And teams have done a really good job at that. Jolley committed 44 errors in just four seasons, and was once credited with three errors on the same play, having the ball actually go through his legs twice on the same batted ball. Do youdo you not read fangraphs? https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&qual=400&type=1&season=2018&month=0&season1=1871&ind=1&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=11,a. Note that DRS statistics are only available from the 2003 MLB season through the present. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1970-80), Chicago White Sox (1981-84), Stats: 2,282 chances, 2,120 putouts, 105 assists, 57 errors. michael klaper fasting; rising sign calculator Menu Toggle. However, despite anyone's opinion regarding the use of analytics to measure a player's defensive worth, just about everyone on this particular list were and are just classically bad fielders, and while many of them were assets with the bat, they also were a complete liability on the field. Spahn's defensive struggles seemed to be mostly early in his career, with a few blips as it went on. While Madlock's career fielding percentage may look comparable to other third basemen during his time, fielding percentage never tells the whole story. 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. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. During the eight-year career of utility-man Curt Blefary, he was given the nickname "Clank" by former teammate Frank Robinson, who claimed that the nickname represented the imaginary sound that the ball made when it banged against Blefarys glove. 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. There is DRS. Fielding Runs Fielding measures obviously have a lot of controversy surrounding them. Anyone who can bounce a ball off their glove 20 feet into the stands for a home run deserves a spot on this list. 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. That's because the 6-foot-1, 255-pound left fielder's struggles in the field overshadowed his work at the plate. February 1, 2018. ken scott actor after we collided. 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. In the sense that DRS assigns run values to defensive . During his 12-year career spent with six different teams, outfielder Pete Incaviglia was hit-or-miss as a hitter, leading the American League in strikeouts twice, and hitting over 20 home runs in a season six times. [9] The below figures are sourced from FanGraphs. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. [/fn] They're the mirror image of Runs Created, the metric Bill James developed . Im older than him, and I can barely catch the TV remote when my roommate tosses it to me (from a couple of feet away mind you lol). However, Madlock's prowess at the plate did not transfer to the field very well at all. Check. 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. Frank Howard could've had a lengthy career as an NBA power forward. test e before and after; luxury airport transfer st lucia; knox county schools address; hammond high school basketball schedule 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. But, knowing what they know now, the Phillies presumably wouldnt choose to repeat this. Even this article gives a huge nod to the great caveat that must be uttered when serious people meet to discuss these advanced metrics. [fn]John Dewan, The Fielding Bible, Volume II (Skokie, Ill.: ACTA Sports, 2009), 11-4. 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. The following year, Sax became completely unable to throw the ball accurately to first base, committing 30 errors on the season. Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-64), Washington Senators/Texas Rangers (1965-72), Detroit Tigers (1972-73), Stats: 4,793 chances, 4,412 putouts, 277 assists, 104 errors. 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. Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin, Real or not? Sandwiched around this all-time bad season are two Gold Glove honors in 2009 and 2011. But we don't. He's the guy you definitely don't want the ball hit to when your team is pitching. He batted .284, hit 49 home runs and racked up 281 hits over that same stretch, including his lone All-Star selection in 2009. When second baseman Steve Sax won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1982 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was regarded as a player with a lively bat, great speed and decent enough defensively. Juan Samuel was one of the most aggressive hitters in baseball history the end result was 1,578 hits and 396 stolen bases. His defensive WAR is one of the highest you'll find in this lineup. The other part is defense. 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. These are the worst glovemen of all time at every position. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of his defensive prowess. "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. . What's worse about Hill's defensive stats is he was shoved into the designated hitter role whenever teams had an opportunity to use him there to limit his defensive chances. Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. So spare me. The chances of the Phillies making up that ground are exceptionally slim. Guerrero's 165 career errors make a lot more sense now. Matt Kemp, CF, 2010 Dodgers (minus-37). And then, there were the guys who were born with hands of stone. His -180 total zone runs allowed is second only to Derek Jeter in MLB history. 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. Groom's fielding percentage hovered around or below .900 for most of his career and finished at an atrocious .940 in 13 seasons. He ended up there because it lined up more with his offensive production than putting him at one of the corner outfield spots or at first base. 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. This one makes a lot of sense: An old outfielder trying to play in Coors Field. The phenomena became known as the "Steve Sax Syndrome." All rights reserved. Defensive runs saved, a measurement developed by Baseball Info Solutions, paints an even harsher picture. Call it noise if you want. 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. It may be no wonder why Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland has a conundrum concerning where to play Ryan Raburnhe simply doesn't play well defensively anywhere. Their frustration was understandable since 1979 was the first year in LeMaster's career that he had at least 20 errors and started a stretch where he had at least 20 errors in six of the next seven seasons. In my terms, it basically means a whole bunch of guys who couldn't field if their life depended on it. Vaughn's range was so bad that the Anaheim Angels often had Vaughn playing behind the baserunner, so that he could get to a ball quicker. The 43 errors he committed that season for the Red Sox were the most since 1949 and hasn't been matched since, and his fielding percentage of .866 is the lowest in the modern era of baseball. In one sense, the offseason might be easy. How do you measure an Outfield Arm Runs Saved? It's a darn good thing that outfielder Ruben Sierra could hit a little bit, because he certainly wasn't kept around for his defense. In his 16 seasons in baseball, Dave Kingman was known for hitting some of the most prodigious home run shots in history, amazing fans and players alike with his sheer power. Just cant field em. 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. 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. But they happened. His total zone runs allowed over those two years was a staggering -68, including 14 errors and a .956 fielding percentage in 2008. But the two-time American League Most Valuable Player was really bad in the field. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. Now imagine if Stairs would've been able to field? Al Martin carved out 11 seasons in the majors by being pretty decent with his bat he had a career .276 batting average. Anyone who uses his noggin to aid in a home run definitely deserves a spot on this list. Nothing has been catastrophic. Just for fun, lets run through the Phillies various positional ranks. There might not be a good answer to this. The irony is that Andujar is definitely the better player this year, and perhaps in the future too. He also was among the league leaders in passed balls and errors committed by a catcher on a regular basis. The Padres made the playoffs with Gomez playing shortstop in 1996 and 1998, so they apparently didn't think he was awful there. Yep, you read that right, the master of the acrobatic play that we have all come to attach his name to ended his career negative 155 defensive runs saved. Stats: 2,060 chances, 610 putouts, 1,367 assists, 83 errors. So why did the White Sox not force Thomas into a role as their everyday designated hitter earlier in his career? Here, then, is a list of 40 of the worst defensive players in MLB history. No teams pitchers have been worse, while the catchers have also combined to be a problem. However, the Phillies also quickly found out that Samuel couldn't field worth a lick as well. You know your defensive struggles are pretty epic when they get their own name. Kansas City lacks an above-average position anywhere on the infield . In 2009, he did make a high number of good fielding plays (48), according to Baseball Info Solutions, although that was countered by 33 misplays. Offerman's defense was so bad the Dodgers traded him to the Royals after his first All-Star season, in 1995. Team Defensive Runs Saved. The division was already more or less decided, but an unlikely Phillies sweep couldve at least brought it down to the wire. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (2005-09, 2012), Atlanta Braves (2009-11), Baltimore Orioles (2012-13), Washington Nationals (2014), Stats: 1,820 chances, 1,780 putouts, 23 assists, 17 errors. When Alfonso Soriano first debuted with the New York Yankees in 1999, he was a second baseman who hit the ball a country mile.