The Chicago White Sox are on pace for the second-worst season (in terms of winning percentage) in modern MLB history; following their 10-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday, their record has fallen to an atrocious 29-93, putting them on pace for around 38 to 39 wins — surpassing the ignominious mark the 2003 Detroit Tigers set for most losses in a 162-game season. With this level of putridity, there are consequences, and it appears like this 2024 season will be hurting the White Sox franchise financially.
White Sox executive vice president Brooks Boyer revealed, via ESPN, that they are decreasing season-ticket rates for next season by a “average of 10 percent”. This underscores the White Sox leadership’ understanding of the diminishing fan support throughout the bleakest season in the history of the franchise, and they envision this price-drop as a strategy to urge supporters to keep on attending games in Guaranteed Rate Field.
“We understand where all the ticket prices are — whether it’s season-ticket prices, secondary market. After looking at that, understanding where we are organizationally, we thought it was vital that it’s something that we do for our season-ticket holders who have been incredibly loyal to us,” Boyer, who is also the team’s chief revenue and marketing officer, said.
This is a logical financial choice for a team that is no manner, shape, or form suited to sell an impending future of solid baseball to White Sox fans. The front staff will be hopeful that they will not be as bad in 2025 as they’ve been in 2024, but it will be a tough idea to sell to supporters considering how weak the roster is and will continue to be in a few crucial areas.
White Sox are on pace for the worst 162-game season in MLB history
Last season, the White Sox ended 61-101 – continuing their dramatic fall. They appeared to be on path to construct a sustainable contending club after graduating a few strong prospects to begin the 2020s, but a combination of injury difficulties and unforeseen poor performances sank the team beginning in 2022, and in 2024, they have hit one lower depth after another.
It has come to the point that the streets in the South Side of Chicago are hosting (figurative) parades everytime the White Sox win a ballgame. Winning has become such a rarity that there is a hullabaloo on social media every time the White Sox manage to emerge as a victor on any given night.
But there is cause to be hopeful that this historically-bad season is a one-off. According to the current MLB.com farm system rankings, the White Sox’s prospect pipeline ranks 11th in the entire league — with left-handers Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith not too far off from joining Garrett Crochet in a rotation that’s likely to be fronted by southpaws. Shortstop Colson Montgomery and catcher Edgar Quero should give a solid backbone through the middle of the field for years to come.
The White Sox might potentially add a few more prospects to their pipeline if they transfer established talents Luis Robert Jr. or even Crochet; Robert and Crochet are under team control until 2027 and 2026, respectively, and could bring in quite the hefty haul in a trade.
But for now, the White Sox franchise has to take its fair share of limps — notably on the financial side — while they trudge along in their road back to respectability.
