The Phillies knew theyd be sacrificing some defense this season. Teams: Minnesota Twins (199197), New York Yankees (19982001), Kansas City Royals (2002), Stats: 6,821 chances, 2,852 putouts, 3,844 assists, 125 errors. Look at the defensive wins against replacement. It's one reason why Long had a .978 career fielding percentage playing center field with 21 errors. Meanwhile I NEVER hear ANY ringing endorsements for DRS or UZR. 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. His career batting average of .236 is barely above the Mendoza Line. Go back to PFT. Defensive runs saved, a measurement developed by Baseball Info Solutions, paints an even harsher picture. He still hadn't caught a ball yet, but he was getting a lot closer.". Sandwiched around this all-time bad season are two Gold Glove honors in 2009 and 2011. 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. I offer up the attached video for analysis. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Even a few Hall of Famers. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not. Errors are discssued every freakin game. Teams: New York Mets (1966, 1968-71), California Angels (1972-79), Houston Astros (1980-88), Texas Rangers (1989-93), Stats: 857 chances, 220 putouts, 547 assists, 90 errors. First baseman/outfielder Brad Hawpe went down last year in June and required Tommy John surgery. Just for fun, lets run through the Phillies various positional ranks. They did, however, cost him being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . 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. Let's get "Bobby Bonilla Day" out of the way at the jump. He was just really bad whenever he got a chance to be an everyday player. Andujar, not so much. In 2010, Dunn committed 13 errors at first base, second worst in the NL behind Ryan Howard. 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. No matter where he played, Samuel was a liability on the field. That honor belongs to Eddie Taubensee. The glove would last him a minimum of six years because it rarely made contact with the ball. It's not hard to see why he made all those mistakes. But the two-time American League Most Valuable Player was really bad in the field. While we're comparing the two players, we'll also watch out for any reasons to doubt the data we're using. Thats what the table is showing you. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Ryan Braun, 3B, 2007 Brewers (minus-32). Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Puckett's defensive metrics don't match up to his reputation -- he won six Gold Gloves -- as Baseball-Reference grades him out as 14 runs below average for his career. He started over 300 games at three different positions and came up just six starts short of 100 at shortstop. 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. 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]. 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. 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. Theyll have a roster good enough to hang around. 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. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. ", "And Phillies fans never forgave Ozark for failing to make a defensive substitution for Greg Luzinski". 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. 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.' Defense, in 2018, was the ballclubs biggest detriment. With 13 All-Star selections, 555 home runs and a .312 lifetime batting average, it's easy to see why outfielder Manny Ramirez clearly has numbers that should qualify him for Hall of Fame status. But there is *some* evidence. 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. As an outfielder, Incaviglia's play could certainly be described as hit-or-miss as well. These are the worst glovemen of all time at every position. Groom's fielding percentage hovered around or below .900 for most of his career and finished at an atrocious .940 in 13 seasons. Fielders who can cover a large area on defense are able to make plays that most players would not have the chance to make. Only two third basemen finished worse in the stat than he did. The A's tried to make Picciolo the man at shortstop for his first two seasons, and he coughed up balls at an alarming rate, with 21 errors in 1977, his first season, and 17 errors in 1979, his second season, as a full-time shortstop. 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. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. 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. Devers was credited with minus-13 defensive runs saved, basically neck-and-neck with the Phillies' Alec Bohm for the worst third baseman in the majors. Do you have a sports website? For 13 seasons, Pete Browning toiled in the old American Association and National League, playing five positions overall and none of them with any skill whatsoever. 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. He played 15 seasons for seven different teams that tried to make him an everyday player at six different positions. Gary Sheffield, 3B, 1993 Padres/Marlins (minus-31). 