Four in a row! This team is becoming less interesting by the day...

So, at 18-50 (.242), the 1923 Athletics are virtually guaranteed to finish with more wins that the 1899 Spiders; they only need to win 3 out of their final 94 games. That seems easy enough. If you project out their current winning percentage, however, they would still project to 39-123, which would be worse by wins, losses, and winning percentage than the 1962 New York Mets. Still worth writing about. And they are beating their Pythagorean expectation of 38-124 by one win. So hang on.

However, their winning percentage is now better than the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117, .235). We'll see if they can sustain this breakneck pace.

And they are catching up the with the 2023 Kansas City Royals (18-46), who are on a losing streak.

As usual, let's see how they stack up historically.

By Wins

All-time: The 2023 Oakland Athletics are now tied for 34th for the worst all-time wins total. They are ahead of the 1877 NL Cincinnati Reds (not the same Reds; 15-42), the 1876 Milwaukee Grays (15-45), the 1890 AA Baltimore Orioles (15-19), and the 1871 NA Washington Olympics (15-15). They are tied with the 1884 UA Kansas City Cowboys (16-63), the 1874 NL Hartford Dark Blues (16-37), and the 1871 NA New York Mutuals (16-17). Next on the list are the 1883 NL Philadelphia Quakers (now the Phillies; 17-81), and the 1873 NA Brooklyn Athletics (17-37). The Royals are tied for 40th on this list.

Since 1876: The A's are tied for 12th worse with the 1884 KC Cowboys, ahead of the 1878 Grays, 1877 Reds, and the 1890 Orioles. Next on the list are the 1883 Quakers. The Royals are tied for 15th on this list.

American League: Oakland #1, Kansas City #2. Next on the list are the 2020 Texas Rangers (22-38).

Since 1901: Oakland #1, Kansas City #2. Next on the list are the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (19-41).

Since 1876, >100 games: A's #1, Royals #2. Next on the list are the worst reasonably modern team, the 1899 NL Cleveland Spiders (20-134).

By Winning Percentage

All-time: The White Elephants at .242 currently have the 30th worst all-time winning percentage, ahead of 1884 US Altoona Mountain City (6-19; .240), and behind the 1872 NA Brooklyn Atlantics (9-28; .243). The Royals (.281) are 59th on this list.

Since 1876: The East Bay team is 15th on this list, ahead of Altoona, but behind the 1886 NL Kansas City Cowboys (30-91; .245). Kansas City is 42nd on this list.

American League: Here is where things get interesting. The 2023 A's now have a better winning percentage than the 1916 Philadelphia A's (36-117; .235), the second worst-team of the 20th century. The A's are still behind the #3 1904 Washington Senators (38-113; .252). The Royals are 9th on this list.

Since 1900: 1916 A's #1; 2023 A's #2. Next on this list is the 1935 Boston Braves (38-115), the second worst National League team of the 20th century. KC is 14th on this list.

Since 1876, >100 games: Oakland is now #7 on this list, ahead of the 1916 White Elephants, and behind the 1886 Kansas City Cowboys (30-91; .245). The Kansas City Royals are 27th on this list.

When and if the A's pass the 1962 New York Mets in wins, I will stop writing about it until they have lost 100 games. Actually, I'll start writing about this topic again when any of the teams have lost 100 games.

And note, the Texas Rangers (41-22) now have more wins than the 1962 New York Mets. They are the second team that has past that threshold.

Oakland wins their third series of the year

The A's won 2 out of 3 from the surprisingly good Pittsburgh Pirates. They have now won one series against a bad team (Kansas City Royals) and two verses good teams (Atlanta and Pittsburgh). Of course, they have won 8 games against the rest of the field, and sit at 14-50. Still, they outscored the Pirates 24-12. Their run differential is still terrible, at -200, and their Pythagorean projected record is 36-126. At least they are projected to be better than the Spiders.

Let's see how they are doing on the historical charts.

By Wins

All-time: They are tied at 28th with the 1876 NA Philadelphia Athletics (no relation) (14-45). Next on the list is a group of five nineteenth century clubs at 15 wins: 1878 NL Milwaukee Grays (15-45), 1877 NL Cincinatti Reds (not the modern Cincy) (15-42), 1890 AA Baltimore Orioles (15-19), the 1871 NA Washington Olympics (15-15), and the 1872 Troy Trojans (15-10).

Since 1876: 8th on the list, tied with the 1876 Athletics. Next is the three teams mentioned above not in the National Association.

