DETROIT — The 1962 Mets’ team photo was featured prominently in the Sun-Times last week, but not for a reason anyone on the 2024 White Sox wanted. You have to wonder whether the Sox’ team photo this year will make the rounds if another team threatens to break their modern-day record for losses in a season.
And whether players such as infielder Nicky Lopez, who will be associated with the team’s black mark on history, will do the kind of interviews 86-year-old former pitcher Craig Anderson of the ’62 Mets has done in recent weeks.
The Sox have used 63 players this season, seven more than their previous high last season, and everyone will have a share of the record.
‘‘I’m OK with it,’’ Lopez said. ‘‘It is what it is. Your career is going to go on, whether it’s here next year or somewhere else. The thing about this sport is it takes 26-plus people; it’s not one person.’’
Rest assured, Lopez isn’t accepting defeat and isn’t OK with losing 121 games. Responsibility for this disaster of a season reaches well above the players’ level. Every Sox player, coach and member of the front office and ownership shares in the infamy. Lopez simply accepts the reality, knowing it was a team loss.
So does right-hander Jonathan Cannon, who will start Sunday against the Tigers in the final game of this unforgettably awful season.
‘‘No one wants to be connected to something like that,’’ Cannon told the Sun-Times on Saturday, ‘‘but the reality is that we’ve all had a piece of it. We’ve all played here and done things that contributed to it one way or another. It is what it is. It stinks; it does. It’s tough.’’
Outfielder/designated hitter Gavin Sheets said the reality of it hit harder than he expected when he watched the Tigers celebrate a playoff-clinching victory Friday while the Sox were dissecting their 121st loss.
‘‘I didn’t know how I’d feel,’’ Sheets said after the 4-1 loss. ‘‘I was definitely more frustrated than I thought I would be when it happened.’’
Lopez and other players said the record wasn’t a topic of discussion in the clubhouse in recent weeks. But they learned about the ’62 Mets, some of whom, such as Anderson and Jay Hook — who combined to make 48 starts that season — were watching.
‘‘We both said we don’t wish this on any team or any player,’’ Anderson, who watched the loss Friday on TV, told the Sun-Times. ‘‘But now I’d say I’m relieved. Now the White Sox are going to have to hope somebody takes it away from them.’’
Anderson noted a major difference between the teams: The Mets were an expansion club that was beloved by fans.
‘‘The way the White Sox lost was too drastic,’’ he said. ‘‘They were a solid contender, but they gave away the farm and were getting blown out. The [general manager] should be fired.’’
Players, however, commented about the extra media attention, along with the fact that many at Guaranteed Rate Field earlier in the week were cheering for the Angels to deal the Sox the record-breaking defeat. That didn’t go unnoticed or sit well with them.
‘‘Last night after the game, we were very well-aware of what was going on,’’ Cannon said. ‘‘But the mistake would be not learning from something like this. As many negatives as there have been, there are positives to be pulled away.’’
Lopez said he won’t forget it.
‘‘Whether we won 100 or lost like we did this year, you can’t take away the dream I had of playing in Chicago,’’ said Lopez, a Naperville Central graduate. ‘‘Not a lot of people can say they played for their hometown team. I was able to live it, which was pretty special.’’