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. And then, there were the guys who were born with hands of stone. While Nolan Ryan may be in the Hall of Fame, have seven no-hitters to his credit and be the all-time strikeout king, he will never be compared to either Jim Kaat or Greg Maddux in terms of defense. Nick Castellanos, 3B, 2014 Tigers (minus-30). "You are going to see Mark start out at third base in the spring. As an outfielder, Bobby Bonilla was passable, and his offense generally took precedence for any deficiencies. Dude. For those of you who dont know, DRS stands for Defensive Runs Saved. Gerrit Cole's approach bringing Cy Young results, Mookie Betts vs. Bryce Harper -- and other pressing baseball debates, Real or not? Teams: Cleveland Indians (1993-2000), Boston Red Sox (2001-08), Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-10), Chicago White Sox (2010), Tampa Bay Rays (2011), Stats: 3,410 chances, 3,206 putouts, 129 assists, 75 errors. Because of his potent hitting abilities, teams shuffled him from position to position, but he was bad at all of them. "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. DEVERS has 23 errors to Andujars 15 in 200 fewer innings. Youre completely missing the point, which may or not be intentional on your part. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Friday, March 3, 1:04PM. Since then, theyve gone an NL-worst 14-28, while the Braves have gone 27-19. FIELDING BIBLE EXCERPTS Jeter vs. Everett (by Bill James) Molina is to Pudge as . So let's take a look at his undoing. Most notably, the Astros traded Kenny Lofton for Taubensee, straight up, after the 1991 season. Castellanos' range factor was 2.10 per nine innings compared to the MLB average of 2.56, but of course he played on a staff that racked up a lot of strikeouts. "Herman improved greatly in his ninth season. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Check. It speaks more to the talented teammates he had around him that his total zone runs allowed isn't higher, but his -16.7 defensive wins above replacement seem to tell the real story. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of his defensive prowess. 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. His total zone runs allowed of -89 and his defensive wins above replacement of -8.7 are some of the worst in history at third base. MLB - 2022. Gold Glove Awards: 5 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010), Stats: 10,679 chances, 3,820 putouts, 6,605 assists, 254 errors. 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. During his time in the National League, Dunn played left field, right field and first base, and none of them with any degree of skill. 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. He was bad wherever teams tried to put him, and that's most evident when you look at his eye-popping 330 career errors. 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. 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. Still, even then the tools are there. 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. Glenallen Hill's defensive struggles were infamous. 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. I don't think anyone is going to defend Dunn's defense. 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. UZR had Kemp at minus-26 runs that . 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. 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.". Now, with the Brewers declining to sign the defensively challenged Betancourt, he finds himself back with the Royals after signing a one-year deal, and presumably will back up the very man he was traded for in the first placeEscobar. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted 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). 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. Fielding Runs Fielding measures obviously have a lot of controversy surrounding them. Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup? 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. The Phillies might just land Manny Machado or Bryce Harper, and then theyll have a better lineup. However, Madlock's prowess at the plate did not transfer to the field very well at all. 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. Call it noise if you want. The division was already more or less decided, but an unlikely Phillies sweep couldve at least brought it down to the wire. Seldom has an infielder thrown himself on the ground more and come up with fewer plays.". [11] Note that the totals for both Beltr and Jeter only reflect 2003 onward, even though both players began their MLB careers earlier. I'm not sure if he played through an injury or if they used quicksand for infield dirt that year at Miller Park, but in the past five years, the second-lowest range factor for a regular-season second baseman was 4.31 plays per nine innings -- by Weeks in 2011. That's because the 6-foot-1, 255-pound left fielder's struggles in the field overshadowed his work at the plate. 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. Still, that's nearly one fewer play every two games. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Outs above average also had Devers as a . Teams: Boston/Milwaukee Braves (1942, 1946-64), New York Mets (1965), San Francisco Giants (1965), Stats: 1,279 chances, 222 putouts, 999 assists, 58 errors. 