The Recent History Of 100-Loss Teams

But unlike in the movies, watching a baseball team seemingly trapped in quicksand doesn't last a few scenes. It can often stretch over several years.

Of course, there is a chance the Twins avoid 100 losses. As of Thursday evening the team has 92 losses with 15 games remaining. And 100 is sort of an arbitrary number, but there is certainly a stigma against reaching triple-digit losses. It's a rare feat to accomplish, if you can call it that, and really sticks out in the standings.

It doesn't happen every season, and the Twins have only hit the century mark in losses once, losing 102 in 1982. Here's a rundown of every 100-loss team since the strike:

15: None

14: None

13: Astros 111, Marlins 100

12: Astros 107, Cubs 101

11: Astros 106

10: Pirates 105, Mariners 101

09: Nationals 103

08: Nationals 102, Mariners 101

07: None

06: Rays 101, Royals 100

05: Royals 106

04: Diamondbacks 111, Royals 104

03: Tigers 119

02: Tigers 106, Rays 106, Brewers 106, Royals 100

01: Pirates 100, Rays 100

00: None

99: None

98: Marlins 108

97: None

96: Tigers 109

95: None (144-game season)

That's 24 times it's happened, but only to 11 different franchises. So once you've lost 100, you're at high risk of doing it again. In fact, on seven different occasions in that span a team has followed a 100-loss season with another one. The Astros and Royals even managed to lose 100 in three-straight years.

In the movies, there's usually a quick fix that gets someone out of quicksand. Eventually somebody shows up with a branch, lasso or whip. Unfortunately, that's not how it works in baseball. Here's the average record of those 100-loss teams year-by-year after reaching the milestone:

First season: 67-95

Two years later: 72-90

Three years later: 77-85

Four years later: 80-82

Just two of those 24 100-loss teams managed to bounce back and have a winning record the next season. The 2003 Royals won 83 games and the 2009 Mariners won 85, but both teams finished third in their divisions.

Of course, there are success stories. Four of those 11 franchises have World Series appearances at some point since losing 100. And there's a good chance either the Nationals or Cubs will join that group this year.

The quickest turnaround to the World Series belongs to the Rays, who lost 101 in 2006 and were in the Fall Classic just two seasons later. And it only took the Tigers three seasons to go from 119 losses in 2003 to American League champs in '06.

Staying on the positive side, here's a list of some standout draft picks those 100-loss teams selected the following June: Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Gerrit Cole, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, David Price, Alex Gordon, Justin Upton, Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett.

The Twins boast a couple of the most remarkable turnarounds in baseball history, but falling all the way to 100 losses is like being neck deep in quicksand.

Hopefully the new President of Baseball Operations brings a lasso.