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!

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.

Baseball Trip Replay - Additional Game Notes - Part 1

 Memories and other notes about the games on the trip. Not all games will have memories. I listed the retrosheet links in my posts, but you can find them if you really want to.

April 9, 1994 - St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants, double-header - Cindy Crawford, representing Old Navy threw out the first pitch. She had quite the entourage on the field with her. I actually taped it, but it's on the missing tape, so I couldn't post footage. The second game, I actually touched a foul ball. It came up to where I was and stopped near me, but the crowd quickly gathered and grabbed the ball after I almost had it.

April 30, 1994 - New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics - Jim Leyritz (who crushed the Astros hopes playing for the Padres in the 1998 NLDS) hit two home runs for the Yankees. Stan Javier went 4 for 5 for the A's with 2 doubles. NYA 7, OAK 5

May 1, 1994 - New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics - A's scored 8 runs without a home run. Geronimo Berroa when 2 for 4, including a triple, driving in 3. Troy Neel (who?) went 2 for 5, both singles, but drove in 4. Bobby Witt pitched 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits, 1 earned run, and 3 walks, while striking out 8. OAK 8, NYA 1

May 3, 1994 - Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics - Jeffrey Hammond went 3 for 4 with a triple and 3 runs scored. Hall of Famer Harold Baines (really?) went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI. and Mike Devereux hit 2 home runs and a single, driving in 3 more. Ben McDonald pitched a complete game, allowing 5 hits, 1 earned run, walking 3, and striking out 8. BAL 9, OAK 1

May 24, 1994 - Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers -  Willie Banks pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 4 hits, 3 walks, and he struck out 7. They had a no video policy in Dodger Stadium; I wonder what they do now with that everybody can take video all of the time? CHI 2, LAN 0

May 25, 1994 - San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres - It was Law Enforcement Night at Jack Murphy Stadium. Pre-game had the outfield wall lined with mounted police and motorcycle cops. These days, that image is chilling. I had amazing seats; the Padres were bad and their owners told the fans that they would be. And Bonds put on a show. And that home run is on that missing video tape. Sigh. SF  5, SD2

June 3, 1994 - Pittsburgh Pirates at Colorado Rockies - So, we got to Mile High Stadium, and my seats were in the highest deck behind home plate. I walked up all of the ramps and almost passed out. The mile high air triggered my asthma. At least I wasn't alone; there were dozens of people huffing and puffing at the tops of those ramps. Our first seats' view was blocked by a railing (probably why you could get them), so we moved after a while. Dante Bichette put on a mile-high show. He went 3 for 4 with a double and a home run. Joe Girardi went 3 for 3 with a home run of his own, and he got hit. The Pirates were reeling from their second year without Bonds; they wouldn't be good again for another 20 years. The Rockies had their first playoff appearance the next year; they were up and coming and talented. And in this absolutely monster stadium, it looked like a good crowd, but the count was 53737. There was a ten year period where this team just printed money. COL 6, PIT 4

June 6, 1994 - Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals - Ahh, Mike Mussina. 7 and one-thrid innings, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. I had great seats, and that was fun to watch. BAL 4, KC 2

More game notes later.