Why the White Sox Have Hit a Historic Low at the Worst Possible Time

The White Sox are poised to make an ugly form of MLB history, and it could hardly come at a worse time for the franchise in the midst of several major business initiatives.

The club, 31–104 entering Friday’s game against the Mets, is on pace to lose 125 games this season, a figure that would surpass the league’s modern-era record of 120 set by the 1962 Mets. The White Sox have lost seven straight games, 11 of their last 12, and 37 of their last 41. During July and early August, the team also dropped 21 consecutive games to tie an American League record. 

But beyond just performing on the field at a historically poor level, the White Sox are now fighting uphill to build support across multiple parts of their business operations. Among the team’s current projects:

• A new ballpark: The White Sox announced in January plans to pursue a new stadium closer to downtown Chicago. Part of that initiative was to draw into a local tax, and do so in collaboration with the Bears, also seeking a new facility. But just as the NFL team has run into significant political obstacles in recent weeks, there is little public momentum currently behind the White Sox’ ballpark efforts.
• A new regional sports network: Less than five months after unveiling its facility aspirations, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf confirmed plans to separate from NBC Sports Chicago and form the Chicago Sports Network, or CHSN for short. The new regional sports network will air the White Sox starting next year, but begin this fall with the NBA’s Bulls, also owned by Reinsdorf, and the NHL’s Blackhawks. Development on CHSN has quietly continued this summer. But beyond the baseball team’s epic struggles, the Bulls have not won a playoff series since 2015 and have been in the postseason just once in the last seven years, and the Blackhawks have an active non-playoff streak going into its fifth season. 
• Ticket sales: Home attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field (above) for the White Sox is down by more than 18% this season, and despite operating in the No. 3 U.S. media market, the team’s per-game average of slightly more than 17,000 is the fourth worst in the league. That beats only the Rays, Marlins, and A’s—all clubs that have perennially struggled in this area. On Wednesday afternoon, the White Sox completed a game suspended by weather the previous evening. The actual turnout for those final innings numbered only in the dozens, recalling the sparse atmosphere at many MLB games during parts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On SeatGeek, MLB’s official ticket resale marketplace, seats for Friday’s White Sox game are available for as little as $7, with seats for some home games in September selling for $1 each. Of the White Sox’ final 27 games on the schedule, only nine are against teams currently with losing records.