We’ve seen plenty of bad teams in New York, but maybe none as bad as these White Sox

The White Sox are on pace to eclipse the 1962 Mets for the most losses in one season in baseball’s modern era (since 1901), and that’s the team that dealt the Yankees a jarring 12-2 loss in Monday’s series opener.

At a woeful 29-91, the White Sox’s .242 winning percentage would translate to a record of 39-123 over the 162-game schedule — or three more losses than Casey Stengel’s expansion Mets (40-120) posted in their inaugural season 62 years ago.

The 2003 Tigers came the closest to matching the Mets’ total with a 43-119 mark.

Such futility by the White Sox — who have had separate losing streaks of 14 and 21 games this season — got me thinking about some horrible teams I’ve covered in more than three decades as a New York sportswriter, some as a beat writer and others on a semi-regular basis.

Of course, I also have experienced the extreme opposite end of that spectrum, most notably as the traveling beat writer for the mighty 1998 Yankees. They won 125 games with only 50 losses that year: 114-48 in the regular season and 11-2 in the postseason, culminating in a four-game sweep of the Padres in the World Series.

The biggest challenge of covering such a runaway juggernaut was finding creative ways to describe one victory after another during extended stretches of success, the ultimate triviality in what now would be labeled a First World problem.

The antithesis for me was documenting woebegone local teams such as the 2000-01 Islanders or the 2014-15 Knicks.

That year was rock bottom record-wise for the Isles under GM Mike Milbury, a league-worst 52 points and their seventh straight season without a playoff appearance.

Incredibly, the Islanders managed a 44-point turnaround the following season under first-time coach Peter Laviolette, who took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final earlier this year.

The 2014-15 Knicks were even more disastrous, especially because coaching legend Phil Jackson was brought in as team president to put the franchise back on a championship track.

Two seasons removed from a 54-28 campaign under coach Mike Woodson, Jackson replaced him with inexperienced Derek Fisher, one of his former championship players with the Lakers, after first choice Steve Kerr spurned the Knicks for the Warriors.

With Carmelo Anthony missing half the season because of an injury, Fisher’s Knicks finished with a 17-65 record for the lowest win total in franchise history (it was matched a few years later by David Fizdale’s terrible 2018-19 squad).

Nineteen different players started games for the Knicks that season, including the likes of Lou Amundson, Alexey Shved, Travis Wear and Cleanthony Early.

At least we got a trip to London out of the initial Fisher season for a January game against the Bucks, but he was canned midway through the following year and Jackson also was fired by James Dolan in 2017.

Of course, there have been plenty of other examples of awful New York teams during my nearly 50 years as a sports fan and reporter.

The NFL teams certainly have had their share of forgettable teams, with the mid-70s Giants and the 1-15 Rich Kotite Jets in 1996 immediately coming to mind. The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season and the Giants have qualified just twice in the past 12 seasons.

The Yankee will post their 32nd consecutive winning record once this season is completed, but 1990 easily marked their worst year in franchise history with 95 losses plus George Steinbrenner’s suspension for paying a gambler named Howard Spira $40,000 to dig up dirt on All-Star outfielder Dave Winfield (hear someone even produced a good documentary about that infamous season).

There also have been numerous examples involving the Mets since the ’62 lovable losers, most notably the dark days after Tom Seaver was traded in the late 1970s and the “Worst Team Money Can Buy” in the early ’90s.

But there’s a legitimate chance, at least, that the White Sox finally will knock the expansion Mets out of the dubious record book.

Today’s back page

Quote of the day

“We have informed Haason that we will not trade him, that he is expected to be here with his teammates, and that he will continue to be fined per the CBA if he does not report. Since the trade discussions back in March we have been clear, direct, and consistent with our position. Our focus will remain on the guys we have here as we prepare for the regular season.”

— Jets GM Joe Douglas, on Monday, in response to pass rusher Haason Reddick requesting a trade, less than five months after he was acquired from the Eagles.

Reddick has been absent from training camp during a standoff with the Jets as he seeks a new contract. The Post’s Steve Serby advocates for the Jets to call Reddick’s bluff, writing of the 29-year-old Pro Bowler, “He should wake up and realize that he needs the Jets more than they need him.”

Rivalry revisited

The Braves’ recent swoon — 9-14 since the All-Star break — adds another juicy subplot to the Mets’ pursuit of an NL wild-card berth, which resumes Tuesday night against the A’s at Citi Field.

The longtime divisional rivals are separated by one game for the final playoff position in the National League with a head-to-head matchup looming Sept. 24-26 in Atlanta.

Whereas the Mets scored only one run during a three-game sweep by the Mariners over the weekend, the Braves’ recent issues mostly have been pitching related. They had posted a 5.32 ERA over the past month entering Monday’s 1-0 win in San Francisco.

While other teams also remain in contention for that final wild-card spot — the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs and perhaps still the Reds and Pirates — a late-September showdown between the Braves and the Mets would provide some additional juice to the history between the teams.

One of our own

There are plenty of reasons to be happy the U.S. women’s national team captured the Olympics gold medal in soccer, but local sportswriters have an additional reason to cheer.

Starting midfielder Sam Coffey is the daughter of Wayne Coffey, a former longtime reporter and columnist at another New York tabloid and a colleague of mine at that outlet for nearly 20 years.

Wayne and I used to trade stories about our kids’ exploits on the pitch, with my son playing collegiately at Hofstra a few years ahead of Sam. Wayne even asked me for recruiting advice a few times before she ended up at Boston College and Penn State and then in the NWSL and as a fixture on the national team.

Another cool connection here is that Sam’s sister, Alex Coffey, followed in her dad’s footsteps and is the Phillies beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A few years ago, Wayne Coffey also wrote an incredible book about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team entitled “The Boys of Winter.”

Sportswriters everywhere, and especially in New York, are elated that he and his family got to experience “The Girls of Summer” on a more personal level this month in Paris.

What we’re reading 👀

🏈 The Post published a fascinating excerpt from Ian O’Connor’s forthcoming “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers” about how ex-girlfriend Olivia Munn figures (and doesn’t) in the Jets quarterback’s estrangement from his family.

⚾ Let’s take another moment to appreciate Aaron Judge’s historic exploits at the plate this season, writes The Post’s Jon Heyman.

🏈 The transformation of the Giants’ wideout corps is headlined by rookie Malik Nabers and his “true No. 1 receiver” ceiling.

🏀 The Knicks are booked for a tasty Opening Night clash against the Celtics.

⚾ MLB and the Red Sox set the going rate for an anti-gay slur.

🏀 Dearica Hamby trying to air the Aces’ laundry is the WNBA scandal we’re not talking about.

🤸‍♀️ This whole Jordan Chiles situation is a travesty.

⛳ Please spare a thought for the golf tournament volunteers.

📻 Quite the twist of the dial for New York sports radio.

⚾ One-time Mets manager Mike Cubbage died after a battle with cancer. He was 74.