Cal Alums Andrew Vaughn & Korey Lee Suffer 100th Loss With White Sox

Chicago falls to 31-100 with its 9-4 defeat to the Detroit Tigers

Andrew Vaughn rips an RBI double against the Tigers / Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Former Cal stars Andrew Vaughn and Korey Lee are part of Chicago White Sox history they won’t be inclined to share someday with their grandchildren.

With a 9-4 defeat to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, the White Sox have lost 100 games for just the sixth time in franchise history. 

At 31-100, they have back-to-back 100-loss seasons for the first time ever and they reached defeat No. 100 earlier — both in game number and date — than ever before.

Chicago is 69 games under .500 and is 44.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central division.

The White Sox have 31 games remaining and will almost certainly eclipse the franchise record of 106 losses in 1970.

The major league record for most defeats in a season is owned by the Cleveland Spiders, who were 20-134 in 1899. The modern record is 120 losses, set by the New York Mets (40-120-1) in 1962, their first year as a franchise.

The Mets reached 100 losses on Aug. 29 — four days later than these White Sox.

In MLB history, according to the Associated Press, only the 1916 Philadelphia A’s, who were 29-100-1, reached 100 losses in fewer games than the White Sox.

To avoid matching the Mets’ standard for futility, the White Sox will have to go 12-19 the rest of the way. 

Vaughn did what he could Sunday to delay defeat No. 100. He hit his team-leading 28th double and his 15th home run of the season and drove in a pair of runs, giving him 57 RBIs, best on the team. 

The 26-year-old first baseman/DH also leads the team in games played (120), runs scored (48) and hits (112). His current .246 batting average, best among regulars on the roster, is at its highest point since April 4.

Batting just .199 through May 31, Vaughn is hitting .282 over 66 games since then.

Lee, the White Sox regular catcher, did not play Sunday. Drafted out of Cal in 2019 — the same year as Vaughn — Lee is hitting .220 this season with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs.