Each player's total points are later adjusted based on league averages, both with regards to average defensive performance, and with regards to how many runs a "point" equates to.[7]. Early in his career with the Texas Rangers, Sierra quickly fell out of favor when he concentrated solely on hitting, completely ignoring any effort to even practice defensively. For example, if a ball hit to the center fielder is expected to be caught 30 percent of the time, the fielder will lose .3 points if he does not catch it, or will gain .7 points if he does catch it. worst defensive runs saved all time ingredient in ice cream that causes diarrhea 3, 2022 how old was zacharias janssen when he died on worst defensive runs saved all time It's a shame the rule wasn't in place earlier; the DH position was truly made for Howard. Howard spent the last year of his career as a DH in 1973, the first year the DH was in place. As mentioned before, catcher Mike Piazza might not quite be regarded as the worst defensive catcher in historybut he's pretty darn close. The last third baseman to put up equally putrid numbers was Ryan Braun in 2007 (-32 in comparable innings). Adrin Beltr recorded the most defensive runs saved in Major League Baseball during the 2003-2021 seasons. Since outfields are historically set up with center field as the best defensive player of the three positions, there aren't a lot of "bad" center fielders to pick from. In baseball statistics, defensive runs saved ( DRS) measures the number of runs a player saved or cost his team on defense relative to an average player. Escobar, who signed with the Mets with a reputation as a decent defensive third baseman, finished with a career-worst -11 Defensive Runs Saved at third base in 2022. Torres has always been considered a plus defender, he just needs some seasoning (hes also new to 2B). In his first few seasons with the Yankees, Gary Sanchez was as bad at blocking pitches behind the plate as almost anyone in the modern history of baseball. UZR thinks this years Phillies have been very bad, but not exactly record-level bad. Mike Zunino*. They did, however, cost him being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. It's also interesting that all 10 seasons here occurred since 1990, which is a reflection of more data available to grade defense. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. The power that Kingman generated with his body hindered him greatly in the field. On the other hand, the Braves arrived a year or so ahead of time. Manager Buck Showalter told Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com that they had every intention of sticking with Reynolds at third. He tried first base, third base, outfield and even catcher. Kids, this is what happens when you don't work on your defense in practice. At the time, the Phillies told themselves Santana was too good of a deal to pass up. In one sense, the offseason might be easy. Teams: Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (199293, 2011), Boston Red Sox (1995), Oakland Athletics (19962000), Chicago Cubs (2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), Kansas City Royals (200406), Texas Rangers (2006), Detroit Tigers (2006), Toronto Blue Jays (200708), Philadelphia Phillies (200809), San Diego Padres (2010), Stats: 3,414 chances, 3,159 putouts, 215 assists, 40 errors. Teams: Cleveland Indians (1991, 2001), Houston Astros (1992-94), Cincinnati Reds (1994-2000), Stats:5,411 chances, 5,003 putouts, 343 assists, 65 errors. Let's just get this out there right nowshortstop Julio Lugo was not Ozzie Smith. Hall of Famer Warren Spahn is tied with another player on our list, Hippo Vaughn, as the only two pitchers to have led the league in errors five different seasons. [fn]John Dewan, The Fielding Bible, Volume II (Skokie, Ill.: ACTA Sports, 2009), 11-4. Polanco was the American League starter at shortstop in the 2019 All-Star Game just one year after a lengthy suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and his fielding statistics should be alarming for Twins fans. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. On the flip side, the worst fielders usually finish around -15 or -20 Defensive Runs Saved. He had poor range -- 1.77 plays per nine innings compared to the 2.00 MLB average -- and also tossed in 13 errors. He didn't get much practice. Rdef. Willie Mays, on the other hand, was arguably the best defensive outfielder ever. There are, of course, 30 teams. Farewell to a Mariners legend. His overall defense has suffered as well. And his TZR allowed were among some of the highest in his career after the move, although he did finish his career with 412 home runs. It was a league custom. Did he deserve those Gold Glove Awards? Officially, the Braves have sewn up the NL East, after having completed a four-game weekend sweep of the Phillies. A third defensive metric that I'll mention in the piece below is ultimate zone rating, available at FanGraphs. As a hitter, Babe Herman had an outstanding career, hitting .324 in 13 seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers. It's one reason why Long had a .978 career fielding percentage playing center field with 21 errors. They also rank 19th in actual wOBA on contact, with the second-greatest difference between the numbers in the league. Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. Sandwiched around this all-time bad season are two Gold Glove honors in 2009 and 2011. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Teams: Cincinnati Reds (2005-09), Toronto Blue Jays (2009-16), Cleveland Indians (2017-18), Seattle Mariners (2019), New York Yankees (2019), Chicago White Sox (2020), Stats: 5,914 chances, 4,415 putouts, 1,355 assists, 144 errors. His total zone runs allowed over those two years was a staggering -68, including 14 errors and a .956 fielding percentage in 2008. So spare me. Hawpe was consistently ranked as one of the poorest outfielders in baseball in his prior eight seasons, according to just about every defensive metric available. Santanas been a useful first baseman, and Hoskins has been a useful left fielder. Why is Eduardo Escobar a defender to watch in 2023? The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? The four Golden Gloves he won were a joke his total zone runs allowed were in double digits for two of those seasons. He was a five-time World Series champion. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Just to give some kind of a clue at just how bad Marv Throneberry was as a fielder, former manager Casey Stengel, who Throneberry played for with the expansion New York Mets, said to Throneberry on his birthday, "We was going to get you a birthday cake, but we figured you'd drop it.". Nick Castellanos, 3B, 2014 Tigers (minus-30). Even this article gives a huge nod to the great caveat that must be uttered when serious people meet to discuss these advanced metrics. Knoblauch makes the list for throwing problems that dogged his career starting in 1998, where he inexplicably came down with one of the more famous cases of the "yips" or "Steve Sax Syndrome" in baseball history. In other words, theyve been even worse than just Outs Above Average would indicate. Kemp also had just three assists in 2010 compared to 14 in 2009 and 11 in 2011. Statistic Description: Defensive Wins Above Replacement for position players A defensive measure of wins above replacement, but given only the defensive stats of the player and his position adjustment. In theory, the Phillies might not end up in last place. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Fielding percentage is the statistic that has traditionally been used to measure defensive ability,[6] but it fails to account for a fielder's defensive range. Lets not forget hes 21 years old. He didn't make his major league debut until he was 26 years old and ended up pitching in the majors until he was 40 years old. He was marginally better at second, and even a little better at first, but his original time at shortstop was certainly memorable for all the wrong reasons. However, at the major league level, while Jolley could hit a bit, he was clearly one of the most challenged players in the history of the game. Nobody talks about errors. Torres at SS and Andujar at 3B is the worst left side of an infield (defensively) since Yuniesky Betancourt and Wilson Betemit for the 2010 Royals. But for now, just focus on the Phillies. Part of Manny Ramirez's appeal was somehow his struggles in the field. We want to give Matt Stairs all the props we can before we run him down, because he owns some pretty amazing major league records. Many regard defense to be the most important attribute for the catcher position, and that certainly can't be argued. Theres no reason for them to have a bias. But, knowing what they know now, the Phillies presumably wouldnt choose to repeat this. Which kind of overshadows the fact that he's been shoehorned into all three outfield spots, first base and third base throughout his career trying to find the right fit to mask his shortcomings fielding the ball. One of the more infamous players in baseball history, Jose Canseco had fielding woes that went way beyond when he misplayed a foul ball in 1993 that bounced off his head for a home run. Chuck Knoblauch had a pretty amazing career on paper. Through the end of the 2021 MLB season, the highest DRS recorded in a single season was by shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who had a DRS of 41 in 2017, while the lowest DRS recorded in a single season was by center fielder Matt Kemp, who had a DRS of -33 in 2010.[10]. All rights reserved. Ryan Braun, 3B, 2007 Brewers (minus-32). MLB - 2022. Gold Glove Awards: 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), Stats: 4,823 chances, 4,710 putouts, 65 assists, 48 errors. Only 17 errors for his career is pretty respectable, but only 23 assists is the opposite. Be honest, please. But here's the thing you need to remember: .312 lifetime batting average, 555 home runs, 2,574 hits and 1,831 RBI. Very obviously, when a team collapses, several components have to be involved. And yet Phillies non-pitchers have a combined wRC+ of just 98, which is two points below average. Errors are discssued every freakin game. Johnnie LeMaster seemed to sum up Giants fans' feelings toward him and his fielding when he took the field at Candlestick Park during a July game in 1979 with "BOO" on the back of his jersey instead of his name. What's strange is the lowest of his per position totals was at third base, where it was -12. McLouth was pretty much below average playing in the outfield his entire career. It's tough to separate Derek Jeter from his place as one of the worst defensive shortstops of all time statistically because he won five Gold Gloves and his hustle play in the 2001 ALCS against the A's is one of the greatest defensive plays of all time. Fastballs were Ryan's forte; ground balls weren't. "We think Mark is a lot better than he's shown statistically. Rob Picciolo wasn't a terrible fielding shortstop overall. No teams pitchers have been worse, while the catchers have also combined to be a problem. And yet, Phillies pitchers have ranked 26th in baseball in actual wOBA allowed, while Braves pitchers have ranked third. In all fairness, Adam Dunn could've made this list at several different positions, we just picked left field because that's where he had the most starts. His defensive WAR and total zone runs allowed are bad, but not as bad as they probably should be. I thought it would be about Gleyber Torres. What else do you need to know? Groom's fielding percentage hovered around or below .900 for most of his career and finished at an atrocious .940 in 13 seasons. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1983-89), New York Mets (1989), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-92), Kansas City Royals (1992, 1995), Cincinnati Reds (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994-95), Toronto Blue Jays (1996-98), Stats: 7,048 chances, 3,572 putouts, 3,288 assists, 188 errors. Teams: Cincinnati Reds (2001-08), Arizona Diamondbacks (2008), Washington Nationals (2009-10), Chicago White Sox (2011-14), Oakland Athletics (2014), Stats: 6,453 chances, 6,002 putouts, 331 assists, 120 errors. (My recollection of Kirby, as well: He played a deep center field, which allowed him to make those famous leaping catches at the wall; he also may have played deeper as a way to play the high bounces off the Metrodome turf. The table shows that only two players appear on both lists (Simmons and Hardy), exemplifying that there is a difference in what the two statistics measure. Become a Stathead today and run queries with our, Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Stats: 3,940 chances, 3,684 putouts, 208 assists, 48 errors. Teams: Oakland Athletics (197782, 1985), Milwaukee Brewers (198283), California Angels (1984), Stats: 2,440 chances, 952 putouts, 1,417 assists, 71 errors. Teams: Louisville Eclipse/Colonels (1882-89, 1892-93), Cleveland Infants (1890), Pittsburgh Pirates (1891), Cincinnati Reds (1891-1892), St. Louis Browns (1894), Brooklyn Grooms (1894), Stats: 3,439 chances, 2,490 putouts, 535 assists, 414 errors. Worst Defenses, 2003 - 2018 There are three teams in there from this season alone. In 2010, his ratio of good fielding plays to misplays fell to 26-28, which combined with poor range gave him minus-37 defensive runs saved. While Madlock's career fielding percentage may look comparable to other third basemen during his time, fielding percentage never tells the whole story. Teams: San Francisco Giants (1971-74), New York Mets (1975-77, 1981-83), San Diego Padres (1977), California Angels (1977), New York Yankees (1977), Chicago Cubs (1978-80), Oakland Athletics (1984-86), Stats: 6,702 chances, 5,835 putouts, 693 assists, 174 errors. He also was among the league leaders. UZR had Kemp at minus-26 runs that year, the worst total it has ever given a center fielder going back to 2002, so by all accounts Kemp was awful. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. Now signed to a minor league deal with his hometown Texas Rangers, Hawpe is hoping to return to full form, although even with the surgery, it may not do much to help his porous defense. [9] The below figures are sourced from FanGraphs. Team Defensive Runs Saved. Teams: New York Mets (1999), Oakland Athletics (2000-03), San Diego Padres ( 2004), Kansas City Royals (2005), New York Yankees (2006), Stats: 1,711 chances, 1,646 putouts, 30 assists, 35 errors. Gary Sheffield, 3B, 1993 Padres/Marlins (minus-31). 7. The division was already more or less decided, but an unlikely Phillies sweep couldve at least brought it down to the wire. His fielding percentage, which seems normal, is deceiving because he had such little range. Dave Kingman was bad at three different positions, posting double-digit error seasons at third base, first base and left field, and he was average at the other position he played, right field. My next thought was 'I hope they don't hit it to Sax. Its true that this season isnt yet over. Hes always been about average. However, Madlock's prowess at the plate did not transfer to the field very well at all. The really strange thing about Bill Madlock's career is teams didn't try to fit him into an easier position to play, like right field. The Worst A.J. Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? He made 658 of those errors playing first base, which is the major league record for first basemen. Hobson committed a whopping 43 errors at the hot corner in 1978, finishing the season with an .899 fielding percentage, one of the lowest at any position for a full-time player in the modern era. Barrett's career became known much more for his scraps: two fights with pitcher Roy Oswalt in 2004, a legendary brawl with White Sox catcher A.J. Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . He started over 300 games at three different positions and came up just six starts short of 100 at shortstop. Yet they have just seven games left, and theyre already nine runs worse than the 2005 Yankees. Thats worth something, too. Blefary's -6.9 defensive WAR is a pretty telling stat. And JDMs 124 RBI will mean absolutely nothing in an MVP conversation. Do youdo you not read fangraphs? That's where we would like for him to play," Showalter said. Kansas City lacks an above-average position anywhere on the infield . The hope for the Tigers is that Castellanos is young enough to improve, but he needs a lot of improvement just to become league average. In doing a quick Google search concerning outfielder Greg Luzinski and his defense, here are just some of the phrases used: "Luzinski was a solid player, but contributed zero on defense. Yet UZR doesnt have information for pitchers or catchers. It certainly didn't help that he couldn't bash a ball like Piazza, either. The glove would last him a minimum of six years because it rarely made contact with the ball. In both 2013 and 2015, Burnett had -5 defensive runs saved, but ironically, those were arguably his best. Here, then, is a list of 40 of the worst defensive players in MLB history. Slow of foot, Kingman was simply awful in the outfield, posting a lifetime .957 fielding percentage and -32 Rtot.