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. However, Howard's defense was anything but power. At the time, the Phillies told themselves Santana was too good of a deal to pass up. These are the worst glovemen of all time at every position. 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. People are still citing fielding percentage and what the hell is that based on? That's just the first two pages of searches. And not in a good way. I never thought of Gomez as a bad fielder, but I guess I never really gave all that much thought to Gomez in the first place. During his time with the Texas Rangers, Incaviglia's nickname was "Oops," primarily because of the way he patrolled the outfield. The chances of the Phillies making up that ground are exceptionally slim. On the flip side, Madlock won four National League batting titles and was a three-time All-Star. Had it not been for two truly awful seasons in 2008 and 2009, Brad Hawpe probably would've been able to avoid this lineup. By just about every measurement available, either through STATS Inc., Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs or Baseball Reference, there is no documentation anywhere that supports the fact that first baseman Mo Vaughn was anything close to a good fielder. In a career that spanned 17 seasons from 1978-94 with the Phillies, Cardinals, Royals, Braves, Pirates and Orioles, outfielder Lonnie Smith is the only player in baseball history to play in the World Series with four different organizations (the '80 and '81 Phillies, '82 Cardinals, '85 Royals, and '91 and '92 Braves) and to win a World Series Championship with three different teams in the same decade (the '80 Phillies, '82 Cardinals and '85 Royals). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. But wait, there has to be a logical explanation for this. He had to do most of that playing for the Cleveland Indians. As mentioned before, catcher Mike Piazza might not quite be regarded as the worst defensive catcher in historybut he's pretty darn close. 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. You know what the Rangers thought of that Gold Glove? Truly one of the more despicable people to ever play the game, Kingman could do one thing well hit for power. Stuart did rack up 228 home runs during his career, leading the American League in RBI for the 1963 season, but the man who would also be called Stonefingers and The Man with the Iron Glove" made his mark as the poorest defensive fielding first baseman in major league history. All rights reserved. Thomas was primarily a designated hitter during his career. Anyone who can bounce a ball off their glove 20 feet into the stands for a home run deserves a spot on this list. To split it up a little bit, here are the biggest differences on ground balls between actual wOBA and expected wOBA allowed: This is a partial proxy for infield defense. But while he looks bad Devers is definitely the better fielder, and it isnt even close. 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. 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. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Gross was so bad in his time with the A's that he was named to the Athletics' All-Time All-Iron Glove team in ESPN writer Rob Neyer's "Big Book of Baseball LIneups" in 2003. Instead, the Phillies will play out the string, while the Braves get themselves set for the playoffs. In the great history of Major League Baseball, there were guys who were born to hit, guys who were born to run, guys who were born to throw a baseball with dazzling accuracy and power, and guys who were born to perform every skill with magnificent ease. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. Matt Kemp, CF, 2010 Dodgers (minus-37). 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. So hes always been considered a plus defender, but Davenports numbers have never loved him. But Santana hasnt quite been that effective at the plate, while Hoskins, in the field, has been a massive liability. Despite winning. Maybe that's worth talking about another day. 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. Sorry, the RF variance is not enough to claim 1) Devers is better (certainly not offensively) and 2) Andujar has the worst DRS Evah, as you suggest. Fans who sat behind the first base area at Dodger Stadium were known to wear helmets, not knowing where Sax's throws would land. Teams: Texas Rangers (1973), Chicago Cubs (1974-76), San Francisco Giants (1977-79), Pittsburgh Pirates (1979-85), Los Angeles Dodgers (1985-87), Detroit Tigers (1987), Stats: 4,941 chances, 1,694 putouts, 3,025 assists, 222 errors. 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. Stuart also had another great nickname "Moby Dick" when he finished the last few years of his career in Japan. While the general belief is that Mike Piazza is the worst defensive catcher, that would not be the case, at least according to FanGraphs. which combined with poor range gave him minus-37 defensive runs saved. worst defensive runs saved all time. He batted .284, hit 49 home runs and racked up 281 hits over that same stretch, including his lone All-Star selection in 2009. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Athletics. Rickie Weeks, 2B, 2012 Brewers (minus-30). 