Cincinnati Reds: How rare are 100-loss seasons in Major League Baseball?

With only two 100-loss seasons in 162-game era, Reds don’t rank among leaders in franchises that have hit that milestone

The Cincinnati Reds joined the 100 Club for the first time in 40 years in emphatic fashion, falling 15-2 to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in the final game of the 2022 season.

It goes down as the second 100-loss season for the Reds, who finished 62-100, and their first since a 61-101 season in 1982.

How often do teams lose 100 games in the 162-game era?

Since 1961 when the American League adopted the expanded schedule and 1962 when the National League followed suit, six teams never lost 100 games: the Philadelphia Phillies; St. Louis Cardinals; Los Angeles Dodgers; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Angels; and New York Yankees.

The other 24 teams have combined for 85 100-loss seasons or an average of about 1.4 per year, though there have been more in recent years. There were four 100-loss teams this season, four last season, four in 2019 and three in 2018 after a four-year stretch (2014-17) with only one 100-loss team.

Here’s a glance at who leads the list of most 100-loss seasons since 1961:

Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (7): 1961 (61-100); 1962 (60-101); 1963 (56-106); 1964 (62-100); 1972 (54-100); 1973 (57-105); and 2021 (60-102).

New York Mets (6): 1962 (40-120); 1963 (51-111); 1964 (53-109); 1965 (50-112); 1967 (61-101); and 1993 (59-103).

Detroit Tigers (6): 1975 (57-102); 1989 (59-103); 1996 (53-109); 2002 (55-106); 2003 (43-119); and 2019 (47-114).

Kansas City Royals (6): 2002 (62-100); 2004 (58-104); 2005 (56-106); 2006 (62-100); 2018 (58-104); and 2019 (59-103).

San Diego Padres (5): 1969 (52-110); 1971 (61-100); 1973 (60-102); 1974 (60-102); and 1993 (61-101).

Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (5): 1969 (52-110); 1976 (55-107); 2008 (59-102); 2009 (59-103); and 2022 (55-107).

Seattle Mariners (5): 1978 (56-104); 1980 (59-103); 1983 (60-102); 2008 (61-101); and 2010 (61-101).

Oakland Athletics (5): 1961 (61-100); 1964 (57-105); 1965 (59-103); 1979 (54-108); and 2022 (59-102)

Pittsburgh Pirates (5): 1985 (57-104); 2001 (62-100); 2010 (57-105); 2021 (61-101); and 2022 (62-100).

Baltimore Orioles (4): 1988 (54-107); 2018 (47-115); 2019 (54-108); and 2021 (52-110).

Cleveland Guardians (4): 1971 (60-102); 1985 (60-102); 1987 (61-101); and 1991 (57-105).

Miami Marlins (3): 1998 (54-108); 2013 (62-100); and 2019 (57-105);

Chicago Cubs (3): 1962 (59-103); 1966 (59-103); and 2012 (61-101).

Toronto Blue Jays (3): 1977 (54-107); 1978 (59-102); and 1979 (53-109).

Tampa Bay Rays (3): 2001 (62-100); 2002 (55-106); and 2006 (61-101).

Houston Astros (3): 2011 (56-106); 2012 (55-107); and 2013 (51-111).

Atlanta Braves (2): 1977 (61-101); and 1988 (54-106).

Arizona Diamondbacks (2): 2004 (51-111); and 2021 (52-110).

Cincinnati Reds (2): 1982 (101-61); and 2022 (62-100).

Chicago White Sox (2): 1970 (56-106); and 2018 (62-100).

Minnesota Twins (2): 1982 (60-102); and 2016 (59-103).

San Francisco Giants (1): 1985 (62-100).

Milwaukee Brewers (1): 2002 (56-106).

Boston Red Sox (1): 1965 (62-100).

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