A modern day era record that no one wants to be a part of will be on the line in the MLB tonight in Pittsburgh. The race to 50 losses begins tonight. The Oakland A’s are currently 12-49. The 2003 Detroit Tigers hold the modern era record for fastest to 50 losses as they did it in their 62nd game of the season. If Oakland loses tonight to the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates, they will join the 2003 Tigers in the record books. The ’62 Mets made it to game 63 before they lost 50. The 2019 Baltimore Orioles reached 50 losses at the 64 game mark.
While the A’s are looking to avoid the record, the Pirates are licking their chops for this matchup. Pittsburgh is on a five game winning streak and a struggling Oakland visiting for three games fits in perfectly. After ending April with a remarkable 20 wins, Pittsburgh only won eight in May to finish at 28-27. The Pirates are coming off back-to-back 100 loss seasons and it does not look like that trend will continue. The pressure is on Pittsburgh to not squander this opportunity while Oakland will be playing their hearts out to not hit the half-century mark.
The ’62 Mets
The ’62 Mets are awake and alive for the first time in 20 years. The worst team in modern era baseball with 120 losses in a season have a reason to be excited. The last time they had a shot was the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who finished the season 43-119. The Tigers were on their way to the record as a 10 game losing streak put the Tigers at 118 losses. The Tigers did not give up. Detroit won five out of their last six games to finish one short of the record. In all fairness, the Mets lost the 120 in a 160 game season for a .250 winning percentage.
Meet the Mets
The surviving members of the ’62 Mets are perking up again this year. They are dusting off the “Meet the Mets” rally song and warming up the Victrola. The A’s are on pace to drop 130 games this season, which gives them a 10 game spread. The asterisk* of the 160 vs. 162 game season will be attached to the 120 mark. There is still a lot of summer ball that awaits. Oakland has to go 31-70 for the remainder of the season to avoid the modern day record books. That is roughly three wins out of every ten the rest of the way. Will the surviving ‘62 Mets be rocking for joy, come October?
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