The Chicago White Sox needed only one victory in their final five games to avoid losing 100 games this season. The Chicago White Sox failed to answer the challenge.
A loss to the Cleveland Indians in their final home game last week was followed by a four-game sweep by the Twins in Minnesota which elevated the Sox to triple digits in the loss column.
Minnesota’s 5-4 victory Sunday ended the Sox season with a 62-100 record. It was the fifth consecutive losing season for the Sox.
Four times, including this year, going back to 1901, the Sox have suffered 100 or more defeats in a season.
Most Sox historians consider the 1970 White Sox team to be the all-time low. The 1970 Sox concluded 56-106 for a .346 percentage, most losses by a Sox team.
The 1932 and 1948 Sox each lost more than 100 games and had lower winning percentages than the 1970 team when Major League Baseball played a 154-game season instead of today’s 162-game schedule. The American League started playing 162 games in 1961 and the National League started playing 162 games in 1962. The Sox finished 2017 with a 67-95 record.
Jose Abreu led the Sox in runs batted in with 78, even though injuries limited him to 128 games. Daniel Palka led in home runs with 27, and Abreu led in batting average with .265. Lucas Giolito, 10-13, had the most pitching victories and Reynaldo Lopez led in earned run average with 3.91.