1962 Mets Pitchers Hope White Sox Avoid MLB Infamy

The Chicago White Sox are dangerously close to ugly MLB history as they face the New York Mets this weekend.

Aug 7, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn (25) reacts after striking out against the Oakland Athletics during the eighth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Misery loves company, and anyone still reeling from the New York Mets' maiden voyage will get to work with it this weekend.

As their playoff chase continues, the Mets (70-64) have a golden opportunity to make up some ground, facing the woebegone Chicago White Sox in a three-game holiday set at Guaranteed Rate Field that gets underway on Friday night (8:10 p.m. ET, SNY).

Chicago comes in facing dubious history; at 31-104, the White Sox are the only team eliminated from 2024 postseason contention and are just 17 losses away from setting the modern-day record for most in a single MLB season.

That mark, of course, belongs with the 1962 Mets, the debut edition of the Queens club that finished 40-120. Passing the Mets feels inevitable: Chicago has lost seven in a row, and hasn't paired consecutive wins together since late June.

But one of the few living members of that group, pitcher Craig Anderson, will be silently rooting for the White Sox over the final month of the season, hoping they avoid his Mets' fate.

"I don’t want them to break it," Anderson said in a profile from Tim Britton of The Athletic. "I want them to win at least 12 more games. I hope they do, for their sake."

Anderson, who spent three seasons of a four-year MLB career in New York, went 3-17 with a 5.35 ERA during the cursed ordeal. He was one of five Mets pitchers charged with at least a dozen losses.

The right-hander set his own brand of brutal history that season, which began a streak of 19 consecutive lost decisions to close his MLB service. Anderson recalled the experience of seeing another Met, Anthony Young, breaking it in 1993 when explaining why he didn't want to see the White Sox gain ignominous infamy.

"I didn’t want (Young) to break my record. I didn’t want to wish it on him or anyone," the 86-year-old Anderson told Britton. "That’s the way I felt then and that’s the way I feel now."

Anderson's sentiments were shared with fellow pitcher Jay Hook: according to Britton, Anderson and Hook are the only two living Mets from that team to spend all 162 games with the big club.

"It’s shattering when it’s happening to you," Hook, he of 19 losses in that season said. "I’m sure the White Sox are feeling that right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. You don’t like to go through life thinking you were part of the worst team of whatever you did."

Despite Anderson and Hook's friendly encouragement, the White Sox will have to do something unprecedented if they're going to allow the Mets to keep their stanglehold on history.

Chicago has yet to win 12 in a 27-game stretch at any point this season and the schedule is also unforgiving: beginning with this weekend's series against the Mets, the White Sox have 18 more games against teams that are either on the current playoff bracket or are within at least five games of a Wild Card spot.