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. by Retrosheet. Most notably, the Astros traded Kenny Lofton for Taubensee, straight up, after the 1991 season. [3] The statistic was developed by Baseball Info Solutions and the data used in calculating it first became available for Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2003.[4][5]. 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. People are still citing fielding percentage and what the hell is that based on? Michael Barrett's caught stealing percentage is pretty horrendous only 22 percent thrown out over his entire career. 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. Nimble is one thing; actually being able to field is another matter entirely. Many regard defense to be the most important attribute for the catcher position, and that certainly can't be argued. There are two easy ways to explain Nolan Ryan's low number of chances over 27 seasons in the majors he's the MLB career leader in both walks and strikeouts. It's a good thing they don't look at defense. Braun fielded just .895, making 26 errors in 112 games, and made .57 fewer plays per nine innings than the average third baseman. Outs Above Average (OAA) is the cumulative effect of all individual plays a fielder has been credited or debited with, making it a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them. Smith was often in the right place at the right time. 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. Historically the Royals system has an uncanny ability to produce terrible shortstops. Check. Rdef. In fact, Lugo in many ways represented the anti-Ozzie in terms of defense. He was pretty decent with his bat for most of his career, but his Total Zone Runs allowed of -65 is horrendous as well. By just about every defensive metric available, Escobar is a much better defensive option. Through a 17-year career that isn't over quite yet, Jason Giambi has one a Most Valuable Player Award and clubbed 428 home runs. UZR had Kemp at minus-26 runs that . Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. [11] Note that the totals for both Beltr and Jeter only reflect 2003 onward, even though both players began their MLB careers earlier. When it was announced at the end of the 2008 season that Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth had captured a Gold Glove Award, many fans wondered if he actually stole it, because there was no indication based on his play that he actually earned it. Let's first give Buddy Groom credit for being really, really determined. January 25, 2018. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Even though Bichette hit 34 home runs and knocked in 133 runs, the Rockies traded him after the season. So why did the White Sox not force Thomas into a role as their everyday designated hitter earlier in his career? While early pro baseball was plagued by errors (just look at the career lists for MLB), Browning's 414 errors in 13 seasons still stand out. Or write about sports? Ed Taubensee was an average hitter who was historically bad at defense for his entire career he threw out only 23 percent of baserunners who tried to steal. Worst Defenses, 2003 - 2018 There are three teams in there from this season alone. Anyway, Young had come up as a second baseman and moved to shortstop in 2004 and in 2005 he made 4.41 plays per nine innings versus the MLB average of 4.60 (his fielding percentage was about league average). * Indicates MLB All-Star. His defensive WAR is one of the highest you'll find in this lineup. According to UZR, the Phillies have had almost the worst defense in baseball. [9] The below figures are sourced from FanGraphs. Is Derek Jeter the worst shortstop of all time? 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. And yet, Phillies pitchers have ranked 26th in baseball in actual wOBA allowed, while Braves pitchers have ranked third. 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. Call it noise if you want. McLouth was pretty much below average playing in the outfield his entire career. 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. As you can see, the Royals are, quite literally, at the bottom of this list. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. "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. He was bad wherever teams tried to put him, and that's most evident when you look at his eye-popping 330 career errors. The DH is a wonderful thing, isn't it? But for now, just focus on the Phillies. 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. Still, even then the tools are there. It wasn't until Dunn made the move to the American League with the Chicago White Sox in 2011 that a team was truly able to take the glove off his hand and just let him be the designated hitter he was always meant to be and mercifully let all of us stop watching the horrors he inflicted on this great game trying to make even the most basic of plays in the field. Jeter is the worst defensive player of all time by advanced defensive metrics, with a career Defensive Runs Saved total of -155. The Phillies gambled on a suboptimal alignment. He didn't get much practice. No amount of money could make Giambi a good defensive player. It may be a bit unfair to include long-time shortstop Bill Dahlen on this list. For this calculation, we use a replacement level on defense is the league average. Well, he hadn't played the position much before that and isn't exactly quick to begin with, so it's easy to assume he combined a lack of range with a lack of experience. 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. Dan Meyer's name has been thrown about as being one of the most overrated and worst baseball players of all time. Martin had a horrendous -52 total zone runs allowed for his career, with a -39 mark in left field, where he started almost 843 games. Lasorda asked what else he was thinking. However, the Brewers saw just how bad Sheffield was there, and moved him to third base. He's also the source of one of the greatest quotes on fielding in the history of baseball. Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers (1981-88), New York Yankees (1989-91), Chicago White Sox (1992-93), Oakland Athletics (1994), Stats: 8,624 chances, 3,617 putouts, 4,817 assists, 190 errors. Gary Sheffield very well could be the most underrated hitter of all time. Theres broad consensus that errors are not a reasonable method of measuring a players complete defensive contribution and DRS and UZR (for any of their failings) are superior methods of measuring overall defensive contribution, particularly when reviewed together. 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. 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. Teams: San Francisco Giants (1975-85), Cleveland Indians (1985), Pittsburgh Pirates (1985), Oakland Athletics (1987), Stats: 4,535 chances, 1,545 putouts, 2,811 assists, 179 errors. Unfortunately, as a fielder he could boot a ball a country mile as well. 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. The glove would last him a minimum of six years because it rarely made contact with the ball. He also was terrible at first base and in right field. Teams: Baltimore Orioles (196568), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (197071), Oakland Athletics (197172), San Diego Padres (1972), Stats: 3,461 chances, 3,142 putouts, 261 assists, 58 errors. For example, a fielder who catches a 25% Out Probability play gets +.75; one who fails to make the play gets -.25. Teams: Boston Red Sox (1975-80), California Angels (1981), New York Yankees (1982), Stats: 1,918 chances, 595 putouts, 1,183 assists, 140 errors. Teams: Cincinnati Reds (197577), New York Mets (197781), Texas Rangers (1982), Montreal Expos (198285), Detroit Tigers (1985), Stats: 3,593 chances, 1,000 putouts, 2,483 assists, 110 errors. Since then, theyve gone an NL-worst 14-28, while the Braves have gone 27-19. 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. This was Sheffield's final season as a third baseman and he made 34 errors while fielding .899. 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. He also was among the league leaders in passed balls and errors committed by a catcher on a regular basis. It would be years before Sax finally figured out his mechanical issues, but the damage had already been done. Burnett was worth -13 defensive runs saved for the Pirates. 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. When Gary Sheffield first came up with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was primarily a shortstop. And not in a good way. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. All rights reserved. Props to the six-time All-Star for receiving $1.19 million every July 1 from the New York Mets from 2009 to 2035 as part of a bizarre contract. 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. Nick Castellanos, 3B, 2014 Tigers (minus-30). 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. 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. 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. The last third baseman to put up equally putrid numbers was Ryan Braun in 2007 (-32 in comparable innings). Jeter is the worst defensive player of all time by advanced defensive metrics, with a career Defensive Runs Saved total of -155. For several years, outfielder Dante Bichette was one of the most popular and beloved players for the Colorado Rockies, and his offensive exploits in the Mile High City were certainly highly regarded. The power that Kingman generated with his body hindered him greatly in the field. Sean Murphy. Andujar, not so much. 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. Manny's "amazing" catch of a Johnny Damon relay is absolutely priceless. However, the managers and coaches who vote for Gold Glove Award players each year routinely ignore analytics. Hes always been about average. Throughout major league history, some players have built their entire careers on hitting, despite some, ahem, major defensive deficiencies. 8. Martin, who was once investigated for bigamy in Nevada because he was married to two women at once, also had more errors (58) than assists (56) for his career. Real or Not? However, Howard's defense was anything but power. Andujar probably needs to be moved to a different corner, because he is an absolute butcher at third. worst defensive runs saved all time. Defensive runs saved, a measurement developed by Baseball Info Solutions, paints an even harsher picture. 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. Truly one of the more despicable people to ever play the game, Kingman could do one thing well hit for power. But I probably won't miss his defense. Ed Taubensee was an average hitter who was historically bad at defense for his entire career he threw out only 23 percent of baserunners who tried to steal. Errors are discssued every freakin game. Vaughn posted below-.900 fielding percentages in four seasons, highlighted by a career-low .869 in 2014, when he committed a career-high 13 errors. During late innings of many games, Vaughn would often be seen playing just two steps off the bag, and even then balls hit down the line would get by him. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. 