This past weekend's series sweep by the North Side enemy Chicago Cubs over my beloved Chicago White Sox represents a new low for the Sox this season. They scored a total of two runs in the three games. As recently as last year, the White Sox offense was one of the best in baseball. Now it is one of the worst. Which got me thinking, how often does a team’s offense go that bad that fast?
The two best ways to measure an offense is by runs per game and by OPS (On-base percentage Plus Slugging average). We looked at the current year and the previous year for every team in the history of baseball. We found that if the White Sox maintain their current anemic pace on offense they will show a decline of historic proportions: the largest drop in OPS from one season to the next in the last 100 years.
| Team | Year 2 | Year 1 | OPS Difference |
| White Sox | 2007 | 2006 | -.136 |
| Pirates | 1931 | 1930 | -.124 |
| Red Sox | 1943 | 1942 | -.114 |
| Reds | 1971 | 1970 | -.107 |
| Orioles | 1972 | 1971 | -.104 |
| Red Sox | 1951 | 1950 | -.099 |
| Dodgers | 1931 | 1930 | -.098 |
| Pirates | 1952 | 1951 | -.097 |
| Tigers | 1988 | 1987 | -.097 |
| Braves | 1988 | 1987 | -.096 |
(through games of Monday, June 25, 2007)
How bad did the White Sox offense decline in one year based on runs per game? The White Sox are on pace to have the worst runs per game decline in the last 70 years.
| Team | Year 2 | Year 1 | Runs Per Game Difference |
| White Sox | 2007 | 2006 | -1.47 |
| Red Sox | 1951 | 1950 | -1.45 |
| Cardinals | 1988 | 1987 | -1.36 |
| Orioles | 1972 | 1971 | -1.33 |
| Tigers | 1941 | 1940 | -1.31 |
| Red Sox | 1943 | 1942 | -1.30 |
| Pirates | 1946 | 1945 | -1.30 |
| Brewers | 1997 | 1996 | -1.29 |
| White Sox | 1978 | 1977 | -1.28 |
| Twins | 1978 | 1977 | -1.27 |
(through games of Monday, June 25, 2007)
With little more than half the season remaining, I hope this year’s White Sox offense doesn’t go down in infamy.
P.S. That 1977-1978 White Sox drop was the 1977 “South Side Hitmen” built on several “rent-a-free-agent” players that fell off in 1978 after their “lease” expired. They were #9 in runs per game decline (down 1.28 runs) after experiencing the biggest increase in 70 years from 1976 to 1977 (up 1.57 runs per game).