American League: 1st worst win total. Next on the list is 2023 Kansas City Royals (19-43). Next after that is the 2020 Texas Rangers.

Since 1900: 1st worst win total. Next on the list is is the Royals (19-43) and the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (19-41).

Since 1871 > 100 games: A's 1st, Royals 2nd. Next on this list is the 1899 NL Cleveland Spiders (20-134). Which, of course, is the race I actually care about.

By Winning Percentage

All-time: A's are 24th on this list, sandwiched between the 1882 NL Worcester Ruby Legs (the National League would take this team away from their owners, and a new ownership group used the wreckage to establish the Philadelphia Phillies) at .214, and the 1897 NL St. Louis Browns (now the Cardinals) at .221.

Since 1876: 10th between the Ruby Legs and Browns.

American League: Still worst, behind the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (.235), a good blueprint for tanking.

Since 1900: #1 Oakland; #2 1916 Philadelphia

Since 1871 > 100 games: Sandwiched at #4 between the 1889 AA Louisville Colonels (.196), and the aforementioned 1897 Browns (.221)

By Losses

Too soon.

If the A's keep winning, I won't have a reason to write about them any more!

Oakland Lastletics Update - Win #13

The 2023 Oakland Athletics won their 13th game last night and are now 13-50. Since they won their 12th game, they have gone 1-5 and have been outscored 23-34. Ugh.

Let’s see where they are historically.

By Wins

All-Time: This team is now now tied for 27th all time for the least amount of wins, tied with the 1871 NA Troy Haymakers (13-15). Next on the list is the 1876 NL Philadelphia Athletics (14-45)  (not the same franchise). The Kansas City Royals (18-43), BTW, are now tied for 40th.

Since 1876: Oakland is alone at 8th worst total all time. Next on this list is those same 1876 Philadelphia Athletics (14-45). The Royals are tied for 15th.

American League: Oakland currently has the worse win total, and the Royals are #2. Next on the list is the 2020 Texas Rangers at 22-38.

Since 1900: Oakland #1, Royals #2, 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates #3 (19-41)

All-Time > 100 Games: Oakland #1, Royals #2. The next team on this list is the team everybody hates to see that they have not passed, the 1899 NL Cleveland Spiders (20-134). All other 2023 ML teams have more wins than the Spiders now.

Another note: The Tampa Bay Rays (44-19) have blown past the 1962 Mets (40-120), and the Texas Rangers (40-20) now have as many wins as the Mets. Doubt they will go 0-100.

By Winning Percentage

All-time: The A’s are 21st worst all-time winning percentage (.206). They are ahead of the 1873 NA Washington Blue Legs (8-31 .205), and behind the 1872 NA Middletown Mansfields (5-19 .208). The Royals are 70th worst (.295).

Since 1876: The Green and Gold are 9th worse since 1876. They are ahead of the 1884 NL Kansas City Cowboys (16-63 .203), and being the 1882 NL Worcester Blue Rays (18-66 .214). The Royals are 53rd worst.

American League: The 2023 A’s are the worst. Next worse are the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117 .235). Imagine having a goal of having a goal of putting out a team worse than the worst deliberately tanking team in history. The Royals are 12th worst.

Since 1900: 2023 A’s #1, 1916 A’s #2. Royals #20.

Since 1871 > 100 games: #1. 1899 Spiders (20-134 .123), #2. 1890 NL Pittsburgh Alleghenys (23-113 .169), #3. 1889 AA Louisville Colonels, #4. 2023 AL Oakland Athletics (13-50 .206), #5 1897 NL St. Louis Browns (now Cardinals) (29-102 .221). Look at all of those 19th century teams. Kansas City is 35th on this list.

By Losses

The A’s are 50 losses away from 100. When they reach 100 losses (late July? Early August?), I will track them on the losses leader board.

Remember the Spiders!

Well, well, well - Look who has won two in a row!

So the A's have won 2 in a row, and are now 12-45. This is actually the second time they have won two in a row; they beat the Royals two in a row in early May. This time, beat a really good team in Atlanta.

Baseball is weird.

So where does this put them in my tracking?

By Wins

All Time: Oakland is tied for 12th with the 1884 UA Washington Nationals (12-51) and the 1884 AA Richmond Viriginians (12-30). They are two ahead of the 1871 NA Cleveland Forest Cities (10-19). Next on the list is the 1871 NA Troy Haymakers (13-15).

