The Colorado Rockies lost Thursday to send their record to 8-42, the fewest games any team has won through 50 games since the MLB modern era began in 1901.
The Philadelphia Phillies completed the four-game sweep of the Rockies on the road and extended Colorado’s losing streak to five straight games. The Rockies last won on Saturday.
The loss broke the record set by the Washington Senators (now the Minnesota Twins) in 1904, when they started the year at 9-41, according to Baseball Reference. Only the 1895 Louisville Colonels started worse, with a 7-43 record, according to ESPN.
It is also a worse margin than the 2024 Chicago White Sox, who started the year 15-35 on their way to setting the record for most losses in an MLB season with 121, according to Baseball Reference. If the Rockies continue their torrid losing pace, they would end the season with a record of 26-136, which would surpass even the 1899 Cleveland Spiders that went 20-134, ESPN said.
The team entered May with five wins. Manager Bud Black was fired on May 11 following a win that put the Rockies at 7-33. The team is now led by interim manager Warren Schaeffer.
Rockies owner Dick Montfort said the firing was motivated not just by the team’s 2025 record but also by the previous two years. The team went 53-109 in 2023, its worst record in a full 162-game season, and then went 61-101 in 2024. Black, who had been manager since 2017, went 544-690 overall during his Rockies tenure.
“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better. While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary,” Montfort wrote in a statement on social media.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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