The New York Jets set an NFL record this weekend despite losing to the Bills 37-14. As ESPN.com reported:
“The Jets (5-5), coming off their bye, continued their string of inconsistent outings by becoming the NFL’s first team to alternate wins and losses through the first 10 games of the season.”
This got the VORG thinking of the baseball equivalent for this unusual circumstance. What is the MLB record for a team alternating wins and losses to start a season? To answer this, we loaded up the Retrosheet gamelogs and put each team/season in game order, then looked for W-L-W or L-W-L patterns.
We can proclaim with reasonable certainty that the 1997 Yankees hold the record at 11, as follows:
| Gm# | Date | Opp | R | RA | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday, Apr 1 | SEA | L | 2 | 4 | 0-1 |
| 2 | Wednesday, Apr 2 | SEA | W | 16 | 2 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Friday, Apr 4 | OAK | L | 2 | 4 | 1-2 |
| 4 | Saturday, Apr 5 | OAK | W | 10 | 5 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Sunday, Apr 6 | OAK | L | 0 | 3 | 2-3 |
| 6 | Monday, Apr 7 | ANA | W | 5 | 3 | 3-3 |
| 7 | Tuesday, Apr 8 | ANA | L | 9 | 10 | 3-4 |
| 8 | Wednesday, Apr 9 | ANA | W | 12 | 5 | 4-4 |
| 9 | Friday, Apr 11 | OAK | L | 1 | 3 | 4-5 |
| 10 | Sunday, Apr 13 (1) | OAK | W | 3 | 2 | 5-5 |
| 11 | Sunday, Apr 13 (2) | OAK | L | 4 | 7 | 5-6 |
Generated 11/19/2013.
The ’97 Yankees do NOT have the longest-such streak within a single season however. That record is 15 games, and it has been achieved three times:
1974 Phillies - games 52-66
| Gm# | Date | Opp | R | RA | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Tuesday, Jun 4 | ATL | L | 3 | 7 | 28-24 |
| 53 | Wednesday, Jun 5 | ATL | W | 4 | 2 | 29-24 |
| 54 | Friday, Jun 7 | CIN | L | 4 | 7 | 29-25 |
| 55 | Saturday, Jun 8 | CIN | W | 6 | 5 | 30-25 |
| 56 | Sunday, Jun 9 | CIN | L | 7 | 14 | 30-26 |
| 57 | Monday, Jun 10 | HOU | W | 12 | 0 | 31-26 |
| 58 | Tuesday, Jun 11 | HOU | L | 1 | 10 | 31-27 |
| 59 | Wednesday, Jun 12 | HOU | W | 3 | 0 | 32-27 |
| 60 | Friday, Jun 14 | CIN | L | 4 | 7 | 32-28 |
| 61 | Saturday, Jun 15 | CIN | W | 5 | 2 | 33-28 |
| 62 | Sunday, Jun 16 | CIN | L | 0 | 5 | 33-29 |
| 63 | Monday, Jun 17 | HOU | W | 7 | 5 | 34-29 |
| 64 | Tuesday, Jun 18 | HOU | L | 0 | 1 | 34-30 |
| 65 | Wednesday, Jun 19 | HOU | W | 5 | 4 | 35-30 |
| 66 | Thursday, Jun 20 | NYM | L | 1 | 2 | 35-31 |
Generated 11/19/2013.
1981 Dodgers - games 54-68, with the added bonus of it starting prior to, and continuing after the player’s strike stoppage that resulted in the “split season” disaster
| Gm# | Date | Opp | R | RA | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Sunday, Jun 7 | CHC | W | 7 | 0 | 35-19 |
| 55 | Tuesday, Jun 9 | STL | L | 1 | 6 | 35-20 |
| 56 | Wednesday, Jun 10 | STL | W | 4 | 1 | 36-20 |
| 57 | Thursday, Jun 11 | STL | L | 1 | 2 | 36-21 |
| 58 | Monday, Aug 10 | CIN | W | 4 | 0 | 37-21 |
| 59 | Tuesday, Aug 11 | CIN | L | 6 | 7 | 37-22 |
| 60 | Wednesday, Aug 12 | CIN | W | 8 | 5 | 38-22 |
| 61 | Thursday, Aug 13 | ATL | L | 1 | 9 | 38-23 |
| 62 | Friday, Aug 14 | ATL | W | 5 | 0 | 39-23 |
| 63 | Saturday, Aug 15 | ATL | L | 4 | 6 | 39-24 |
| 64 | Sunday, Aug 16 | ATL | W | 6 | 5 | 40-24 |
| 65 | Monday, Aug 17 | CHC | L | 1 | 3 | 40-25 |
| 66 | Tuesday, Aug 18 | CHC | W | 5 | 0 | 41-25 |
| 67 | Wednesday, Aug 19 | CHC | L | 3 | 4 | 41-26 |
| 68 | Friday, Aug 21 | STL | W | 4 | 0 | 42-26 |
Generated 11/19/2013.
2010 Colorado Rockies - games 106-120
| Gm# | Date | Opp | R | RA | W-L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106 | Tuesday, Aug 3 | SFG | L | 0 | 10 | 55-51 |
| 107 | Wednesday, Aug 4 | SFG | W | 6 | 1 | 56-51 |
| 108 | Thursday, Aug 5 | PIT | L | 1 | 5 | 56-52 |
| 109 | Friday, Aug 6 | PIT | W | 6 | 3 | 57-52 |
| 110 | Saturday, Aug 7 | PIT | L | 7 | 8 | 57-53 |
| 111 | Sunday, Aug 8 | PIT | W | 8 | 4 | 58-53 |
| 112 | Tuesday, Aug 10 | NYM | L | 0 | 1 | 58-54 |
| 113 | Wednesday, Aug 11 | NYM | W | 6 | 2 | 59-54 |
| 114 | Thursday, Aug 12 | NYM | L | 0 | 4 | 59-55 |
| 115 | Friday, Aug 13 | MIL | W | 5 | 4 | 60-55 |
| 116 | Saturday, Aug 14 | MIL | L | 4 | 5 | 60-56 |
| 117 | Sunday, Aug 15 | MIL | W | 6 | 5 | 61-56 |
| 118 | Tuesday, Aug 17 | LAD | L | 0 | 6 | 61-57 |
| 119 | Wednesday, Aug 18 | LAD | W | 3 | 2 | 62-57 |
| 120 | Thursday, Aug 19 | LAD | L | 0 | 2 | 62-58 |
Generated 11/19/2013.