The 1962 Mets lost 120 games under Casey Stengel, setting a major-league record for futility.
The ’97 Cubs put a lineup on the field Thursday night that featured five former All-Stars, but they lost for the 17th time in 19 games in typically bizarre fashion.
Steve Trachsel lost a no-hitter in the seventh inning, Mel Rojas blew his first save opportunity with two outs in the ninth, and the Cubs found a new way to spell defeat with a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh.
As Stengel would say: “Amazing, amazing, amazing.”
“We’ve had some tough ones in 19 ballgames,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “But it doesn’t get much tougher than that.”
How tough?
Leading 3-2 in the ninth, Rojas gave up a leadoff single to Al Martin and watched Martin advance to third on a passed ball by Tyler Houston and a second-out fly to center. He appeared to have struck out Jason Kendall on an 0-2 pitch, but umpire Bruce Froemming called it a ball, and first-base umpire Steve Rippley ruled Kendall didn’t go around.
“He swung on it,” Houston said. “The ump said he didn’t. I thought he did. It kind of snowballed from there.”
“No question,” Rojas said. “Everybody saw he swung at that pitch.”
With new life, Kendall doubled to left to tie the game 3-3, and when shortstop Rey Sanchez made a throwing error on an infield dribbler by Jose Guillen, Kendall scored the go-ahead run.
A controversial call by Rippley also preceded a first-inning Pirates run. Rippley ruled Trachsel didn’t touch first while taking a throw from Mark Grace on a Martin dribbler, although Trachsel said he “left a good mark” on the bag. The Bucs soon took a 1-0 lead when Martin was caught in a rundown as Jermaine Allensworth scored from third.
“The things that happened tonight–the last inning, the first inning–just kind of sums up the whole start of our season,” Trachsel said.
