Could the 2022 Cincinnati Reds be as bad as the Cleveland Spiders in 1899?

Bad baseball teams come and go, but one ball club has stood the test of time to be generally considered the worst in baseball history: 1899 Cleveland Spiderswho lost 134 of 154 games during the franchise period The last season of existence. in between many stats “exploitsThe Spiders had six separate double-digit loss streaks (including one lasting 24 games) and lost 40 of their last 41 games to conclude the season. In the more than 120 years since, no MLB team has challenged Cleveland’s astonishing record of inefficiency.

But the 2022 Cincinnati Reds are trying that. with only Three wins and 19 losses To start the new season, Cincinnati’s win percentage (.136) is shockingly close to the Spiders 130 marks from 1899. Almost all of the senior team players are off to a terrible start to the year – and that’s it When they play at all. If the Reds can’t turn things around soon, they could be looking at the worst season in franchise history traces its roots To the first era of the major leagues.

Competitive balance was a major concern at the time, with 19th century teams today littering all-time rosters better And worst Seasons by winning. may regret The current age of tanksbut it’s impossible to imagine letting a modern CEO do what Frank and Stanley Robson, owners of the Spiders did before the 1899 season: they bought Secondly team (who would eventually become the St. Louis Cardinals) and traded virtually all of Cleveland’s best players with St. Louis, considering the latter was a stronger market to attend (and that it would be Let them play on Sunday).

The resulting list of spiders was as bad as it gets. In fact, it was so unwatchable that after a few small residences in Cleveland during the first half of the season, The Spiders had to play Almost all the rest of their games On the road. (The opponents refused to come to Cleveland because their share of the Gate’s revenue was too low.) As if this nomadic existence does not guarantee enough failure, Stop paying spiders In the second half of the season.

Against all that, who can blame Cleveland The so-called Misfits To incur a lot of losses?

Since the beginning of the modern two-legged structure in 1901, it has become Worst AL or NL teams At least 17 wins (per 162) is better than Spider’s proportional record. It’s hard to believe that there could be a team so much worse than, say, New York Mets expansion – “Can’t anyone here play this game?” Ask Casey Stingel in 1962 (The answer was, “No”) – the spiders’ futility was very real. These days, it is well accepted that no contemporary team can come close to this kind of cursed season.

The Reds are also unlikely to do so by the time all is said and done. Keep in mind that during its poor 3-19 start to the season, Cincinnati has a differential of -3.0 points per game. Although this is too bad ( Ranked last in MLB by a large margin), still much better than Cleveland mark -4.7 In 1899. Likewise, the 1899 spiders Pythgory win percentage The .169, which equates to an expected 27 wins per 162, while the Pythagorean Reds has a win ratio of .227, is good for around 37 predicted wins per 162—still terrible, but at least somewhat better than the Cleveland. And in more good news for Cincinnati, overseas records Early in the MLB season Trend to Falls back hard to average during the remainder of the year.

All this is the reason we exist Elo . Prediction Model Calling Sensei a bad 69-93 finish – but not historically terrible – he somehow even gives the team a 4 percent chance of making the playoffs.

However, once season 3-19 began, the Reds were in for a tough club (which also includes, you guessed it, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders). Since 1871, throughout the entire history of various non-negro gangs Big Championships – for us Elo’s data Does not contain nigger patrols distance – Only 16 teams have had three wins or less in their first 22 decisions in a season:

At the age of 3-19, Cincinnati started the season just like the Spiders. But both of them at least avoided the stigma 1988 Baltimore Orioleswho found a way Losing 21 games in a row to start the season. (Amazingly, O’s was over .500 Only a few seasons ago, and they would have done it Back to being good again Next year. But in 1988, Nothing went right In Baltimore—something you can relate to Cincinnati this season.)

Reds can be associated with spiders on another level. Although owner Bob Castellini didn’t pull his best players to another team he owns, he saw Cincinnati’s turn We separated from many of them (including Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker, Sonny Gray, Wade Miley, Tucker Barnhart and Prince Garrett) during the Office season. To make matters worse: Phil, Castellini’s son, who is the team leader, Went on a radio interview and threatened to “capture [the team] and moved it to another place.”

“Pay attention to what you order,” said Phil Castellini. “I think we’re doing our best with the resources we have.”

Again, the Robson Brothers weren’t saying they’d manage the unfortunate spiders K “side viewand then complain about Lack of attendance. But Cincinnati’s impressive team moves were enough to motivate the Reds fans to do so Protest Just outside the Great American Ball Park. Like Jared Diamond from The Wall Street Journal put itthe Reds ‘offseason'[left] Longtime base player Joey Foto with more than just a glorified Triple A squad around him.”

Votto is one of the The best players in franchise historybut he is also 38 years old and He’s going through his worst season in the dish. With him struggling, there wasn’t much left to keep Cincinnati competitive anymore. Jonathan India, second base player of the spectrum NL’s Rookie of the Yearshe has often injuredWhile defensive player Tommy Pham is Several seasons removed One of his best years. Beginners Tyler Mahley and Luis Castillo (also Rehabilitation from injury) maybe uh and maybe not Be the taste of tradeAnd while he is a novice pitcher Hunter Green electrified to watch, his fiery reproduction did not translate into superior stats. (Greene’s ERA and independent field promotion Both More than 40 percent worse than average).

Despite all of this, the Reds would undoubtedly finish the season better than the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Modern baseball may have outrageous tanks, but there are enough baffles to the competitive balance to prevent current teams from courting a 130 percent win. But the fact that, after 22 games of the season, we can even compare the two of them speaks volumes about how far the Red Devils have fallen — and how tough things can reach baseball fan bases 123 years after the Robson Brothers ran one of their franchises straight into the ground.

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