However, one accolade that will never be attached to Giambi's is that of fielding genius. 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. Slow of foot, Kingman was simply awful in the outfield, posting a lifetime .957 fielding percentage and -32 Rtot. One thing Ill highlight, though: dating back to August 8, according to Baseball Savant, Phillies pitchers have ranked seventh in baseball in expected wOBA allowed, while Braves pitchers have ranked 16th. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1992-99), San Diego Padres (2000), Seattle Mariners (2000-01), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003), Stats: 1,810 chances, 1,700 putouts, 54 assists, 56 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. DEVERS has 23 errors to Andujars 15 in 200 fewer innings. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. which combined with poor range gave him minus-37 defensive runs saved. There is no question that numbers can at times be deceiving, as evidenced by the fact that New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has won five Gold Glove Awards during his career despite the negative numbers seen above. 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. However, only 7-time All-Star Salvador Prez and first-time All-Star Omar Narvez are in the Top 6 in Total Runs for catchers. And then, there were the guys who were born with hands of stone. I didnt make up those numbers, and they didnt make up those numbers. But Anson could hit (.334 lifetime batting average), and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. 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. 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. Groom's fielding percentage hovered around or below .900 for most of his career and finished at an atrocious .940 in 13 seasons. 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. 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. ), 10. 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. His 11 defensive runs saved in the past three seasons are tied with J.T. Spahn still holds the MLB career record for wins for a left-handed pitcher with 363, was a 17-time All-Star and led the National League in wins eight times. On the flip side, Madlock won four National League batting titles and was a three-time All-Star. Very obviously, when a team collapses, several components have to be involved. Rays. For once (anyone who mjakes a comment like that has a problem with it). The Phillies gambled on a suboptimal alignment. 51. Real or Not? 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. worst defensive runs saved all timedr wellness products reviews. Note that DRS statistics are only available from the 2003 MLB season through the present. But we don't. The avowed racist (he refused to take the field when Blacks were on the other roster) committed more than 50 or more errors in a single season four times, with a career-high 58 errors in 1884. Throughout major league history, some players have built their entire careers on hitting, despite some, ahem, major defensive deficiencies. Become a Stathead today and run queries with our, Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. Im certain thats a part of it. 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. 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. Chris Gomez, SS, 1997 Padres (minus-33). He won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1957-68, tying Roberto Clemente for the most by an outfielder. LeMaster never got out of the "twos" with his main-line hitting statistics, with a slash line of .222/.277/.289 in his career. Browning was a raging alcoholic who regularly played games drunk. Santana looked to be a fine hitter, and so the Phillies made room by bumping Rhys Hoskins to the corner outfield. (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. 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. 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. Blefary's -6.9 defensive WAR is a pretty telling stat. His Rtot and dWAR numbers certainly suggest that a minor league replacement player would have put up a better defense at first than Giambi, known to have limited range and mobility, and hands that were not exactly soft in nature. 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. 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. Most notably, the Astros traded Kenny Lofton for Taubensee, straight up, after the 1991 season. 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. Michael Barrett's caught stealing percentage is pretty horrendous only 22 percent thrown out over his entire career. The ability to handle a pitching staff, call a game, throw out baserunners and be a good receiver certainly can never be underscored. 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. 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. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. 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. Youre completely missing the point, which may or not be intentional on your part. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. It was because Thomas, a former tight end at Auburn, said he didn't feel involved with the game and focused on hitting when he was DH. Do youdo you not read fangraphs? MLB - 2022. Jeter has the worst Total Zone Runs allowed of any MLB player, ever, with a staggering -186 runs allowed. "Herman improved greatly in his ninth season. 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. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. But he got worse at framing pitches and is costing his team more in that area. Which isn't totally fair because he was a decent hitter most of the time and had a .253 batting average. Even though Bichette hit 34 home runs and knocked in 133 runs, the Rockies traded him after the season. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (200511), Minnesota Twins (201213), Atlanta Braves (2014), Stats: 3,234 chances, 2,907 putouts, 285 assists, 42 errors. For this calculation, we use a replacement level on defense is the league average. He didn't make his major league debut until he was 26 years old and ended up pitching in the majors until he was 40 years old. In left field, he made 1.80 plays per game while teammate Josh Willingham -- hardly known as a plus fielder himself -- made 2.17. Pretty sure theyre mentioned in this article. Gary Sheffield, 3B, 1993 Padres/Marlins (minus-31). Andujar, not so much. Farewell to a Mariners legend. 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. Yes, it's safe to say I'm not a card-carrying member of SABR.org. His defensive WAR of -19.7 is stunningly bad, and one can't help but wonder if years of rampant steroid use and performance-enhancing drugs contributed to Giambi's lack of mobility. 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. cafe under the spire newcastle; worst defensive runs saved all time. . Details are actually sketchy regarding Browning's defensive prowess, but several accounts claim that Browning played defense standing on one leg to prevent opposing players from running into him. 