Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1958-62), Boston Red Sox (1963-64), Philadelphia Phillies (1965), New York Mets (1966), Los Angeles Dodgers (1966), California Angels (1969), Stats: 9,221 chances, 8,294 putouts, 758 assists, 169 errors, Dick Stuart's wonderful array of nicknames helps us understand his place as one of the worst defensive first basemen in MLB history, including "Dr. Strangeglove," "Stonefingers" and "The Man With the Iron Glove.". Is Derek Jeter the worst shortstop of all time? So the numbers certainly indicate that Dahlen was not necessarily bad in any way, but he does have the dubious record nonetheless. Theres no reason for them to have a bias. No list regarding defense in baseball, especially bad defense, would be complete without the name of Dick Stuart, aka Dr. Strangeglove. Baseball Info Solutions categorizes plays as good fielding plays and defensive misplays and Castellanos' total of GFP minus DM + errors ranked second worst among third basemen in 2014. They did, however, cost him being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I checked Baseball-Reference.com for their list of worst individual fielding seasons and thought it would be fun to look at the bottom 10. As part of the trade package in December 2010 that sent Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers, Betancourt was also included in the deal, with the two teams essentially swapping shortstops, the Royals receiving Alcides Escobar. Go back to PFT. As an outfielder, Incaviglia's play could certainly be described as hit-or-miss as well. 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. In calculating DRS, points are either added or subtracted to a fielder's rating depending on whether or not they make a play on a ball that is hit towards them. I worry about Andujars long-term outlook, but Gleyber? Soriano's Rtot in nine years at second base was -78, so his transition to the outfield has actually helped, although you would no doubt find many Chicago Cubs fans who would dispute that notion. Defensive metrics aren't as foolproof as some other numbers, so let's dig deeper into what may have caused these poor ratings. The Cubs moved Soriano to the outfield after he signed an eight-year, $136 million contract, but that did little to curb his defensive struggles. It would be interesting to see how many of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's Total Zone Runs allowed occurred while playing next to Alfonso Soriano, a terrible defensive second baseman for the ages. Im certain thats a part of it. 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. For many years with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Senators, Frank Howard was one of the premier power hitters in the game, leading the league twice in home runs and swatting 382 during his 16-year career. His errors doubled to 26 in 1999, and in 2000, his continued struggles ultimately forced his move to left field. Check. Ryan Braun, 3B, 2007 Brewers (minus-32). Dante Bichette, LF, 1999 Rockies (minus-34). Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda tried to get into Guerrero's head to uncover his fielding struggles and asked what he was thinking playing third base in the ninth inning of a tie game. 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. For a while, the Phillies made it work, but ultimately, they just didnt get enough in return for the sacrifice. The above numbers represented Samuel's career primarily at second base, although he played six different positions during his career. Here are the ten worst team DRS marks from the leaderboards: There are three teams in there from this season alone. The Phillies might just land Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, and then theyll have a better lineup. The Phillies knew theyd be sacrificing some defense this season. "Range factor" isn't a terribly advanced metric it's basically "plays made per game (or per 9 innings)", not difficult to understand but subject to some systematic errors. Now, he's known for two off-field incidents, including one where he rushed a pitcher with a bat in independent league baseball and was ordered to pay an almost $1 million settlement. Just for fun, lets run through the Phillies various positional ranks. And JDMs 124 RBI will mean absolutely nothing in an MVP conversation. Juan Samuel was one of the most aggressive hitters in baseball history the end result was 1,578 hits and 396 stolen bases. We all have at least one great "Oh, Manny!" Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Spahn's defensive struggles seemed to be mostly early in his career, with a few blips as it went on. Nowhere was his awful defense more pronounced than when he played second base, where he started over 1,000 games, and his total zone runs allowed went to -89. My next thought was 'I hope they don't hit it to Sax. 