The Philadelphia Phillies set an unwanted record during the season's first half, losing 62 games before the All-Star break for the first time in franchise history, per Sportsnet Stats.
Although there was no expectation of the team being competitive this season, the Phillies have arguably still been somewhat disappointing, as they're in a league of their own when it comes to futility.
Sitting at 29-62 through 91 games, the Phillies have a miserable .319 winning percentage, putting them more than 100 percentage points below MLB's second-worst team, the 38-52 Milwaukee Brewers (.422).
The Phillies have scored a National League-worst 309 runs and allowed an MLB-high 468 runs. Only the Chicago White Sox have plated fewer runs, and even the Colorado Rockies—who play at Coors Field—have surrendered fewer.
The White Sox have MLB's second-worst run differential at minus-73, while the Phillies have more than doubled the negative output, sitting at minus-160 heading into the second half.
They aren't just the worst team this season, but possibly the worst team MLB has seen since the 2003 Detroit Tigers finished 43-119 for a .265 winning percentage.
And the franchise already has 14 100-loss seasons in its largely woeful history, having reached that mark in 1904, 1921, 1923, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1936, five consecutive seasons from 1938 to 1942, 1945 and 1961.
With the team presumably trying to trade the few veteran players it still has left, the Phillies are all but guaranteed to finish with baseball's worst record and a 100-loss season.
If not for the strong performance of rookie third baseman Maikel Franco, it would truly be a lost season.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments