The 1962 Mets were inafmous for their ineptitude, a 25-man non-stop blooper highlight reel led by the great and eccentric Casey Stengel. Their mark of 120 losses in one season gifted baseball with its gold standard for incompetence, as well as some of the game's most memorable quotes.
Fast forward to Sept. 22, 2003. The Detroit Tigers, managed by hall-of-fame shortstop and lifetime Tiger player Alan Trammel, are on a 10-game losing streak. They've just lost game #118, setting an American League record. To add to their woes, Alan Trammel's mother dies suddenly that same day. And the end of the season is 6 games away...
The 2003 Tigers have none of the 1962 Mets' larger than life aura to rescue them, and attempts to apply the emergency brakes are failing fast. The only way to avoid baseball infamy in the week ahead is to win 5 of their last 6 games aganist 2 good teams: the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins.
In the words of actor Owen Wilson to Jackie Chan (Shanghai Knights):
bq. "What in our history together makes you think I'm capable of something like that?"
Yet the Tigers refuse to go down without a fight. Manager Alan Trammel:
bq. "In light of my situation, it will be difficult to come back, but I will... I'm going to continue to stand here and be accountable."
Mike Maroth, the first pitcher in 23 years to lose 20+ games, vows to remain in the starting rotation. Following his manager's example, he continues to refuse suggestions that he bow out to protect his statistics. On Sept. 23 he wins, and the team snaps its 10-game losing streak. The Tigers' encore accomplishes the impossible, winning exactly 4 of their next 5, including a season-ending win for none other than Mike Maroth. His final Won-Lost record: 9-21. The 2003 Detroit Tigers' final record: 43-119.
bq. "Never quit. Never give in to anything great or small. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit." (Winston Churchill)
Congratulations to the 2003 Tigers. The team that never quit.
As a lifelong Mets fan, I'm relieved. 42-120 is our record, dammit!
Actually, I'd argue that despite having one fewer loss than the Mets, the Tigers are a worse team. Among the reasons: they were playing a much easier schedule than the Mets did, due to the unbalanced schedule and playing in the weakest division in baseball. The Mets were an expansion team, with the most restrictive expansion draft rules baseball ever used, had no ability to free agents, and had to sign their own amateur players, instead of taking part in a competition-avoiding amateur draft. They were also playing in what was the stronger league at the time, because the NL was much more aggressive in signing African-American players in the 1950s. (In fairness, though, they did get to play another expansion team.) And it isn't like the Tigers have an owner who's broke or completely unwilling to spend money - he's spent lots of money on the Red Wings.
No matter what Bud Selig says, there's more competetive balance in baseball today than in the past, and having such a bad record is a more significant accomplishment in 2003 than in 1962.