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. Smith had great speed and would often get a great jump on the ball, only to bobble it several times once he actually got there. There's no doubt that third base is a tough position to play, but former MLB player Butch Hobson made it look like the toughest job in all of professional sports. "Herman improved greatly in his ninth season. However, the managers and coaches who vote for Gold Glove Award players each year routinely ignore analytics. I thought it would be about Gleyber Torres. Instead, the Phillies will play out the string, while the Braves get themselves set for the playoffs. Note: We used a combination of metrics such as Defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR), Total Zone Runs (an estimate of runs saved or given up in the field), errors and fielding percentage to produce this lineup. I didnt make up those numbers, and they didnt make up those numbers. His career fielding percentage of .895 is comically low, but for most of his career, he was probably just surprised anyone was able to actually connect with one of his pitches. Mike Piazza isn't the only Hall of Famer on this list, and his defensive liabilities only make us wonder how he would've stood up among the all-time greatest players (not just catchers) had he been able to throw out more than 23 percent of baserunners. Individual Player Totals Team Defensive Runs Saved Defensive Runs Saved Leaderboard DRS Components In-Depth Team Fielder Totals Total Runs Old School Data DRS Pre-2020 Historic Win Shares Find our Data. 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. Whatever the Phillies have done right, DRS hasnt seen it. Teams: Rockford Forest Citys (1871), Philadelphia Athletics (187275), Chicago White Stockings/Colts (187697), Stats: 25,160 chances, 22,572 putouts, 1,612 assists, 976 errors. January 25, 2018. It's sort of unbelievable that Nate McLouth won a Gold Glove in 2008, because it wasn't even close to his best season as a center fielder. Glenallen Hill's defensive struggles were infamous. That's just the first two pages of searches. I don't think anyone is going to defend Dunn's defense. What's worse? Its something for them to figure out moving forward, assuming they dont figure Hoskins range will improve. Teams: Milwaukee Brewers (1988-91), San Diego Padres (1992-93), Florida Marlins (1993-98), Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2001), Atlanta Braves (2002-03), New York Yankees (2004-06), Detroit Tigers (2007-08), New York Mets (2009), Stats: 4,686 chances, 3,275 putouts, 1,240 assists, 171 errors. He was a five-time World Series champion. The glove would last him a minimum of six years because it rarely made contact with the ball. http://www.claydavenport.com/ht/TORRES19961213A.shtml. worst defensive runs saved all time. But Howard also could launch a baseball off a bat, leading the American League in home runs twice. In The Fielding Bible, Volume II, John Dewan takes the defensive metrics in the first volume and translates them into runsinto runs saved, that is, or Defensive Runs Saved. Because of his potent hitting abilities, teams shuffled him from position to position, but he was bad at all of them. Ben Grieve won American League Rookie of the Year in 1998 and had three solid seasons to start out his career, but his numbers at the plate dropped off the map after that. 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. Still, even then the tools are there. Could be the new position. "Please, God, don't hit it to (second baseman) Steve Sax.". He made his lone All-Star appearance in 2016 and parlayed that into a six-year, $83 million extension in 2017. Teams: Oakland Athletics (197683), Baltimore Orioles (198485), Oakland Athletics (1986), Stats: 3,182 chances, 1,549 putouts, 1,490 assists, 143 errors. Well, that was an adventure as well, so with Sheffield's trade to the Florida Marlins from the San Diego Padres, he was moved to right field. Just cant field em. Even this article gives a huge nod to the great caveat that must be uttered when serious people meet to discuss these advanced metrics. Yes, this era of non-traditional defensive alignment has made things ever more complicated. Throughout his career, Encarnacion has managed to make the most basic of fielding plays turn into an adventure, leaving fans breathlessly anticipating what will happen when the ball is hit his way. Gross never quite matched those numbers again throughout his career, but he did crack double-digit errors in four more seasons before his career was over. 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. "You are going to see Mark start out at third base in the spring. But for now, just focus on the Phillies. This was Sheffield's final season as a third baseman and he made 34 errors while fielding .899. By just about every defensive metric available, Escobar is a much better defensive option. Check. 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. First baseman/outfielder Brad Hawpe went down last year in June and required Tommy John surgery. That leads us to his next record. Ryan was simply abysmal as a fielder, once committing 30 errors in four seasons while with the California Angels. Kiermaier set the record for most defensive runs saved (DRS) in a season -- which BIS has calculated going back to 2003 -- when he saved the Rays 42 . He was bad wherever teams tried to put him, and that's most evident when you look at his eye-popping 330 career errors. 1. His defensive WAR is one of the highest you'll find in this lineup. 48. It's time to unveil the 2022 MLB All-Underrated Team. Its totally fair to question the latter, since the numbers at Baseball Prospectus think the Phillies catchers have been slightly above-average, but I led with DRS, so thats the main focus. Stuart also had another great nickname "Moby Dick" when he finished the last few years of his career in Japan. