Detroit's Mike Maroth became the first man since 1974 to lose over twenty games tonight, succumbing 10-6 to Toronto at home. Maroth helped his cause greatly by allowing eight hits and seven runs in five and two-thirds innings.

Maroth's 21 losses is the first time that plateau has been reached since four men including future Cy Young winner Randy Jones scaled it 29 years ago. Maroth could pitch two more times, and therefore could reach 23 losses for the year. The last time anyone exceeded 22 losses was Fat Jack Fisher of the Mets in 1965. The last person before that was Roger Craig of the-you guessed it-1962 inaugural Mets, the team that the Tigers are competing with for the worst record in "modern" baseball.

Here are all the players to exceed 20 losses since 1940:

The '62 Mets were 40-120 with a .250 winning percentage, 60.5 games out of first in a ten-team, no-divisions NL. The Tigers are now, thanks to tonight's loss, 38-114 with a .250 winning percentage and 45.5 games out of first in the AL Central. Detroit is pouring it on with six straight losses and only one win in the last 13 games.

Tomorrow night the Tigers will start Jeremy Bonderman, who had been mercifully removed from the starting rotation after falling to 6-18. Bonderman too could get two starts and finish with 20 losses. The last two teammates to lose twenty were-sorry!-not from the Mets. They were rubber-armed Wilbur Wood (24-20) and Stan Bahnsen (18-21), no longer burning, for the 1973 Chicago White Sox, a team that finished 77-85 though fifth in the AL West. The two teams prior to this were the 1962 and 65 Mets though. 1962 featured Roger Craig (10-24) and Al Jackson (8-20) while 1965's version was led-as in "lead" balloon-to a 50-112 record by Jackson again (again 8-20) and Fat Jack Fisher. Those are the only such 20-loss teammates in baseball since the Thirties.

The Tigers are losing at such a quick pace that each day brings a new wrinkle to their putrescence. This is a team that will inspire odes to awfulness for decades to come. I'm glad that we got a chance during the pennant races to stop and smell the reek.