As a Detroit Tigers fan, you knew things were pretty bad up until 2006. Since 1988, baseball was pretty bleak at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park. But maybe you didn't realize just how bad.
↵With the Pittsburgh Pirates on pace to lose over 100 games this year, Steve Lombardi of Baseball Reference decided to look at how many 100-loss seasons have been suffered by major league teams since 1973. (Why 1973? That's when the author began following baseball. It also happens to be when the American League incorporated the designated hitter.)
↵So which team lost 100 games the most times over the past 37 years? The aforementioned Pirates? The Kansas City Royals? The Seattle Mariners? Nope. Think locally, Detroit fans.
↵The Tigers have five 100-loss seasons during that span, hitting triple-digit infamy in 1975, 1989, 1996, 2002 and 2003. 2003 was the year of 119 losses, you might recall. Or perhaps you'd burned that from your memory, in which case I apologize for bringing it back up.
↵Both the Royals and Mariners are next on the list, however, with four 100-loss seasons. And as bad as the Pirates have been, this year would give them three years of triple-digit losses.
↵Perhaps the most (or least) impressive aspect of the Tigers' 100-loss infamy? They've posted one of those seasons in each of the last four decades. Will they keep the streak alive in the 2010's?