Since 1876: The A's are tied for 6th with the same 1884 Washington and Richmond teams. They are 3 ahead of the 1876 NL Cincinnati Reds (9-56) (not related to modern Reds). Next on the list is the 1876 Philadelphia Athletics (14-45) (not related to the current Athletics).

American League: The A's are first on the list for least wins. The next team is the 2023 Kansas City Royals (17-39), who are also probably going to lose at least 100 games this year. Next after that is the 2020 Texas Rangers (22-38). The next non-pandemic, non-2023 team on the list is the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117), the original tanking team.

Since 1901: The A's are first on this list as well, and KC is 2nd. 3rd is the 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates (19-41). The 1916 A's are the next non-pandemic, non-2023 team on the list. Boy, were those A's bad.

All-time, at least 100 decisions: The A's are on this list, and KC is second. Third is the 1899 NL Cleveland Spiders (20-134), the team that broke syndicate ownership, where the same owner owned two teams and would move all of the good players to one team and the bad players to the other. The National League owners shed this team for 1900, as well as the moribund Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators. They also got rid of the Baltimore Orioles, who were good. I really need to read up again on what happened during the stretch from 1899-1904. The structure of baseball changed more dramatically at any other time except (maybe) 1993-1998, during which 4 expansion teams were added, 4 divisions were made 6, one team changed leagues, interleague play was introduced, and we got the wild card.

By Winning Percentage

All Time: The A's are tied for 22nd with the 1875 NA St. Louis Red Stockings (.211). They are better than the 1872 NA Middletown Mansfields  (.208; where is Middletown, anyway?), and are ahead of the 1882 NL Worcester Ruby Legs (.214), who would be disbanded after one more season, and the players remaining were moved to a new team called the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Since 1876: The A's are 9th on this list, ahead of the 1884 NL Kansas City Cowboys (.203), and behind the 1882 Ruby Legs mentioned above.

American League: A's are worst. Next is the 1916 A's at .235.

Since 1900: The same.

All-time, at least 100 decisions: The A's are 4th, ahead of the 1889 Louisville Colonels (.196), and behind the 1897 St. Louis Browns (now the Cardinals) (.221).

More the next time the A's win. Could be tomorrow. Could be in two weeks. We'll just have to see.

 

The Oakland Athletics have won their 11th game...

After an 11 game losing streak, the A's won one yesterday, making their record 11-45.

In other news, every other team except the Kansas City Royals (17-38) now have more wins than the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. No teams have caught the 1962 Mets yet, but the Tampa Bay Rays are now close (39-17).

Back to the A's, let's see what that does to their futility quest standings. Note that this does not include the Negro Leagues, although it probably should. I will see about adding them in the next week or so as I write these progress reports.

Least Wins

Least wins all time: They are now in 25th place all time, one more win that the 1871 Cleveland Forest Cities (10-19) of the National Association, and one ahead of the 1884 Union Association clubs, the Washington Nationals (12-51), and the Richmond Viginians (12-30).

Least wins since 1876: They stay at 6th all time, ahead of the 1876 National League Cincinnati Reds (9-56) (not the same team as is playing now), and behind the aforementioned 1884 Nationals and Virginians.

Least wins in the American League: They are first. Kansas City Royals are 2nd. The Chicago White Sox (22-34) are third, tied with the 2020 Texas Rangers.

Least wins since 1900: Oakland 1st, Kansas City 2nd. This list is polluted with pandemic teams, at least for wins less than 40.

Least wins all-time for teams > 100 decisions (gets rid of all of the NA/UA teams and the pandemic records): Oakland 1st, Kansas City 2nd, and the notorious 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134) is 3rd. The next historical team after them is the 1889 AA Louisville Colonels (27-111). The next current team is the 1897 St. Louis Browns (1897) (now known as the Cardinals). And the next current team since 1900 is the Connie Mack fire sale 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117). They set the standard for tanking!

Lowest Winning Percentage

All-time: The A's (0.1964) are 19th-worst all time, ahead of the 1889 AA Louisville Colonels (0.1957). Somebody should write a book about the hapless Colonels of the last 15 years of the 19th century. They were bad. The A's are ahead of the 1884 NL Kansas City Cowboys (.203).

Since 1876:  A's are 8th worst since 1876, still sandwiched between the Colonels and the Cowboys.

American League: 1st worst all-time, ahead of those 1916 A's (0.235).

Since 1900: Same as AL

All-Time > 100 games: They are 4th, ahead of the Spiders, the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys (Pirates), and those same Louisville Colonels. The are ahead of the 1897 St. Louis Browns (Cardinals) (0.221).