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. 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. 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. 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. Make a guess now (Note: Baseball-Reference uses fielding runs below average, which can be drawn from two different sources depending on the year. Over the whole season, the Phillies pitching staff ranks third in expected wOBA on contact. 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. 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 for now, just focus on the Phillies. [fn]John Dewan, The Fielding Bible, Volume II (Skokie, Ill.: ACTA Sports, 2009), 11-4. Except for catchers, Plus/Minus represents the majority of a player's DRS. 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. 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. He's also the source of one of the greatest quotes on fielding in the history of baseball. For those of you who dont know, DRS stands for Defensive Runs Saved. And JDMs 124 RBI will mean absolutely nothing in an MVP conversation. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. His overall defense has suffered as well. Lima died in 2010 of a massive heart attack. So spare me. This was Sheffield's final season as a third baseman and he made 34 errors while fielding .899. Still, that's nearly one fewer play every two games. Many thanks to him. 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. Bonilla could've been on this list as a third baseman, but that almost seemed too easy. As a fielder, Herman's life was an adventure. For example, if your pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts, every fielder is at a disadvantag. 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: 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.". It doesnt cover everything, but for what it does cover, the Phillies dont look good. He didn't get much practice. But, knowing what they know now, the Phillies presumably wouldnt choose to repeat this. Spahn's defensive struggles seemed to be mostly early in his career, with a few blips as it went on. | Glossary", "What is a Defensive Runs Saved (DRS)? That's because the 6-foot-1, 255-pound left fielder's struggles in the field overshadowed his work at the plate. Maybe that's why the Hall of Famer was so poor at fielding the ball. The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? Teams: Oakland Athletics (1995-2001), New York Yankees (2002-08), Oakland Athletics (2009), Colorado Rockies (2009-12), Cleveland Indians (2013-14), Stats: 11,742 chances, 10,989 putouts, 649 assists, 104 errors. 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. 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. The last third baseman to put up equally putrid numbers was Ryan Braun in 2007 (-32 in comparable innings). 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. It would be years before Sax finally figured out his mechanical issues, but the damage had already been done. 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. | Glossary", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Defensive_Runs_Saved&oldid=1106620581, Articles needing additional references from June 2022, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 August 2022, at 15:02. Real or Not? While the general belief is that Mike Piazza is the worst defensive catcher, that would not be the case, at least according to FanGraphs. In this day and age, theres no reason not to explore further. Be honest, please. Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. Kemp also had just three assists in 2010 compared to 14 in 2009 and 11 in 2011. And it should be clear that, at the very least, the Phillies defense has been a season-long weakness. Yet they have just seven games left, and theyre already nine runs worse than the 2005 Yankees. He was a huge dude and while his outfield defense wasn't terrible in his first few years, he soon became huge and slow. There are a lot of times the Gold Glove has been handed out over the years, and we look back in confusion. No list regarding defense in baseball, especially bad defense, would be complete without the name of Dick Stuart, aka Dr. Strangeglove. Which kind of overshadows the fact that he's been shoehorned into all three outfield spots, first base and third base throughout his career trying to find the right fit to mask his shortcomings fielding the ball. Rob Picciolo wasn't a terrible fielding shortstop overall. 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.' Aside from his horrible play on the basepaths, where he stole just 52 bases in 123 attempts, or at the plate, where he hit just one home run in 3,754 at-bats, Kuiper was also bad in the field. 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: Tampa Bay Rays (2013-14), San Diego Padres (2015-present), Stats: 3,955 chances, 3,695 putouts, 231 assists, 29 errors. While the numbers above don't appear to be horrible, noted baseball statistician Bill James once said that Smith should teach a course in "defensive recovery and cost containment" since he spent so much of his time working on it. You just had to hope and pray that the other team didn't hit the ball back to him. 3. 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. I think he's going to come in [to camp] lighter and little more nimble.". Willie Mays, on the other hand, was arguably the best defensive outfielder ever. We should all know Greg Luzinski's name an elite power hitter who played 15 seasons in the majors and had over 300 career home runs. He started over 300 games at three different positions and came up just six starts short of 100 at shortstop. In 2006, Dunn led the NL in errors as well, that time as an outfielder. 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. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1970-80), Chicago White Sox (1981-84), Stats: 2,282 chances, 2,120 putouts, 105 assists, 57 errors. However, the Brewers saw just how bad Sheffield was there, and moved him to third base. 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. No amount of money could make Giambi a good defensive player. Despite winning. Fielding the ball was not their strength. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. By 1993, Puckett was 33 and had put on some weight; it's perhaps instructive that the Twins moved him from center field to right field after the All-Star break. It's never good to make a list like this early in your career, but Jorge Polanco has done just enough in six seasons to make the cut. By most defensive metrics used, McLouth was regarded as one of the worst defensive center fielders that year, which proves our point once again that voters are completely out of touch as to the significance of a Gold Glove Award. This one makes a lot of sense: An old outfielder trying to play in Coors Field. 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. 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.