How often do teams lose 100 games in the 162-game era?
Since 1961 when the American League adopted the expanded schedule and 1962 when the National League followed suit, six teams never lost 100 games: the Philadelphia Phillies; St. Louis Cardinals; Los Angeles Dodgers; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Angels; and New York Yankees.
The other 24 teams have combined for 85 100-loss seasons or an average of about 1.4 per year, though there have been more in recent years. There were four 100-loss teams this season, four last season, four in 2019 and three in 2018 after a four-year stretch (2014-17) with only one 100-loss team.
Here’s a glance at who leads the list of most 100-loss seasons since 1961:
Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (7): 1961 (61-100); 1962 (60-101); 1963 (56-106); 1964 (62-100); 1972 (54-100); 1973 (57-105); and 2021 (60-102).
New York Mets (6): 1962 (40-120); 1963 (51-111); 1964 (53-109); 1965 (50-112); 1967 (61-101); and 1993 (59-103).
Detroit Tigers (6): 1975 (57-102); 1989 (59-103); 1996 (53-109); 2002 (55-106); 2003 (43-119); and 2019 (47-114).
Kansas City Royals (6): 2002 (62-100); 2004 (58-104); 2005 (56-106); 2006 (62-100); 2018 (58-104); and 2019 (59-103).
San Diego Padres (5): 1969 (52-110); 1971 (61-100); 1973 (60-102); 1974 (60-102); and 1993 (61-101).
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (5): 1969 (52-110); 1976 (55-107); 2008 (59-102); 2009 (59-103); and 2022 (55-107).
Seattle Mariners (5): 1978 (56-104); 1980 (59-103); 1983 (60-102); 2008 (61-101); and 2010 (61-101).
Oakland Athletics (5): 1961 (61-100); 1964 (57-105); 1965 (59-103); 1979 (54-108); and 2022 (59-102)
Pittsburgh Pirates (5): 1985 (57-104); 2001 (62-100); 2010 (57-105); 2021 (61-101); and 2022 (62-100).
Baltimore Orioles (4): 1988 (54-107); 2018 (47-115); 2019 (54-108); and 2021 (52-110).
Cleveland Guardians (4): 1971 (60-102); 1985 (60-102); 1987 (61-101); and 1991 (57-105).
Miami Marlins (3): 1998 (54-108); 2013 (62-100); and 2019 (57-105);
Chicago Cubs (3): 1962 (59-103); 1966 (59-103); and 2012 (61-101).
Toronto Blue Jays (3): 1977 (54-107); 1978 (59-102); and 1979 (53-109).
Tampa Bay Rays (3): 2001 (62-100); 2002 (55-106); and 2006 (61-101).
Houston Astros (3): 2011 (56-106); 2012 (55-107); and 2013 (51-111).
Atlanta Braves (2): 1977 (61-101); and 1988 (54-106).
Arizona Diamondbacks (2): 2004 (51-111); and 2021 (52-110).
Cincinnati Reds (2): 1982 (101-61); and 2022 (62-100).
Chicago White Sox (2): 1970 (56-106); and 2018 (62-100).
Minnesota Twins (2): 1982 (60-102); and 2016 (59-103).
San Francisco Giants (1): 1985 (62-100).
Milwaukee Brewers (1): 2002 (56-106).
Boston Red Sox (1): 1965 (62-100).
