptitude
The Bronze Medal goes to those teams that posted 2-18 records (.100) during any 20-game stretch in the last 30 years. This is a crowded field, much more crowded than I expected. A full list is below, but a few points worth noting:
In 2003, the Detroit Tigers had three separate 20-game stretches with 2-18 records. I think that pushes the 2003 Tigers to the Platinum Circle of Ineptitude. The 1996 Tigers, who had one streak of 1-19, also had a 2-18 stretch. Not the 2003 Tigers, but close. Only one other team in the last 30 years had two separate 2-18 stretches–the 1987 Baltimore Orioles.
Eleven franchises (that have been in existence for 30 years) have avoided a 2-18 stretch (or worse) since 1981: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The same is true for the Rockies and the Rays, in their shorter existence. I was surprised the Nationals/Expos made this list. Any teams surprise you?
That leaves 17 franchises that have posted at least one 2-18 record (or worse) over a 20-game stretch at some point in the last 30 years. Some have done it more than once: 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates, 2008 Oakland A’s, 2006 Atlanta Braves, 2004 New York Mets, 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2003 Texas Rangers, 2002 Baltimore Orioles, 2001 Baltimore Orioles, 2001 Anaheim Angels, 2000 Chicago Cubs, 1999 Philadelphia Phillies, 1997 Kansas City Royals, 1994 Oakland A’s, 1992 Seattle Mariners, 1991 Cleveland Indians, 1991 New York Mets, 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1982 Atlanta Braves, and 1982 New York Mets.
The 2011 Florida Marlins have hardly cornered the market on baseball ineptitude.
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