Worst seasons in MLB history: Teams with most losses, lowest winning percentage as Athletics continue to sputter

By | May 31, 2023
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It isn’t especially fun to pick on the Oakland Athletics in 2023.

After ownership systematically stripped the team for parts and sent the likes of Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Matt Chapman to play elsewhere, owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval are doing everything in their power to move the team to Las Vegas.

The result is a lame-duck franchise living out the plot of “Major League.” The difference, of course, being that in the real world that team doesn’t go on to improbably beat the Yankees in a playoff series.

The Athletics were 10-40 after 50 games this season, the fourth-worst in MLB history through 50 games, tied with the 1932 Red Sox and the 1897 St. Louis Browns. Their run differential through May 29 was staggering -194, the worst mark in the league by 125 (the Royals came in 29th at -69). The worst run differential of all time is the 1932 Red Sox, who finished at -349.

The worst mark through 60 games is 11-49, held by four teams. The Athletics entered Tuesday at 11-45. That loss total is already an MLB record for most defeats before June, with two games against the Braves left to play.

MORE: A’s move to Las Vegas would officially kill formerly great baseball legacy

Pacing the Athletics out, they could well end up with among the worst records in MLB history, the likes of which haven’t been seen by baseball fans since the 2003 Tigers.

Which MLB teams have the most losses before June 1?

The Athletics have already set the MLB record for pre-June losses with 45.

They have dropped 45 of 56 games so far in the year, and they broke the record with their 42nd loss in late May.

What is the Athletics’ record pace?

Through Monday, May 29, the Athletics were 11-45, and had just snapped a nine-game winning streak. That would be a winning percentage of approximately .196.

Extrapolating that winning percentage, the Athletics would finish 32-130 over an 162-game season — setting a new mark for the most losses in MLB history and the lowest win percentage in the modern era.

What team has the most losses in MLB history?

When talking about horrendous seasons, there has to be a delineation between the 1800s and the modern era. In the late 1800s, three teams finished with winning percentages under .200: The Cleveland Spiders in 1899 (20-134), the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1890 (23-113), and the Louisville Colonels in 1889 (27-111).

This section will focus on the modern era, in which no team has finished with a winning percentage of under .235. Indeed, at 10-40 through 50 games, even the Athletics were at .250. Their pace, however, has somehow worsened by them.

When going by pure losses, the 1962 Mets have the dubious record of the most. They lost 120 games out of 160, on a team in which no player slugged over .496 (Frank Thomas).

The 2003 Tigers were one game off that record, and they have the most losses in a 162-game season at 119. Manager Alan Trammell, a Tiger great and 1984 World Series MVP, inherited a team whose pitching staff finished with a 5.30 ERA and finished with a run differential of -337.

Year Franchise W L Percentage
1962 New York Mets 40 120 .250
2003 Detroit Tigers 43 119 .265
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 36 117 .235
1935 Boston Braves 38 115 .248
1904 Washington Senators 38 113 .252
1952 Pittsburgh Pirates 42 112 .273
1932 Boston Red Sox 43 111 .279
1939 St. Louis Browns 43 111 .279
1941 Philadelphia Phillies 43 111 .279
1909 Washington Senators 42 110 .276
1942 Philadelphia Phillies 42 109 .278
1928 Philadelphia Phillies 43 109 .283
1915 Philadelphia Athletics 43 109 .283
1909 Boston Braves 45 108 .294
1937 St. Louis Browns 46 108 .299
1945 Philadelphia Phillies 46 108 .299
1911 Boston Braves 44 107 .291
1911 St. Louis Browns 45 107 .296
1939 Philadelphia Phillies 45 106 .298
1938 Philadelphia Phillies 45 105 .300
1919 Philadelphia Athletics 36 104 .257

As of Monday, May 29, the Athletics project out to 130 losses, which would decisively be the most in a single season, ever.

What team has the worst winning percentage in MLB history?

The 1800s would dominate this category, with five teams having a sub-.235 winning percentage. With that in mind, only the modern era is going to apply here.

The worst winning percentage in the modern era belongs to the Philadelphia Athletics, who finished .235 in 1916 at 36-117.

