“Unraveling the Disastrous Season: Which MLB Team is Stumbling to Historic Low?”

What’s worse than a bad breakup? How about your favorite Major League Baseball team opening the season with a historically atrocious record? It’s hard to ignore that baseball has its ups and downs—like a wild roller coaster—especially in those early weeks of April when every win matters just a tad more. Every fan knows that old saying: you can’t win the division in April, but boy, you can certainly lose it.

Just ask the forlorn supporters of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who stumbled to an atrocious 21-game losing streak. Imagine cheering for a team that could sweep the league in the latter half of the season and still end up under .500! In fact, the only thing chillier than the spring breezes across many ballparks is the sinking feeling of hopelessness that follows a rough start.

So, grab your popcorn, because we’ve delved deep into the annals of baseball lore to uncover the worst records to kick off a season since 1901. With all the highs and lows that come with fandom—and history on our side—let’s see who’s made it onto the infamous list of the worst starts ever! Hopefully, your team isn’t painted in those grim hues of despair! LEARN MORE.
We’ve dug into the historical data to discover the worst records to start a Major League Baseball season during the modern era (since 1901).

There’s an old adage in baseball that you can’t win the division in April, but you can lose it.

The Orioles opened the 1988 season with an MLB-record 21-game losing streak. And they might hold that for a while, as the next longest skid is the Cubs’ 14-game drought to begin the 1997 season. The 1988 campaign was the O’s worst season since the franchise moved to Baltimore at 54-107 before going 47-115 in 2018, 54-108 in 2019 and 52-110 in 2021.

Sometimes an MLB team can dig itself into such a hole that it’s bound to come up short no matter how well it plays over the five months.

The 1894 Washington Senators dropped 21 on the road to open the 1894 season, but we’re looking at the modern era. After opening the season 4-20, the 1969 Astros won 19 of the next 23 games to turn things around (most of those at home). This Houston team was great at the relatively new Astrodome (52-29) but horrible on the road (29-52).

In 1988, the Baltimore Orioles could’ve gone 79-59 in the American League from May 2 to Oct. 2 and still not finished with a winning percentage above .500. The season was all but over for the historically bad 2024 Chicago White Sox after opening the season 3-22.

It was another dismal start to a season for the franchise that was known as the lovable losers for much of the last century. They wound up tied for the worst record in the National League at 68-94, but would get back to the postseason a year later.

The woeful Cubs of the 1990s appear again on this list. The 1994 season began on April 3, but a work stoppage that led to the cancellation of the World Series mercifully ended the Cubs’ season at an NL Central-worst 49-64.

Longest Losing Streak to Start a Season

1. 0-21 – 1988 Baltimore Orioles (April 4-28)

Hopefully, your team isn’t on the list.

2. 0-14 – 1997 Chicago Cubs (April 1-20)

It’s difficult but not impossible to bounce back from a slow start – as long you don’t start 0-7. The 2011 Tampa Bay Rays, 1995 Cincinnati Reds and 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t win the World Series, but they’re the only teams to reach the postseason after an 0-6 start.

T-3. 0-13 – 1904 Washington Senators (April 14-May 4) 

T-3. 0-13 – 1920 Detroit Tigers (April 14-May 2) 

Longest Losing Streak at Home to Start a Season

1. 0-17 – 1913  New York Yankees (April 17-June 6) 

We’ve dug into the historical data to discover the worst records to start a Major League Baseball season during the modern era (since 1901).

2. 0-12 – 1994 Chicago Cubs (April 4-May 3) 

Perhaps if the Royals knew what was coming, the start to the 2012 season wouldn’t be so bad. Kansas City finished 72-90 that season but 86-76 in 2013, 89-73 with a World Series appearance in 2014 and 95-67 with a title in 2015.

3. 0-10 – 2012 Kansas City Royals (April 13-23)

The post Which Team Has Gotten Off to the Worst Start in MLB History? appeared first on Opta Analyst.

Longest Losing Streak on the Road to Start a Season

T-1. 0-13 – 1969 Houston Astros (April 8-30)

Those Sox would go on to surpass the 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119) and 1962 New York Mets (40-120) for the most losses in a season during the modern era (since 1901) at 41-121. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders still have the all-time record at 20-134.

T-1. 0-13 – 1988 Baltimore Orioles (April 8-28)

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T-3. 0-12 – 1960 St. Louis Cardinals (April 12-May 14)    

T-3. 0-12 – 2006 Kansas City Royals (April 11-May 3)     

It’s difficult to imagine any Yankees team opening a season with 17 straight defeats at Yankee Stadium. But the 1913 team wasn’t the juggernaut that we’ve come to know with Ruth, Gehrig and Co. The Yanks finished 57-94 and ahead of only the St. Louis Browns in the AL standings.
Not only did the O’s drop 21 straight overall to open the 1988 season, but they also lost the first 13 on the road. Baltimore lost 22 of its first 24 games away from home en route to a 20-61 road record. Only the 2018 Orioles, who went a franchise-worst 47-115, lost more road games in the history of the franchise (19-62).