It took 62 years for a team to surpass the modern record of 120 losses.
The new mark of 121 might fall a little quicker.
When Colorado routed San Diego 9-3 on Sunday — a “that's baseball” moment if there ever was one — the Rockies improved their record to 7-33. That's still just one game better than the worst 40-game start in modern history, set by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles.
Those Orioles famously started the season 0-21, and this year's Rockies just experienced those two numbers in reverse — in the 21-0 loss they took against the Padres on Saturday. Even after rebounding with a win Sunday, the Rockies fired manager Bud Black.
When the Chicago White Sox went 41-121 last year, they were outscored by 306 runs over the whole season. Colorado has played less than a fourth of it and is already at minus-128.
Last year's White Sox were 12-28 after 40 games, but they had losing streaks of 14, 21 and 12 still to come. Even then, they only broke the record for losses (set by the 1962 Mets) and not the one for the lowest winning percentage.
So it takes a lot to approach that many losses, but right now baseball is in an era when terrible teams are common. Since the 162-game schedule was introduced in 1961, there have been 14 teams that finished with at least 110 defeats. Half of them played in the past dozen years: the 2013 Astros (51-111), the 2018 and 2021 Orioles (47-115 and 52-110), the 2019 Tigers (47-114), the 2021 Diamondbacks (52-110), the 2023 Athletics (50-112) and the 2024 White Sox.
So in that sense, this year's Rockies fit right in.
Of the other seven teams since 1961 that lost at least 110 games, five were expansion teams that hadn't yet been around long: the 1962, 1963 and 1965 Mets (40-120, 51-111 and 50-112), the 1969 Expos (52-110) and the 1969 Padres (52-110).
Who were the only two teams to lose at least 110 games between 1970 and 2012?
Three days before Black was fired, Pittsburgh replaced manager Derek Shelton with Don Kelly. The Pirates are 14-27. They even have a losing record (3-5) in the eight games Paul Skenes has pitched.
Now that Black and Shelton are out, it's hard to think of another manager on an immediate hot seat unless Baltimore decides to move on from Brandon Hyde. The Orioles have been a colossal disappointment at 15-24, although they've at least made the postseason the last two years under Hyde, whereas the Pirates and Rockies were faced with failure over multiple seasons.
Otherwise, most of the teams under .500 were either expected to be there (Angels, White Sox, Nationals, Marlins), have new managers (White Sox, Reds, Marlins) or have skippers who have long since proven themselves as some of the game's most respected managers (Rangers, Rays, Reds).
The Brewers (20-21) have slipped after winning the division last year, but manager Pat Murphy is in only his second season. Atlanta stumbled at the start this year but has now won 14 of its last 22.
Jasson Dominguez of the New York Yankees hit three home runs and drove in seven runs Friday against the Athletics. The 22-year-old Dominguez became the youngest player in franchise history with a three-homer game, beating Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio's record by 109 days.
Down 5-1 with two outs in the eighth, Philadelphia began its rally with a three-run homer by Bryson Stott. Then in the ninth, the Phillies tied it against Tampa Bay reliever Pete Fairbanks.
Philadelphia went on to win 7-6 in 10 innings Thursday night. The Phillies' win probability was down to 1.9% in the eighth inning according to Baseball Savant.
The 2003 Tigers (43-119) and 2004 Diamondbacks (51-111).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black, left, takes the ball from starting pitcher Bradley Blalock, right, who is pulled from the mound after giving up a two-run home run to San Diego Padres' Jason Heyward in the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Juan Mejia reacts after giving up a three-run home run to San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 10, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