The worst winning percentage among teams to have played 160 or more games is also the ’62 Mets, who were .250. The ’03 Tigers would be next at .265.

Year Franchise W L Percentage
1916 Philadelphia Athletics 36 117 .235
1935 Boston Braves 38 115 .248
1962 New York Mets 40 120 .250
1904 Washington Senators 38 113 .252
1919 Philadelphia Athletics 36 104 .257
2003 Detroit Tigers 43 119 .265
1952 Pittsburgh Pirates 42 112 .273
1909 Washington Senators 42 110 .276
1942 Philadelphia Phillies 42 109 .278
1932 Boston Red Sox 43 111 .279
1939 St. Louis Browns 43 111 .279
1941 Philadelphia Phillies 43 111 .279
1928 Philadelphia Phillies 43 109 .283
1915 Philadelphia Athletics 43 109 .283
1911 Boston Braves 44 107 .291
1909 Boston Braves 45 108 .294
1911 St. Louis Browns 45 107 .296
1939 Philadelphia Phillies 45 106 .298
1937 St. Louis Browns 46 108 .299
1945 Philadelphia Phillies 46 108 .299
1938 Philadelphia Phillies 45 105 .300

The Athletics as of Monday, May 29 had a winning percentage of .196, which would be the worst in the modern era.

Athletics fans’ ‘reverse boycott’

As all of this is going on and the Athletics show renderings of their proposed stadium in Las Vegas, Athletics fans are preparing to boycott in a rather unusual way: by showing up.

As attendance at the decrepit Oakland Coliseum craters, there is a plan to fill the stadium out in June 13 against the Rays, incidentally a team that also does not historically draw well and has been seeking a new stadium for years.

Although the announcement of the plans to develop in Las Vegas quieted the talk a bit, Athletics fans still plan to move forward with it.

“I think we stay the course. Lots of things can still happen,” one of the organizers, Stu Clary said, per Inside the A’s of Sports Illustrated.

Whether this ends up being a success or the noise is outweighing the return remains to be seen. But if nothing else, it’s a creative way to protest.

MORE: Why Glen Kuiper won’t be back on Athletics broadcasts

Athletics average attendance

As one might expect, attendance for the A’s has reached an all-time low in 2023.

The Coliseum has been a barely functioning stadium for years, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance never recovered.

Since it reopened to 20 percent capacity to begin 2021, the Athletics haven’t averaged more than 10,000 fans at a game. It was 8,660 in 2021, 9,849 in 2022, and 8,874 through May 26 in 2023.

Since the team announced plans to move, however, attendance has only shrunk. Shortly after, announced attendance was in the low-to-mid 2,000s, and the ballpark looked emptier than that.

It needs to be said, this is about five years removed from the Athletics setting franchise records in attendance at the Coliseum, highlighting how complete this dismantling has been.

Athletics record by year

One of the other aspects of this is the fact that the Athletics have built a reputation for doing more with less.

They made the playoffs three years in a row from 2018-2020, and Bob Melvin won two Manager of the Year awards in the 2010s.

The Athletics, however, simply couldn’t hold off any longer. Their roster this season is comprised of bad trades and castoffs, and they’ve looked in over their head all year.

Year AL West Finish Wins Losses Win% Playoff Result
2010 2nd 81 81 .500  
2011 3rd 74 88 .457  
2012 1st 94 68 .580 Lost ALDS (Tigers) 3–2
2013 1st 96 66 .593 Lost ALDS (Tigers) 3–2
2014 2nd 88 74 .543 Lost ALWC (Royals)
2015 5th 68 94 .420  
2016 5th 69 93 .426  
2017 5th 75 87 .463  
2018 2nd  97 65 .599 Lost ALWC (Yankees)
2019 2nd  97 65 .599 Lost ALWC (Rays)
2020 1st 36 24 .600 Won ALWC (White Sox) 2–1
Lost ALDS (Astros) 3–1
2021 3rd 86 76 .531  
2022 5th 60 102 .370  

Ultimately, things may stabilize throughout the year, as these things often do. But the pace out of the gate has been difficult to watch, and the roster isn’t exactly promising reinforcements. 

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