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. Athletics. and his 32% strikeout rate last season was among the worst in MLB. The phenomena became known as the "Steve Sax Syndrome." Of course, the biggest knock on Jeter is his poor defense. Snow's worst defensive season by defensive WAR coincided with the first of six gold gloves he won as a member of the California Angels and San Francisco Giants. Doesnt mean its a death sentence; sometimes teams happily concede defense for offense. Sheesh! Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. 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. Good plays and misplays runs saved: runs saved by heads-up-plays. Do you have a sports website? Teams: Oakland Athletics (19972000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (200103), Milwaukee Brewers (2004), Chicago Cubs (200405), Stats: 1,436 chances, 1,385 putouts, 311 assists, 20 errors. Bichette was fast enough to play a little center field early in his career, but by 1999 was 35 and lumbering. Next years going to come with greater expectations. In this day and age, theres no reason not to explore further. This was Braun's rookie season when he came up as a third baseman and he was such a disaster there the Brewers moved him to left field in 2008. Thomas was primarily a designated hitter during his career. In both 2013 and 2015, Burnett had -5 defensive runs saved, but ironically, those were arguably his best. In fact, he was suspended for the last two months of the 1889 season for his drinking. There is DRS. But when the ball did come his way it was hold-your-breath time. So the numbers certainly indicate that Dahlen was not necessarily bad in any way, but he does have the dubious record nonetheless. Let's get "Bobby Bonilla Day" out of the way at the jump. Third baseman Bill Madlock was certainly a great hitter during his 15-year career, capturing four National League batting titles and ending with a .305 career average. FIELDING BIBLE EXCERPTS Jeter vs. Everett (by Bill James) Molina is to Pudge as . Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Seldom has an infielder thrown himself on the ground more and come up with fewer plays.". Just take a look at the photodoes that look like a man who's confident he can field that grounder? Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? 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. 41 victor street, boronia heights; what happened to clifford olson son; frank lloyd wright house for sale; most nba draft picks by college in one year; worst defensive runs saved all time 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. Lima died in 2010 of a massive heart attack. Howard spent the last year of his career as a DH in 1973, the first year the DH was in place. However, some would say he was a big hurt defensively as well. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. DRS was created to take range into account when measuring a player's defensive ability. 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. But for now, just focus on the Phillies. Meanwhile I NEVER hear ANY ringing endorsements for DRS or UZR. Do you have a blog? As mentioned before, catcher Mike Piazza might not quite be regarded as the worst defensive catcher in historybut he's pretty darn close. Do youdo you not read fangraphs? 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. Here are the ten worst team DRS marks from the leaderboards: There are three teams in there from this season alone. During his time with the Texas Rangers, Incaviglia's nickname was "Oops," primarily because of the way he patrolled the outfield. He came up just 11 starts shy of getting 100 career starts at all three spots. And JDMs 124 RBI will mean absolutely nothing in an MVP conversation. Howard's rookie year of 1960 was the only year in which he posted a positive dWAR, and his range throughout his career was absolutely abysmal. Much like Derek Jeter, there has been a lot of divisiveness over the years about Kemp's defense. Throwing out only 23 percent of would-be basestealers during his career, Taubensee also was way below the curve in passed balls, wild pitches and many other defensive metrics used for the catching position. Things got really bad in the later years of his career, with -22 total zone runs allowed in 2004. Over the whole season, the Phillies pitching staff ranks third in expected wOBA on contact. ", "And Phillies fans never forgave Ozark for failing to make a defensive substitution for Greg Luzinski". In 2010, Dunn committed 13 errors at first base, second worst in the NL behind Ryan Howard. It was a league custom. On the flip side, the worst fielders usually finish around -15 or -20 Defensive Runs Saved. Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . More importantly, Vzquez has the trust of his pitchers. The A's managed to figure Long into the equation by moving him to left field, and it ended up being more about the naked eye than sabermetrics. Hobson's 1978 season was a legendary blunder. The Worst A.J. For a while, the Phillies made it work, but ultimately, they just didnt get enough in return for the sacrifice. | Glossary", "What is a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS)? His defensive WAR (-17.0) and total zone runs allowed (-67) are among the worst in MLB history. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt certainly presents an interesting case this year. Butch Hobson was a former quarterback for the University of Alabama and legendary coach Bear Bryant, but Hobson had some legendary struggles fielding a baseball. Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers (197888), St. Louis Cardinals (198892), Stats: 7,265 chances, 6,007 putouts, 1,093 assists, 165 errors. Anyone who can bounce a ball off their glove 20 feet into the stands for a home run deserves a spot on this list. Team Defensive Runs Saved. Madlock's zone rating and other defensive variables were far below that of the league average, and in a report that measures Total Zone ratings for players between the years 1956 and 1986, Madlock places dead last among all third basemen. He was a five-time World Series champion. The numbers bear this out, and his best seasons hitting were some of his worst seasons fielding. In 2006, Dunn led the NL in errors as well, that time as an outfielder. Hippo Vaughn only played 13 seasons but led the National League in errors five times. And on that note, he wasn't getting paid for his glovework. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. My word, honesty is in short frickin supply around here. The official scorer of the game took pity on Jolley, actually only giving him two errors. Outfielder Smead Jolley was easily one of the great minor league players of all time, hitting 336 home runs with a lifetime .367 batting average during his 16-year career at the lower level. 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. Part of Manny Ramirez's appeal was somehow his struggles in the field. San Diego Padres (2011), Los Angeles Angels (2013), Stats: 1,816 chances, 1,695 putouts, 87 assists, 34 errors. 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. 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 safe to say that Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Edwin Encarnacion is not a reincarnation, so to speak, of Brooks Robinson. Teams: Oakland Athletics (1985-92), Texas Rangers (1992-94), Boston Red Sox (1995-96), Oakland Athletics (1997), Toronto Blue Jays (1998), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999-2000), New York Yankees (2000), Chicago White Sox (2001), Stats: 2,128 chances, 2,003 putouts, 63 assists, 62 errors. Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin, Real or not? Check. While Madlock's career fielding percentage may look comparable to other third basemen during his time, fielding percentage never tells the whole story. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. It's true that this. Damon was able to read fly balls easily off the bat while Long, for the entirety of his career, would freeze or move in the wrong direction. Vaughn's best year was in 1918, when he won the Triple Crown, which was also coincidentally the year he posted a career-high .967 fielding percentage. [fn]John Dewan, The Fielding Bible, Volume II (Skokie, Ill.: ACTA Sports, 2009), 11-4. Thats worth something, too. Young did seem to improve after that, perhaps with better positioning. The other part is defense. Right now he has hands of stone and sometimes looks like he either doesnt know what hes doing or isnt trying. Be honest, please. He was better than the average shortstop during his day, and his dWAR number certainly indicates he was not exactly a liability on the field. Eventually, he was moved to second base, and the results weren't much better. And then, there were the guys who were born with hands of stone. But also consider that he's one of the worst defensive players of all time. I didnt say Andujar was better, I was just establishing 1) they are comparable yet seymour singled out Andujar, 2) thats intellectually dishonest. by Handedness, Effectively Wild Episode 1274: Meet the New Manager, Different From the Old Manager, 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. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. However, as a third baseman, Bonilla's deficiencies were in plain sight. 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 . Realmuto and Sean Murphy for eighth among those with at least 500 . 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 . Awards are voted on by the same knuckle dragging journalists. When Alfonso Soriano first debuted with the New York Yankees in 1999, he was a second baseman who hit the ball a country mile. Weeks has never had a good defensive reputation and in 2012 he started 152 games at second base and made just 4.08 plays per nine innings compared to the league-average range factor of 4.77. Blefary's -6.9 defensive WAR is a pretty telling stat. After seven seasons at shortstop for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals, enough was enough, and the Royals finally moved Jose Offerman to second base. 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 wait, there has to be a logical explanation for this. However, defensively, Bichette was easily one of the most challenged of players. It's not hard to see why he made all those mistakes. You know what the Rangers thought of that Gold Glove? 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. He made 658 of those errors playing first base, which is the major league record for first basemen. While his fielding improved over the course of his career, you can point directly to his early struggles in the outfield as one of the reasons the Oakland A's traded him after three seasons and an average of approximately -20 total zone runs allowed in that span. They also rank 19th in actual wOBA on contact, with the second-greatest difference between the numbers in the league. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not. Stats: 3,940 chances, 3,684 putouts, 208 assists, 48 errors. The four Golden Gloves he won were a joke his total zone runs allowed were in double digits for two of those seasons. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? 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. However, defensively he never seemed to really be in the right place.
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