The Baltimore Orioles have hit rock bottom.
Thanks to Monday's 5-0 loss at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Orioles not only lost their 107th game of the season - a mark that ties the 1988 edition for the worst record in team history - but also fell some 60 games behind the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.
Baltimore is now in historic territory among some of the worst teams ever. Since divisional play began in 1969, no team has ever finished a season 60 games back. It hasn't happened in either league since 1962, when the infamous New York Mets expansion team lost a modern-day record 120 games and ended up 60.5 games behind the NL champion Giants.
Modern-era misery: Teams that finished 60+ GB since 1900
| Team | Record | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 Boston Doves | 45-108 | .294 | 65.5 |
| 1932 Boston Red Sox | 43-111 | .279 | 64 |
| 1935 Boston Braves | 38-115 | .248 | 61.5 |
| 1939 St. Louis Browns | 43-111 | .279 | 64.5 |
| 1942 Philadelphia Phillies | 42-109 | .278 | 62.5 |
| 1962 New York Mets | 40-120 | .250 | 60.5 |
"I don't know, I honestly didn't have any words for it," Orioles first baseman Chris Davis said of his team's historic defeat, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. "It was embarrassing. It was frustrating. It's one of those things you never want to be associated with, but at the same time, you've got to learn how to turn the page and start somewhere."
Baltimore has another 12 games to go before the season ends, meaning the team likely needs a major surge in order to avoid finishing more than 60 games back of the Red Sox. It will be a tough road for Buck Showalter's men, though, as their final three series of the season will be against the Red Sox, New York Yankees, and defending World Series champion Houston Astros.
On Tuesday, the Orioles' will look to avoid its 108th loss of the year, which would officially set a new franchise mark in futility. The St. Louis Browns - predecessors to the modern-day Orioles franchise - lost 111 games in 1939, however the Orioles do not currently recognize the Browns in their record books.
The largest end-of-season deficit for a last-place team in MLB history continues to belong to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who finished an incredible 84 games out of first while losing an all-time record 134 games.
