Not every team can make the playoffs or win a championship — but some don't even come close.
In the past year alone, franchises in every major league have struggled to produce a respectable product.
The Chicago White Sox are on the verge of breaking the MLB's all-time loss record, while the Oakland Athletics are potentially approaching a third straight season with fewer than 70 wins. The Carolina Panthers went 2-15 in 2023 and didn't even have the first pick due to a trade. The Detroit Pistons went 14-68, finishing 50 games worse than the eventual champion Boston Celtics. The San Jose Sharks won just 19 games in the 2023-24 NHL season.
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Which professional franchise is in the worst shape, though? "The Dan Patrick Show" debated that topic and settled on three candidates.
Chicago White Sox
What happened? It wasn't long ago that the White Sox had an exciting young core — but that optimism has been completely crushed in 2024. Chicago made the postseason in 2020 and 2021 before going .500 in 2022 and then 61-101 in 2023. The past six months have been a disaster, with the team set to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
What will happen? The immediate future doesn't look much brighter for the White Sox, who have MLB.com's No. 11 farm system. With ownership seemingly unwilling to spend on free agents, it will come down to how those prospects develop. Garrett Crochet is the standout on the MLB roster, as the 25-year-old southpaw had a standout All-Star season.
Carolina Panthers
What happened? The Panthers traded a king's ransom to get the No. 1 pick in 2023, and that backfired when they passed on C.J. Stroud for Bryce Young. The second-year QB has already been benched after a 2-15 season where they handed the No. 1 pick to the Chicago Bears. Carolina has fired its head coach in the middle of the last two seasons and has another first-time boss this season in Dave Canales.
What will happen? Young's value is at its lowest point, so it's unclear what the Panthers' best course of action is. At this moment, he appears unsalvageable — at least in Charlotte. It might be best to completely rebuild with another new quarterback, and the team will have its first-round pick in 2025. Then again, maybe Andy Dalton is here to save the day and change everything.
"After that big win against the Raiders, maybe they are back," Patrick joked.
Oakland A's
What happened? The A's have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons, including a dismal 50-112 campaign in 2023. The team has always been at or near the bottom of payroll rankings, and recent purge of stars Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman and Sean Murphy signaled that this type of stretch was coming.
What will happen? The A's are shipping out of Oakland with plans to eventually settle in Las Vegas. In the interim while their new stadium is being built, the A's will play home games in Sacramento. Even though they're moving to a bigger market and building an expensive park, it's unclear if their spending habits on players will change.
"I think if you go to Las Vegas, it's almost like you wash away everything," Patrick argued. "Like, you're a new team in a new town. We're going to find out if they're going to embrace baseball there. But I think that might be a better situation (than the White Sox). You're tapping into a whole new market there. ... I'd probably rather be Oakland (than Chicago), the artist formerly known as the A's, going to a new town with a lot of potential."
Honorable mentions
While those were the three most popular picks, the crew did discuss a few other candidates.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets were mentioned, largely due to the fact that they play second-fiddle in their home cities. Patrick said that the perpetual disappointment of the Clippers' core is what puts them in the conversation.
"It does feel like the Clippers should be in there, because the Clippers haven't done anything," Patrick said. "There have been expectations, and I know that they're a playoff team. But I saw Kawhi Leonard had another knee procedure in the offseason. It feels like the Clippers, even though they're good, should be in there because they're the great underachievers."
Another MLB franchise mentioned was the Los Angeles Angels, who have underachieved for years with Mike Trout. The club watched Shohei Ohtani leave for nothing as a free agent, join the cross-town rivals and have another MVP season.