Worst MLB Team Ever ~ The 1899 Cleveland Spiders
Worst MLB Teams by Record of All Time …
Highlighting our count with the infamous 1899 Cleveland Spiders, and based only upon MLB clubs from 1890 forward, here are the 24 worst MLB teams of all time by season record, according to the following chart from Wikipedia. If you are able to hiccup the names of cities like St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, it won’t take you long to figure out where most of them plied their weary, failing ways.
The fact that only the two best of these worst mentioned clubs had a winning percentage as high as an even .300 speaks volumes for the futility that each of the clubs on the list reaped upon the fan bases that were asked to support them as ticket buyers.
Those of you who may have studied some or all of these particular clubs and how their franchises generally took care of business will recognize many, if not all, who survived only by selling their occasional worthy players to the richer “frequent winner” teams like the New York Yankees.
Our Houston Astros now have a twice-punched ticket for their rides through “100 plus” loss-land in 2011 and 2012, but we fans are hoping that it was only the result of a disconnection somewhere that has now been put to bed.
We’re bound to see the Astros improve next season. After all, 2013 finds the Astros moving to the American League West to compete with wimps like Texas, Oakland, Los Angeles at Anaheim, and Seattle. We ought to be up to scaring the pee out of the AL too. Don’t forget. The club will be wearing brand new uniforms in 2013.
What do the 24 clubs on the list have in common beyond their shared propensity for uber-level losing? My guess is it’s that they all wore their team uniform socks fully exposed to the knees as any good baseball student knows you’re supposed to wear them.
Have fun with your own speculations.
| Season | Franchise | League | Wins | Losses | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899 | Cleveland Spiders | National | 20 | 134 | .130 | 84 |
| 1890 | Pittsburgh Pirates | National | 23 | 113 | .169 | 66½ |
| 1916 | Philadelphia Athletics | American | 36 | 117 | .235 | 54½ |
| 1935 | Boston Braves | National | 38 | 115 | .248 | 61½ |
| 1962 | New York Mets | National | 40 | 120 | .250 | 60½ |
| 1904 | Washington Senators | American | 38 | 113 | .252 | 55½ |
| 1919 | Philadelphia Athletics | American | 36 | 104 | .257 | 52 |
| 1898 | St. Louis Browns | National | 39 | 111 | .260 | 63½ |
| 2003 | Detroit Tigers | American | 43 | 119 | .265 | 47 |
| 1952 | Pittsburgh Pirates | National | 42 | 112 | .273 | 54½ |
| 1909 | Washington Senators | American | 42 | 110 | .276 | 56 |
| 1942 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 42 | 109 | .278 | 62½ |
| 1932 | Boston Red Sox | American | 43 | 111 | .279 | 64 |
| 1941 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 43 | 111 | .279 | 57 |
| 1928 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 43 | 109 | .283 | 51 |
| 1915 | Philadelphia Athletics | American | 43 | 109 | .283 | 58½ |
| 1911 | Boston Rustlers | National | 44 | 107 | .291 | 54 |
| 1909 | Boston Doves | National | 45 | 108 | .294 | 65½ |
| 1911 | St. Louis Browns | American | 45 | 107 | .296 | 56½ |
| 1939 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 45 | 106 | .298 | 50½ |
| 1937 | St. Louis Browns | American | 46 | 108 | .299 | 56 |
| 1945 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 46 | 108 | .299 | 52 |
| 1938 | Philadelphia Phillies | National | 45 | 105 | .300 | 43 |
| 1926 | Boston Red Sox | American | 46 | 107 | .300 | 44½ |
Tags: all time, worst mlb teams
The Pecan Park Eagle 
November 2, 2012 at 1:05 pm |
I give the 2013 Astros a decent chance of breaking into that list.
November 2, 2012 at 7:05 pm |
Our Astros were on a pace to crack into the all time top ten on this list, until we screwed up and played .500 ball on September. That’s why we fired the manager.
November 2, 2012 at 7:30 pm |
The Colorado Rockies are the St. Louis Browns of the 21st Century, or is it the Houston Astros?