The postponement of her three-game series in St. Louis due to the Cardinals’ covid-19 outburst could not have come at a better time for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are the worst MLB record (3-13) and are the only team with a winning percentage below .300 (.188).
To say that this short season has been historic is not an understatement. The Pirates are 10 games under .500 and 81⁄2 games from the first place, have a seven-game losing streak, three extra-inning losses and a NL-least minus-30-run differential.
“I do not hold the record either – none of us do,” said general manager Pirates Ben Cherington. “None of us love the feeling of loss. That’s why we work hard to make it better, because we don’t like that feeling. But we have learned a lot and will continue to learn a lot. ”
What we have learned the most is this starting rank among the worst of all time. Sure, the Pirates won two of their first six games, so they can not compare to Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers from 1920 (0-13), the Chicago Cubs from 1997 (0-14) or the Baltimore Orioles from 1988 (0 -21)), which included Hall of Famers in first baseman Eddie Murray and shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. and a former AL MVP in outfielder Fred Lynn.
But the Pirates are on pace for 30.4 wins over an entire season. That would place them in the company of the worst teams in baseball history. That includes their predecessors, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of 1890 (23-113, .169), who finished 66½ games in first place.
That is mathematically impossible, considering the season was reduced to 60 games after the sport was shut down for three-plus months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cherington made no joke when he said this Saturday, “There’s a lot about this year that’s strange.”
Earlier, only four teams were completed in modern times with less than 40 wins: the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117), 1935 Boston Braves (38-115), 1904 Washington Senators (38-113) and 1919 Philadelphia Athletics (1919 ) 36-104). Neither of those teams played a season 162 game.
What’s less, after 16 games, the Pirates are on lockdown with some of the worst starts ever. The 1932 Boston Red Sox were 3-13 en route to a 7-35 start and finished with a record of 43-111. The Marlins in Florida (now Miami) of 1995 were 3-13 en route to a 5-20 start, but finished with a record of 67-76. Then there are the Pirates of 1952, who were 3-13 on their way to a 5-28 start and finished with a 42-112 record.
The ’52 Pirates featured Hall of Famers general manager Branch Rickey and outfielder Ralph Kiner, who hit 37 home runs and had 87 RBIs. Cherington has already followed Rickey’s government by forgetting large salaries in favor of young prospects. Cherington treated center-back Starling Marte, the team’s best player, for two 19-year-old prospects in January.
That Rickey traded Kiner a year later, en route to a season with 104 losses, should serve as a warning to Pirates All-Star first baseman Josh Bell, who hit 37 homers and had 116 RBIs last season but slash.213 / . 246 / .328 with two homers and five RBIs so far this season.
Shelton’s fun loving personality has been popular with Pirates players, but the rookie manager should not take comfort in knowing that former Pirates manager Billy Meyer’s no. 1 jersey with retired had by the club because he was so cute. Meyer fired after ’52 season.
The horrific start, full of injuries to the pitcher staff, did not dampen Shelton’s prospects. He has repeatedly pointed out the Pirates’ ability to ride, especially late in games, as a sign that the team is not stopping. Despite a 1-6 record in games with one run, her 34 runs lead to the seventh inning the majors. Shelton cited that competitive fire after a 17-13 loss to the Tigers in 11 innings Friday night, when Adam Frazier’s two-out, two-run homer sent the game into extra innings.
‘The fact that they continue to fight – if they do not fight, then I think we have a problem – but to keep coming back, to be equal to the blow of winning the game, and then we come in extra innings, and then the game kind of got away from us, ”Shelton said. ‘But they keep fighting. We had innings for bounceback when we gave the lead. To come back and do what we did in the ninth and have a chance to win the game, I thought it was excellent. ”
Of course, the Tigers had the worst record in the majors last season, at 47-144. The Pirates also lost three games per game to the Chicago Cubs (10-3) and Minnesota Twins (10-6), who have the most wins in the NL Central and AL Central, respectively. The Pirates can not help noticing that they are dead in the last place, even though they are crooked because the Cardinals (2-3) have not played since July 29th.
“Yes, we absolutely must pay attention,” said Pirates pitcher Derek Holland. ‘If I was sitting here and you said I was not, I would, for sure, suffer. We absolutely see what happens. ”
There’s nowhere to go but for these Pirates, unless they want to come down as one of the worst teams in modern baseball history.
Kevin Gorman is a staff writer for Tribune Review. You can contact Kevin via email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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