3. It may be a bit unfair to include long-time shortstop Bill Dahlen on this list. 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. Boston Herald reporter Sean McAdam once said of Lugo, "The next base hit Lugo takes away will be the first. 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. What else do you need to know? But over the years, despite Jeter's success he had widely been deemed as one of the sport's most overrated players ever. In his 11-year career, seven with the Cincinnati Reds, Taubensee was literally brutal behind the plate. Defensively, sabermetricians use such terms as dWAR, UZR, Rtot (Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Average) along with many others. I thought it would be about Gleyber Torres. The infield has been a problem, and the outfield has been a problem, and when the both of those are problems, it can be a lot to overcome. He also was among the league leaders in passed balls and errors committed by a catcher on a regular basis. Team Defensive Runs Saved. 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. So let me see: Wins will not factor into a Cy for Snell, assuming he gets it. Teams tried to play Meyer for extended periods of time at left field, first base and third base, where he accumulated a whopping -57 total zone runs allowed for his career. Jeter has been one of the worst defensive shortstops over the last decade by most statistical measures. Look at the defensive wins against replacement. Who has the best defensive runs saved in MLB history? Teams: Detroit Tigers (197476), Seattle Mariners (197781), Oakland Athletics (198285), Stats: 5,259 chances, 4,562 putouts, 608 assists, 89 errors. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. For example, a fielder who catches a 25% Out Probability play gets +.75; one who fails to make the play gets -.25. 5. Sheesh! Hippo Vaughn only played 13 seasons but led the National League in errors five times. 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. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. "Herman improved greatly in his ninth season. 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. Range is the most important component, absolutely, but arms matter, too, and the Phillies outfield arms, collectively, rank in the bottom five by both DRS and UZR. Teams: Oakland Athletics (197683), Baltimore Orioles (198485), Oakland Athletics (1986), Stats: 3,182 chances, 1,549 putouts, 1,490 assists, 143 errors. 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. Teams: Oakland Athletics (197782, 1985), Milwaukee Brewers (198283), California Angels (1984), Stats: 2,440 chances, 952 putouts, 1,417 assists, 71 errors. Kids, this is what happens when you don't work on your defense in practice. Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup? Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. As an outfielder, Bobby Bonilla was passable, and his offense generally took precedence for any deficiencies. This was Sheffield's final season as a third baseman and he made 34 errors while fielding .899. He was a huge dude and while his outfield defense wasn't terrible in his first few years, he soon became huge and slow. San Diego Padres (2011), Los Angeles Angels (2013), Stats: 1,816 chances, 1,695 putouts, 87 assists, 34 errors. Who had the worst defensive season ever? - SweetSpot- ESPN Youll recall they were the team that, in spring training, experimented with swapping left and right fielders based on the handedness of the hitter. And if his unremarkable hitting wasn't enough, his defensive stats certainly don't suggest that LeMaster was being kept around for his defensive prowess, either. Defensive Runs Saved - Wikipedia 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. Here, then, is a list of 40 of the worst defensive players in MLB history. The numbers bear this out, and his best seasons hitting were some of his worst seasons fielding. worst defensive runs saved all time - cloverfieldnews.com Cap Anson played in the dead ball era, where errors were out of control, but theres still no way to get around his 976 errors. Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . 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. Burnett was worth -13 defensive runs saved for the Pirates. On the flip side, the worst fielders usually finish around -15 or -20 Defensive Runs Saved. 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. That leads us to his next record. Chris Gomez, SS, 1997 Padres (minus-33). Why is Eduardo Escobar a defender to watch in 2023? 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. 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. His total zone runs allowed over those two years was a staggering -68, including 14 errors and a .956 fielding percentage in 2008. Teams: New York Highlanders (1908, 1910-12), Washington Senators (1912), Chicago Cubs (1913-21), Stats: 906 chances, 92 putouts, 740 assists, 74 errors, Caught stealing percentage: .519 (incomplete). cafe under the spire newcastle; worst defensive runs saved all time. 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. But over the last . Dahlen still holds the record for total chances by a shortstop, and oftentimes led the league in putouts and double plays as well. But while he looks bad Devers is definitely the better fielder, and it isnt even close. Dude. Pretty sure theyre mentioned in this article. '", Teams: Cleveland Indians (197481), San Francisco Giants (198285), Stats: 4,542 chances, 2,000 putouts, 2,466 assists, 76 errors. Athletics. Baseball Info Solutions tracked him with 30 good plays and 39 misplays and it's worth noting that ultimate zone rating had him at minus-23 runs and total zone at minus-31 runs. ", "And Phillies fans never forgave Ozark for failing to make a defensive substitution for Greg Luzinski". And JDMs 124 RBI will mean absolutely nothing in an MVP conversation. In retrospect, you could say the story of the 2018 Phillies is represented by the acquisition of Carlos Santana. ", Liebman quoted another source as saying Herman actually did get a bit better later in his career. What's strange is the lowest of his per position totals was at third base, where it was -12. 