Angels in position to challenge an MLB record — not a good one

This is no longer a small sample size: With the first third of the season complete, the Angels have put themselves in position to challenge a major league record for futility.

It is not that they have the worst home record in MLB this season. It is that, by winning percentage, they have the worst home record of any MLB team in 85 years.

The Angels are competitive on the road. Their record away from Angel Stadium: 14-14.

Their record after a loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday at Angel Stadium: 6-19, a winning percentage of .240. The only team with a worse percentage over a full season, according to StatMuse: the St. Louis Browns, whose home winning percentage was .234 (18-59) in 1939.

Two years later, the Browns nearly moved to Los Angeles. In 1954, they moved to Baltimore and renamed themselves the Orioles.

The manager of those 1939 Browns: Fred Haney. In 1961, when the Angels joined MLB as an expansion team, they hired Haney as general manager.

Read more: Jo Adell’s spectacular catch can’t save Angels from being swept by Cleveland

This season’s Angels are on pace to win 19 home games. Since the 162-game schedule was adopted in 1961, no major league team has won fewer than 22 home games in a season.

The Angels’ plight might get worse before it gets better. On Tuesday, they start a three-game home series against the New York Yankees, the team with the most victories in the American League.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.