There is a harsh reality in Major League Baseball that is difficult to overlook, and Thursday's news offered a reminder of it — there are too many teams in the league that are not only bad, they are embarrassing themselves and their organizations.
They are teams that are not even pretending to make a meaningful attempt at competing.
A quick rundown of some of the news that highlights the incompetence.
Over the last seven seasons, the Pirates have spent about $200 million less in payroll than the Milwaukee Brewers.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 8, 2025
They are on a 111-loss pace as of Thursday. That would be the fourth time in six years they have played at a 100-loss pace under general manager Ben Cherington (that includes the shortened 2020 season where they were on a 100-loss pace).
There is only one reason for so many teams to be this bad, for this long. It's a lack of effort. It's a lack of seriously trying to be a competitive Major League Baseball team.
That is not a slight on the players on these rosters and is not a way of saying the players are not trying, because they are. It's just that they are not good enough to compete and are outmanned on a nightly basis against better, superior teams.
The lack of effort is coming from ownership in the form of money spent and resources, and the management teams for not putting better products on the field.
It's difficult to lose 100 games in a season. It takes a lot of things going wrong at the same time to produce that sort of failure. To have this many teams losing 100 games this often is a black eye on baseball, and these owners should be facing more heat for being bad for baseball than the owners that spend every dollar possible to try and win.
With the expanded playoff field it is easier to make the playoffs now than ever before. You can compete for a playoff spot and get in with 84-86 wins. It doesn't take that much spending and creativity to build a team capable of that. But every year there are at least three or four teams that are not even attempting to make a meaningful effort to get there.
These teams are the worst and most consistent offenders.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!