C.A.: 2005 Topps Grady Sizemore

(Happy Labor Day. I am actually celebrating this Labor Day because it's so early this year that school sports don't even start until this coming weekend and don't fully hit the fan until next week! Usually, there's a full-slate of soccer bombing us the Tuesday after the holiday. Small favors! Time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 342nd in a series):

 

This is Grady Sizemore's first solo card in Topps flagship. He was a hot topic during my early blogging years. It boggles my mind that he's a manager now.

I'm not sure he wanted to start his Major League managing career with a team as terrible as the White Sox, though I'm guessing if you're "in baseball," as the big-leaguers sometimes say, having one of the 30 managing jobs available is an honor.

 

Last year around this time I wrote a post about the worst major league teams since I became a fan. It didn't take even a year for that post to be out of date. Little did I know that a new team would come along to shatter everything.

 

Here are the 10 worst major league teams in the modern era (1901-forward) in terms of winning percentage prior to 2024:

 

1. 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, .235 (36-117)

2. 1935 Boston Braves, .248 (38-115)

3. 1962 New York Mets, .250 (40-120)

4. 1904 Washington Senators, .252 (38-113)

5. 1919 Philadelphia Athletics, .257 (36-104)

6. 2003 Detroit Tigers, .265 (43-119)

7. 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, .273 (42-112)

8. 1909 Washington Senators, .276 (42-110)

9. 1942 Philadelphia Phillies, .278 (42-109)

10. 1932 Boston Red Sox, .279 (43-111)

10. 1939 St. Louis Browns, .279 (43-111)

10. 1941 Philadelphia Phillies, .279 (43-111)

And here are the 10 worst major league teams in the modern era with teams from 2024 so far this season added:

1. 2024 Chicago White Sox, .223 (31-108)

2. 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, .235 (36-117)

3. 1935 Boston Braves, .248 (38-115)

4. 1962 New York Mets, .250 (40-120)

5. 1904 Washington Senators, .252 (38-113)

6. 1919 Philadelphia Athletics, .257 (36-104)

7. 2003 Detroit Tigers, .265 (43-119)

8. 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, .273 (42-112)

9. 1909 Washington Senators, .276 (42-110)

10. 1942 Philadelphia Phillies, .278 (42-109)

 

Wow. I have a brand-new Worst Team Since I Became a Fan! The previous worst as determined last year were the 2003 Detroit Tigers and there is no way this year's White Sox are going to catch them.

 

I pay little attention to the White Sox even when they're doing well, so I had to do some investigating into who was on their team. Among the guys who are active now, it's a whole lot of players from other teams. The main home-grown guys are Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Vaughn, Gavin Sheets and Garrett Crochet.

 

Everyone else is from the Mariners, Angels, Pirates, Astros, Royals, etc. It reads like a list of cast-offs. I recognize three from the Dodgers right away:

 

Poor Miguel Vargas, banished from currently the best team in terms of win percentage to the record-setting worst. (Also, lol, I have three different Jacob Amaya autograph cards).

 

The White Sox, who have already surpassed the most losses in one season in their history, have had to do some heavy-duty sucking to be 48.5 games behind in a five-team division. If they were in the NL West, they'd be 53 GB the Dodgers.

 

If the teams from the 19th century are included, the White Sox would still be in the bottom five!

 

1. 1899 Cleveland Spiders, .130 (20-134)

2. 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghanys, .169 (23-113)

3. 1889 Louisville Colonels, .196 (27-111)

4. 1897 St. Louis Browns, .221 (29-102)

5. 2024 Chicago White Sox, .223 (31-108)

6. 1886 Washington Nationals, .233 (28-92)

Maybe the White Sox can snap out of it in September and at least get past the 1886 Washington Nationals, although that .233 percentage may be a little too challenging. 🙄

OK, I hope this post doesn't jinx some team in 2025 like last year's did.