Seemingly everyone in Chicago is down on the Sox right now, and with good reason. But let me tell you about the 1962 expansion New York Mets. The brand new Metropolitans started the inaugural season by losing their first nine games. After that, well it kind of went downhill.

To the National League fans in New York, who were still seething after the Giants and Dodgers abruptly left for California following the 1957 season, the Mets were a welcome sight indeed. They were losers but they were loveable ones. Almost 1 million fans packed into the old Polo Grounds that first season.

Those original Mets were made up of popular but aging stars like Gil Hodges, Gus Bell, and Richie Ashburn, and young castoffs from other teams. But if one player could symbolize this team’s strangely wonderful ineptitude, it was Marv Throneberry.

The 28-year-old former Yankee was known for making incredible physical and mental mistakes. Throneberry once hit a triple but was called out for missing first base. When Manager Casey Stengel came out to argue the ump stopped him in his tracks: “I hate to break it to you Casey, but he missed second too.”

Throneberry quickly became a fan favorite while not quite earning his nickname, “Marvelous Marv.” Never has such a bad baseball player and/or team been so beloved by so many. With a record that first year of 40-120, they are forever immortalized in the annals of baseball lore for having the worst single season record in modern baseball history.

And so, White Sox fans, take heart. And rest assured the south siders will win at least 41 games (lol). We hope.