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. The four Golden Gloves he won were a joke his total zone runs allowed were in double digits for two of those seasons. However, Howard's defense was anything but power. Measuring Defense: Entering the Zones of Fielding Statistics 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. More importantly, Vzquez has the trust of his pitchers. http://www.claydavenport.com/ht/TORRES19961213A.shtml. Sean Murphy. He's also the source of one of the greatest quotes on fielding in the history of baseball. It's one reason why Long had a .978 career fielding percentage playing center field with 21 errors. Teams: Detroit Tigers (199295), Florida Marlins (1995), Oakland Athletics (199699), Baltimore Orioles (200004), New York Yankees (2005), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Stats: 117 chances, 25 putouts, 85 assists, 5 errors. Willie Mays, on the other hand, was arguably the best defensive outfielder ever. Fastballs were Ryan's forte; ground balls weren't. Teams: Tampa Bay Rays (2013-14), San Diego Padres (2015-present), Stats: 3,955 chances, 3,695 putouts, 231 assists, 29 errors. It's a good thing they don't look at defense. 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. 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. His -180 total zone runs allowed is second only to Derek Jeter in MLB history. 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. Pete Browning had a pretty amazing nickname, "Gladiator," and he was also the inspiration for the Louisville Slugger line of baseball bats. Rickie Weeks, 2B, 2012 Brewers (minus-30). MLB - 2022. 7. 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. Robinson Cano made 26 errors in his first two seasons, and he too was a positively-regarded shortstop in the minors. Mookies BA will not be considered in his MVP, assuming he beats JDM. 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. Thomas was primarily a designated hitter during his career. Gomez's range factor was actually higher than the MLB average, 4.63 to 4.58, and his fielding percentage was fine, so I'm not quite sure why he rates so poorly. Ich-i-ro!' 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]. It's not hard to see why he made all those mistakes. UZR includes errors as part of its calculation, too. 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. He was a five-time World Series champion. He tried first base, third base, outfield and even catcher. Much like Derek Jeter, there has been a lot of divisiveness over the years about Kemp's defense. Had it not been for two truly awful seasons in 2008 and 2009, Brad Hawpe probably would've been able to avoid this lineup. He was just really bad whenever he got a chance to be an everyday player. The Tragedy of Derek Jeter's Defense - Grantland 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. 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. Realmuto and Sean Murphy for eighth among those with at least 500 . 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. Still, even then the tools are there. We all have at least one great "Oh, Manny!" 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. 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. 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. Teams: Colorado Rockies (2004-10), Tampa Bay Rays (2010). 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. While Madlock's career fielding percentage may look comparable to other third basemen during his time, fielding percentage never tells the whole story. 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. Thanks for setting me straight. The Phillies havent done enough hitting, and so theyll go into the offseason looking to make a major splash. worst defensive runs saved all time - frauundfamilie.ch Hawpe managed to survive getting the axe over this stretch by posting his best seasons at the plate. Let's look at his range factors per nine innings: In raw numbers, Kemp played nine fewer innings in 2010, but made 37 fewer putouts. He didn't get much practice. What's worse? Awards are voted on by the same knuckle dragging journalists. 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. Only two third basemen finished worse in the stat than he did. Hobson's 1978 season was a legendary blunder. Many thanks to him. Yes, it's safe to say I'm not a card-carrying member of SABR.org. And this is a plot of the 2018 Phillies playoff odds: As recently as August 7, the Phillies were in first place and 15 games over .500. worst defensive runs saved all time - aima.org.af Fielding the ball was not their strength. When Alfonso Soriano first debuted with the New York Yankees in 1999, he was a second baseman who hit the ball a country mile. 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. 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. Honestly, in looking at the career of shortstop Johnnie LeMaster, it's hard to believe that he actually enjoyed a 12-year career. Michael Young, SS, 2005 Rangers (minus-32). All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Career Leaders & Records for Defensive WAR - Baseball-Reference.com Do youdo you not read fangraphs? Very obviously, when a team collapses, several components have to be involved. Lima died in 2010 of a massive heart attack. Youre completely missing the point, which may or not be intentional on your part. On the other hand, the Braves arrived a year or so ahead of time. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. Guerrero's 165 career errors make a lot more sense now. People are still citing fielding percentage and what the hell is that based on? All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. 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.