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? All rights reserved. Dahlen still holds the record for total chances by a shortstop, and oftentimes led the league in putouts and double plays as well. Undoubtedly, voters remembered the spectacular plays, but there was nothing in the numbers that suggested Kemp had above-average range and he was making a large number of miscues at the same time. Officially, the Braves have sewn up the NL East, after having completed a four-game weekend sweep of the Phillies. Chuck Knoblauch had a pretty amazing career on paper. The point should really be that Andujars not all that close to having the worst DRS of the last five yearshes not even in the top five. Teams: Montreal Expos (1998-2003), Chicago Cubs (2004-07), San Diego Padres (2007-08), Toronto Blue Jays (2009), Stats: 6,741 chances, 6,115 putouts, 552 assists, 74 errors. So let me see: Wins will not factor into a Cy for Snell, assuming he gets it. However, he does hold the all-time record for most errors lifetime with 1,080, and once committed 86 errors while playing for the Chicago Colts in 1895. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt certainly presents an interesting case this year. Such was the case with the "Steve Sax Syndrome" after the Los Angeles Dodgers' second baseman inexplicably couldn't throw to first base properly from 1983 to 1988. But the numbers don't lie. And it should be clear that, at the very least, the Phillies defense has been a season-long weakness. Sheesh! Slow of foot, Kingman was simply awful in the outfield, posting a lifetime .957 fielding percentage and -32 Rtot. 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. In this day and age, theres no reason not to explore further. Since then, theyve gone an NL-worst 14-28, while the Braves have gone 27-19. The Twins walked the fewest batters in the AL and were in the middle of the pack in strikeouts and home runs allowed but were 13th in hits allowed, so the team defense was pretty bad overall, with Puckett apparently playing a big role. Thats what the table is showing you. Errors have been moved to the same dustbin as pitcher wins, batting average, and rbi. | Glossary", "What is a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS)? He batted .284, hit 49 home runs and racked up 281 hits over that same stretch, including his lone All-Star selection in 2009. Theyll have a roster good enough to hang around. It wasn't his worst, either. The Phillies gambled on a suboptimal alignment. Moving elsewhere, heres the big-league landscape in terms of Outs Above Average, which is a metric for outfielders: The Phillies dont look good, again, and this particular metric doesnt consider outfield arms. As for his range, BIS graded him particularly weak going to his right. The team has acknowledged it time and time again. Even a few Hall of Famers. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Historically the Royals system has an uncanny ability to produce terrible shortstops. It's no surprise that he rated poorly in the outfield -- minus-20 runs -- but he also rated minus-23 runs at first base in just 540 innings. First, Stairs hit more pinch-hit home runs (23) than any player in MLB history. However, defensively, Bichette was easily one of the most challenged of players. Yet UZR doesnt have information for pitchers or catchers. More dishonesty parading as insight. Athletics. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not. Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . Gleyber will be fine. Previously, Baseball-Reference used Sean Smith's Total Zone Rating for all seasons. Sanchez made 15 errors behind the plate in 2019. Real or Not? Sheffield was only marginally better in terms of numbers in the outfield, and considering where he was numbers-wise before he got there, that's not saying much either. Michael Young, SS, 2005 Rangers (minus-32). Teammate Pedro Guerrero was an emergency third baseman who famously summed up Sax's struggles when he said, "My main thought was 'I hope they don't hit it to me.' In 2010, Dunn committed 13 errors at first base, second worst in the NL behind Ryan Howard. But also consider that he's one of the worst defensive players of all time. Hawpe managed to survive getting the axe over this stretch by posting his best seasons at the plate. Orioles fielders have combined for negative-84 runs of defensive value compared with the average team, per the advanced stat defensive runs saved. Kingman wasn't much better at first base, where his slow footwork often left him entangled on the bag in awkward positions and routine grounders were a complete adventure. People are still citing fielding percentage and what the hell is that based on? Wil Myers won American League Rookie of the Year in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays, then was traded to the San Diego Padres after the 2014 season. Thus, players of earlier eras who were noted for the defensive skillssuch as third baseman Brooks Robinson and shortstop Ozzie Smithwere not evaluated in this manner. Stats: 3,940 chances, 3,684 putouts, 208 assists, 48 errors. Now imagine if Stairs would've been able to field? Youre completely missing the point, which may or not be intentional on your part. Stuart was in the on-deck circle when teammate Bill Mazeroski hit the game-winning home run for the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Teams: New York Yankees (1999-2003, 2013-2014), Texas Rangers (2004-05), Washington Nationals (2006), Chicago Cubs (2007-13), Stats: 5,823 chances, 3,456 putouts, 2,198 assists, 169 errors.
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