5. Pretty sure theyre mentioned in this article. It's also interesting that all 10 seasons here occurred since 1990, which is a reflection of more data available to grade defense. Worst Defenses, 2003 - 2018 There are three teams in there from this season alone. 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. 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. So spare me. Only 17 errors for his career is pretty respectable, but only 23 assists is the opposite. Sanchez made 15 errors behind the plate in 2019. The table below shows a comparison between the top 10 shortstops in terms of fielding percentage and the top 10 shortstops in terms of defensive runs saved from 2002 to 2019 in MLB. Just like Jason Giambi, the question needs to be asked if Canseco's admitted, consistent steroid use throughout his career contributed to his fielding woes, with the added bulk hurting his range. MLB - 2022. Nobody talks about errors. 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. The numbers bear this out, and his best seasons hitting were some of his worst seasons fielding. 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. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. 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. Frank Thomas was nicknamed Big Hurt for the way he punished baseballs, hitting 521 home runs during his career. His mobility declined rapidly, and he was in the negative for defensive wins above replacement for 14 straight seasons, bouncing between left field, right field and first base. Gary Sheffield very well could be the most underrated hitter of all time. When Alfonso Soriano first debuted with the New York Yankees in 1999, he was a second baseman who hit the ball a country mile. Offerman's defense was so bad the Dodgers traded him to the Royals after his first All-Star season, in 1995. Did he deserve those Gold Glove Awards? 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. (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. Piazza could rake, and might be the greatest hitting catcher to ever play, defensive inequities be damned. Teams: Detroit Tigers (199496, 2001-02), Houston Astros (19972001), Kansas City Royals (2003, 2005), Los Angeles Dodgers (2004), New York Mets (2006), Stats: 302 chances, 114 putouts, 179 assists, 9 errors. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt certainly presents an interesting case this year. 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. "Please, God, don't hit it to (second baseman) Steve Sax.". We all have at least one great "Oh, Manny!" But Howard also could launch a baseball off a bat, leading the American League in home runs twice. Of course, the biggest knock on Jeter is his poor defense. McLouth was pretty much below average playing in the outfield his entire career. 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. 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.". Do you have a blog? 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. In a way it feels similar to Devers struggleshe has the tools but the execution is lacking. Hill's play in the field inspired jokes among his teammates and coaches, including being compared to a fish trying to survive on dry land. I thought this article was going to be about Miguel Andujar, Still got a ways to go to enter the stars who really shouldnt be playing that position anymore division. In today's statistical world, every single player in baseball is measured in terms of different metrics. There are, of course, 30 teams. Saying Devers is worse than Andujar on the sole basis that he has more errors is like saying Mike Moustakas has been a better hitter than Mike Trout this year because he has more RBI (its true!). 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. 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. February 1, 2018. ken scott actor after we collided. No amount of money could make Giambi a good defensive player. Theyd be exceptionally slim if the Phillies had a good defense, and, well, they dont. In the sense that DRS assigns run values to defensive . The point is that Devers is not much better than Andujar and therefore the remark about Andujar and the worst DRS is garbage. 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. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. Wayne Gross finished his career with -19 total zone runs allowed for his time at third base, where he went over 20 errors in three of his first four seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Jedlovec included Ryan's best and worst plays from 2011-12, too. So the two kind of balance each other out. Stats: 2,060 chances, 610 putouts, 1,367 assists, 83 errors. He was a five-time World Series champion. While Madlock's career fielding percentage may look comparable to other third basemen during his time, fielding percentage never tells the whole story. usa cycling masters road national championships 2021 lore olympus is bad declaration of voluntary surrender of driving licence Twenty-eight of those 29 runs below average came as a center fielder, where he made 2.50 plays per nine innings compared to the MLB average of 2.76.

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