Have Cubs Become The Worst Baseball Team In Chicago?

The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox are in a race to the bottom.

Jul 3, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ in the dugout. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have been playing terrible baseball for so long now, they're starting to resemble the Chicago White Sox.

The Cubs lost again on Wednesday night, falling 5-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. They blew multiple leads, unraveling late in the game and squandering another quality start from Shota Imanaga.

It was the third straight loss for the Cubs, dropping them nine games below .500. Just a few days after Justin Steele implored his teammates to "wake the (bleep) up!", they have apparently gone back to sleep.

The Cubs being this bad seemed unfathomable just two months ago. They started 17-9 and led the NL Central in early May. Now they're in last place and considering blowing things up at the trade deadline.

Since walking off the Atlanta Braves on May 21. the Cubs have gone 12-26 with 138 runs scored. During the same period, the White Sox have gone 10-29 with 140 runs scored.

I get asked a lot if this is the worst Chicago sports has ever been.
The answer is yes.

The ‘24 #Cubs & #WhiteSox, along w/ completed #Bears, #Bulls, & #Hawks seasons have combined for a 132-216-6 record.

The .381 win % is far worse than the previous record of .412 in 98-99.

— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) July 3, 2024

The difference is that the White Sox were supposed to be bad. They lost 101 games last year and are on pace to lose even more this year. They have the worst record in baseball by a considerable margin.

The Cubs, on the other hand, were supposed to be good, or at least halfway decent. After winning 83 games last year, they brought in Craig Counsell from the Milwaukee Brewers, re-signed Cody Bellinger and added Shota Imanaga to the rotation. They had dreams of winning the division, or at least the Wild Card.

Now, those dreams are at the bottom of Lake Michigan. The Cubs are doing their best White Sox impression, and it's working. Both teams are currently in last place and seem likely to stay there.

It's been a tough year for Chicago baseball fans. Both of their teams have been awful, mired by bad baserunning, sloppy fielding, inept hitting, poor injury luck and shaky pitching. They're not just bad -- they're tough to watch.

Both will likely get worse, too, if they sell at the trade deadline. The White Sox could move on from Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet, while the Cubs could part ways with Bellinger, Ian Happ and/or Jameson Taillon. If fans think these teams are bad now, just wait.

The Cubs should end up with a better record than the White Sox, but perhaps not by much. Football season can't come soon enough in the Windy City.