Most Losses

Will start tracking this when the A's reach 100 losses. Probably early August at this point. There are 165 teams to date that have lost 100 games; it pretty much happens every year.

The train wreck that is the 2023 Oakland Athletics

This post is not about why the A's are terrible, nor is it about raising ticket prices, pursuing multiple land deals in another city, nor trading away absolutely every player throughout their entire system that is not nailed down.

No, this is the post setting the groundwork for periodic (maybe daily?) updates to see how far this team can fall compared to other teams all time.

At the end of the year, we can just watch the losses mount up and see where they end up all time. Will they lose 100 games (almost certainly)? 110 (probably)? 117, like the franchise record 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (it could happen)? 120, like the 1962 New York Mets (they are on pace to pass it)? 134, like the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (probably not)?

 But we have to wait until August and September to see them roll up that list.

I want to know when they pass milestones in fewest wins. When do they win their 21st game, passing the Spiders? 36th, passing both the 1916 and 1919 A's? 41st, like the Mets?

So I started tracking the least number of wins all time. It turns out that this is frustrating.

Using Baseball References's Stathead service, I got a list of all MLB teams ever, and sorted them by wins ascending. As of this writing, the A's have 10 wins, and sit 24th on this all-time list. On first blush, this does not seem possible. However, this list includes teams from the National Association, which had a short schedule and had teams not finish the season, and the Union Association, which had many teams not finish the season. Here is the top 10 from that list:

Rank	W	L	%	Year	Team	Lg
1	0	6	0.000	1873	Baltimore Marylands	NA
1	0	11	0.000	1872	Washington Nationals	NA
3	1	12	0.077	1875	Keokuk Westerns	NA
4	2	42	0.045	1875	Brooklyn Athletics	NA
4	2	21	0.087	1873	Elizabeth Resolutes	NA
4	2	16	0.111	1884	Wilmington Quicksteps	UA
4	2	12	0.143	1875	Philadelphia Centennials	NA
4	2	7	0.222	1872	Washington Olympics	NA
4	2	6	0.250	1884	St. Paul White Caps	UA
10	3	26	0.103	1872	Broolyn Eckfords	UA

Boy, that's a lot of dreck. That's not really major league baseball in my mind. On this table, the A's are #24:

Rank	W	L	%	Year	Team	Lg
21	9	56	0.138	1876	Cincinnati Reds	NL
21	9	38	0.191	1875	Baltimore Canaries	NA
21	9	28	0.243	1872	Brooklyn Atlantics	NA
24	10	40	0.200	2023	Oakland Athletics	AL
24	10	19	0.345	1871	Cleveland Forest Cities	NA
26	12	51	0.190	1884	Washington Nationals	UA
26	12	30	0.286	1884	Richmond Virginians	UA

Hmm. The 1899 Spiders lost 20. Where are they on this list? They are #46. The A's have some ground to make up. 1916 A's are #144; 1962 Mets are #174.

Other drawbacks with this list: Every 2020 team except the Dodgers is on this list before the Mets since nobody else won more than 40 during the Pandemic. All of the 2023 teams are still on this list.

BTW, the Kansas City Royals are 15-35, and are #30 on this list. They have to win 6 more games to pass the Spiders.

OK, so this is still not that useful a table. How about only doing the American League? Of course, that gets rid of the Spiders and the Mets. However, the A's currently are #1 on this list. Woohoo. Of course, #2-25 are all from 2020 or 2023. The next team not from those years on this list are those 1916 Phildelphia A's (36-117), at #26. Even after the 2023 teams mostly pass the 1916 A's, those 2020 teams won't. Still not really want I want.

How about since 1900? Well, that still excludes the Spiders, but it captures a lot of the really famous bad teams. However, it is still polluted with 2020, and temporarily, 2023. The A's are #1 on this list,  and those 1916 A's are at #56, but everything in between is still from 2020 and 2023. Yuck.

So, I reran with everything from 1871, but with a minimum of 100 games, except for 2023. Those teams will pass most of the really bad teams, so the table will clean up eventually. In this table, the A's are #1, the 2023 Royals are #2, and the Spiders are #3. All but five teams have won more than 20 games in 2023 so far, and three teams have won 20, so the next games they win will put them past this putrid excuse of a team. The next one not from 2023 in the table is the 1889 Louisville Colonels (27-111), at #23. Nine 2023 teams have passed them so far.

The next target for the A's is thus winning 21 games, passing the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. I am confident this will happen. Just wondering whether it will happen in June, July, or August!