A team like the 2020 Boston Red Sox which currently rosters a pair of 2019 MVP candidates, a 2018 MVP candidate, the No. 1 ranked prospect from 2017, the Los Angeles Dodgers top-prospect from 2018, and a Gold Glove-winning center fielder and first baseman certainly must be in the running for the division title. At the very least a Wild Card spot should be in order; especially in a season with such expanded playoffs. Wrong.
Not only are the Red Sox out of the playoff picture, but they’re also so far out of the playoff picture that Red Sox fans have already fixed their attention to potential top draft pick Kumar Rocker out of Vanderbilt. While Rocker could be a light at the end of the tunnel, in the meantime baseball is witnessing what could end up being the worst Red Sox team in the franchise’s 120-year history.
1932 Boston Red Sox
The 1932 Red Sox currently holds the crown for the worst team in franchise history in terms of winning percentage. That team went 43-111 (.279) in a 154-game season. Some of the highlights from those ’32 Red Sox include scoring 3.67 runs per game while allowing 5.94. That team slashed .251/.314/.351 for an OPS of .664.
Through 24 of the 60 games the team will play this season they’ve seen some numbers that look eerily similar to that 1932 team. The 2020 Red Sox score 4.33 runs per game while giving up 6.50. They’re slashing .252/.314/.416 with an OPS of .730.
The 1932 team’s ERA came in at 5.02 with a 1.605 WHIP and allowed 10.4 hits per nine innings. Granted the game is different today and more runs are being scored than ever, but this year’s team has collected an ERA of 6.36 to this point, with a 1.654 WHIP and let up 10.6 hits per nine.
2012 Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox organization has been around for so long that it may be unfair to compare teams that are nearly 90 years apart. So here’s a look at one of the more modern examples of one of the worst teams in franchise history; the 2012 Boston Red Sox.
Ah yes, Bobby Valentine, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, and the 100-year anniversary of Fenway Park. A team with such lofty expectations like the 2012 Red Sox may be a more fair comparison to the 2020 team.
Valentine’s squad finished the season at 69-93 (.426) which is nearly 30 more wins than the 2020 Red Sox would be on pace for in a 162-game slate. The Red Sox extended their losing streak to nine games after losing 13-6 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. This dropped their winning percentage to .250 and put them at a pace that would have won them 41 games in a full season.
The 2012 team scored an average of 4.53 runs per game and gave up 4.97. The offensive numbers for this team ended at .260/.315/.415 for an OPS of .730. The 2012 team had the best pitching numbers out of the three years mentioned: 4.70 ERA, 1.371 WHIP, and 9.0 hits per nine.
Outside of slugging percentage — which is higher by 0.001 — and OPS — which is tied — the 2020 Red Sox are worse in each of the categories listed.
1916 Philadelphia Athletics
Forget the Red Sox franchise, this year’s team could be in the running for one of the worst teams of all time if they can’t clean things up. The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics hold the worst winning percentage since 1900 sitting at 36-117 (.235).
While those storied 1916 A’s take the cake in terms of worse offensive numbers, the Red Sox won convincingly when it came to which team had the less productive pitching staff. The A’s 5.07 runs allowed per game, 3.92 ERA, 1.508 WHIP, and 8.8 hits per nine innings don’t even compare the numbers that the likes of Nathan Eovaldi, Ryan Weber, and Zack Godley have contributed to this season.
2018 Baltimore Orioles
Again, the game was so different in 1916 that it would be unfair to not pull a modern comparison. A team that the Red Sox were quite familiar with was the 2018 Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are the 15th worst team ever at 47-115 (.290) but are the most modern example of a team in this class.
Similar to the 1916 Athletics, the 2018 Orioles didn’t put up the offensive numbers that the Red Sox have this year, but the Red Sox truly are in a class of their own with the absolutely retched pitching numbers they’ve pulled together so far. The Orioles 5.51 runs allowed, 5.18 ERA, 1.496 WHIP, and 9.8 hits per nine still match up better than the Red Sox.
2021 Can’t Come Fast Enough
The team looks, sounds, and plays lifeless on a nightly basis. With the exception of Alex Verdugo, Kevin Pillar, and Mitch Moreland the team couldn’t look less engaged. Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Christian Vazquez, and Michael Chavis are all currently batting below .250. While their pitching is worse, the lineup was supposed to be the thing that kept them in a Wild Card race and hold this mess of a baseball team together.
Even if the lineup was playing up to par, it’s tough to say that they’d be in a playoff race with the way their pitchers seem to grow more and more incompetent each night. The 2020 Red Sox have the worst team ERA in the 21st century. Whether they had Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Ted Williams, or Babe Ruth, it’s tough to see a scenario where this team would’ve been successful with this cast of outcasts trotting out to the mound everyday.
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