Nearly three weeks ago, the Seattle Mariners were 43-43 and fairly competetive in a weak AL West; but oh have things have changed. The Mariners have gone on an epic losing streak that until yesterday, stood at 17 in a row. The Yankees failed to extend the losing streak by losing a 9-2 heartbreaker at the hands of "King" Felix and the hapless Mariners. So this latest streak in Major League Baseball set my mind to wondering about all the losing streaks that I've witnessed during my sports life, or heard about because they were so epic. So are the Top 5 losing streaks in sports history, according to The Riot!
5 – 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers (21 games in a row) – Not the worst losing streak by the amount of games lost (that distinction goes to the Cavs of the early 80’s with a 24 game streak that lasted two seasons) but definitely by the amount of pain the city of Cleveland and Cavs fans had to endure during it. Not only did Cavs fans have their heart ripped out by one LeBron James, but then they turned out to be barely a pro squad. At times during this streak it looked as if I could field a pick-up squad from my gym and push the Cavs to the limit. Also consider that this very team plus LBJ won 61 games the season prior to the streak. Hey look at it this way, “The Streak” was nowhere near as painful as “The Decision” and just as unwatchable.
4 – 2011 Seattle Mariners (17 games in a row)- I feel like at the beginning of the season the Texas Rangers were favored to win this division but not easily. I also feel that most people felt that the A’s, the Angels and the Mariners were all on a level playing field. The Mariners were on many lists before the 2010 season to be a dark horse team, and many thought that after a poor showing in 2010 that maybe this year would be that year. Guess what? It’s not. Yesterday the Mariners finally snapped their 17 game losing streak by beating the Yankees behind ace “King” Felix. It’s hard to fathom that a team with an Ace the caliber of Felix Hernandez could ever lose 10 games in a row, let alone 17. That’s at least 3 of his starts that were lost. I guess upon further review, these teams are on a level playing field; the A’s just suffered through a 10 game losing streak in June. The reason that this streak is so bad is because the Mariners were 43-43 when it began; maybe not contenders but at least respectable. Now, not so much.
3 – 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets (30 winless games in a row) – As much as I love the Winnipeg Jets, I had to throw this streak in because it is mind numbing. The Jets in 1980-81 won their first game of the season in game #3, they wouldn’t win again until game #34. That’s 30 consecutive games without a victory. Now in hockey you have ties, so that fact may have saved the Jets from going down in infamy as the worst losing streak ever. The Jets went 0-23-7 in that period with a legit 10 game losing streak to close out the streak. I was only four years old when this streak took place, but as a loyal follower of the Winnipeg Jets I still feel the pangs of this streak; it is brutal. Out of those 30 games the Jets allowed 5 goals or more 18 times, and 7 or more goals 8 times; these games weren’t even close.
2 – 1988 Baltimore Orioles (21 games to start the season) – What a horrendous way to start a season. Any losing streak to start a season is terrible, but 21 games? That is impossible to come back from. It’s no wonder this team went on to lose 107 games, after the first month of the season they were 16 games out of first; SEASON OVER. And with a team with veterans like Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken, the expectations were definitely better than 54 wins. The streak has gone down as one of the legendary moments in baseball history. I remember it being a Sports Illustrated cover, and it being the lead story on ESPN “SportsCenter” every night. The streak consumed all facets of sports and pop culture at the time; president Ronald Reagan called manager Frank Robinson on the phone after the 18th straight loss and gave him some encouraging words and fans and supporters flooded the Orioles with telegrams (those were the texts of the day) and phone messages encouraging the O’s to get it done; they lost 4-2 to the Twins that very night. I guess didn’t have the magic touch when it came to baseball. The streak even got to the then GM of the O’s, Roland Hemond, when he busted out the lucky grey suit that he wore when his Chicago White Sox clinched the AL West crown in 1983; it didn’t work, the O’s dropped another 4-2 decision to the Twins to break the American League record for continuous futility with their 21st consecutive loss. The agony finally ended when the O’s thumped the White Sox 9-0.
1 - 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (26 games in a row) – What a way to start a franchise, with an 0-14 season. The first team to go winless in a 14 game season ever. They were outscored 125-412, and lost by 7 points or more in all but 3 games and lost by 20 points or more 8 times. To add insult to injury, they were shut out 5 times and lost the first two games in franchise history by a combined score of 43-0. Here’s what makes this streak the worst ever; it didn’t end at 0-14. They began the next season by going 0-12; that’s right a 26 game losing streak when it was said and done. A 26 game losing streak in the NFL is a 15 month losing streak; the Bucs played their first game on September 15th, 1976, and didn’t win until December 11th, 1977. Let’s put it this way, I wasn’t outside the womb when the Bucs lost their first game, but I was a year old when they won their first: it’s a long time dude. Things that happened in the amount of time it took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win their first game:
*I was born and aged a year(obviously most important)
*Two World Series Champs were crowned (The Reds and The Yanks)
*One and a Half NHL and NBA Seasons were played
So that's the list. If I missed an epic streak that you think should've been included, yell at me; thesportsriot@yahoo.com.
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