After Losing Streak Ends at 21, White Sox Fire Manager

UPDATE Aug 8, 2024 6:15 PM CDT

The Chicago White Sox ended their record losing streak at 21 games, but it wasn't enough to save the manager's job. The team fired Pedro Grifol and three coaches on Thursday, the AP reports. The White Sox had won 5-1 at Oakland on Tuesday night, then lost again on Wednesday, the AP reports. They now co-own the record for consecutive losses with the Baltimore Orioles. "We know the flaws in this roster," general manager Chris Getz said Thursday. "But with that being said, we expected to win more games—we did." Grifol was in his second season as a major league manager, with a record of 89-190.

Aug 5, 2024 10:10 AM CDT

It is, the Chicago Tribune notes, a "funk for the ages." The reference is to the Chicago White Sox, who managed to lose their 20th straight game on Sunday to fall 60 games under .500. The team isn't just bad—it has the potential to be the worst team in the modern era.

• 36 years: With Sunday's 13-7 loss to Minnesota, the White Sox became only the seventh team since 1901 to lose 20 in a row, per the Athletic. This is now the longest losing streak since the Baltimore Orioles lost 21 in 1988.

• Modern record: The White Sox are now just three games off the record of 23 straight losses by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961. The only upside for Sox fans is that Chicago's next series begins Monday night against the Oakland A's, who have a lackluster 46-67 record, notes the Athletic.
• Perspective: The 27-87 White Sox are on pace for 123 losses, notes USA Today, which would eclipse the 120 put up by the hapless New York Mets expansion team of 1962. The White Sox also are in danger of earning the worst winning percentage in history: Chicago is currently at .237, and the worst belongs to the 1916 Philadelphia A's at .235.

(More Chicago White Sox stories.)