While dealing with trade rumors over the last month, Luis Robert Jr. has said he’s ready for anything but wants to stay with the Chicago White Sox. When asked why that is after Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Robert suggested it was simply a matter of loyalty.
“This is the team that gave me the chance to play here, and we were good here for a couple years,” Robert said through Sox interpreter Billy Russo. “It’d be nice to get back to that, to have a good team and compete with this organization.” But when that will happen is anyone’s guess.
The Chicago White Sox set an MLB record for most losses before the All-Star break Saturday, dropping their 70th game in typical fashion. Shaky defense and a lack of clutch hitting led to the loss before a crowd of 20,437 lured by a muscle shirt giveaway, leaving the Sox 43 games under .500 at 27-70.
“It’s another game we had an opportunity to get this one,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “We let it slip away.” The previous record was 69 losses before the break, set by the Oakland A’s in 1979 and tied by the Baltimore Orioles in 2018.
Of course, the All-Star break has come at different times over the years, and this one is a little later than normal. The Sox will finish with 98 games played before the break after Sunday’s game, tied with the 1973 team for the most in franchise history. Still, this team went 93-69 only three seasons ago in 2021, so losing 70 games before the All-Star break is a catastr.