The Captain's Blog

On July 5, the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2. They haven’t won since.

With Sunday’s 12-8 loss to the Red Sox, the Mariners established a franchise high 15-game losing streak, topping the old mark that was set in September 1992. In order to set the major league record for consecutive losses, however, Seattle would have to continue losing for more than another week. In 1961, the Philadelphia Phillies lost 23 straight games, which matched a similar stretch by the Pirates in 1890, so the Mariners still have a lot of work to do. A more realistic goal might be the Baltimore Orioles’ American League record of 21 consecutive defeats, which was established at the beginning of the 1988 season.

Longest Losing Streaks, Since 1876

Source: Baseball-reference.com

The Mariners make their first and only trip to the Bronx for a three-game series starting on Monday, so the Yankees will be in a position to either extend Seattle’s misery or suffer the embarassment  of helping them get of the schneid. If the latter occurs,  it would be the second time the Yankees’ franchise has had a lengthy losing streak snapped at their expense. On September 8, 1926, the Boston Red Sox picked up a 5-2 victory at the Stadium, ending their 17-game losing streak. That year, the Yankees still wound up winning the pennant, so if the 2011 team endures a similar fate, they can at least take solace in that fact.

In honor of the Mariners’ ignominious “achievement”, the longest losing streaks by each franchise are presented in the graphic below.

Longest Franchise Losing Streaks, Since 1876 (click to enlarge)

Note: White Sox lost 15 consecutive games from end of 1967 to start of 1968; Angels lost 13 consecutive games from end of 1988 to start of 1989; the Cubs lost 16 consecutive games from end of 1996 to start of 1997.
Source: Baseball-reference.com