Friday, February 20, 2009
Worst Twenty Offensive Seasons by a Yankee 2B
As we hopefully move on from the A-ROID drama, at least temporarily, I'm going to resume my look at the worst twenty offensive seasons by a Yankee position player. Today we look at 2B. For a refresher on the methodology I'm using here, you can take a look at the first post in this series.So, here are the ten worst seasons by a Yankee 2B.
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | Lg | Pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | BRAA | psOPS+ |
| 1 | Lute Boone | 1914 | NYA | AL | 2B | 106 | 370 | 34 | 82 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 10 | 18 | 31 | 41 | .222 | .285 | .254 | -23 | 59 |
| 2 | Horace Clarke | 1968 | NYA | AL | 2B | 148 | 579 | 52 | 133 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 23 | 46 | .230 | .258 | .254 | -19 | 60 |
| 3 | Hack Simmons | 1912 | NYA | AL | 2B | 110 | 401 | 45 | 96 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 19 | 0 | 33 | 0 | .239 | .308 | .292 | -18 | 68 |
| 4 | Lute Boone | 1915 | NYA | AL | 2B | 130 | 431 | 44 | 88 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 43 | 14 | 17 | 41 | 53 | .204 | .285 | .276 | -17 | 70 |
| 5 | Aaron Ward | 1925 | NYA | AL | 2B | 125 | 439 | 41 | 108 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 49 | 49 | .246 | .326 | .337 | -16 | 69 |
| 6 | Bill McKechnie | 1913 | NYA | AL | 2B | 45 | 112 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 17 | .134 | .198 | .134 | -14 | -7 |
| 7 | Enrique Wilson | 2004 | NYA | AL | 2B | 93 | 240 | 19 | 51 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 20 | .213 | .254 | .325 | -14 | 51 |
| 8 | Earle Gardner | 1911 | NYA | AL | 2B | 102 | 357 | 36 | 94 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 0 | .263 | .312 | .311 | -14 | 76 |
| 9 | Jerry Coleman | 1954 | NYA | AL | 2B | 107 | 300 | 39 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 29 | .217 | .278 | .277 | -13 | 55 |
| 10 | Sandy Alomar | 1975 | NYA | AL | 2B | 151 | 489 | 61 | 117 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 28 | 6 | 26 | 58 | .239 | .277 | .305 | -13 | 67 |
1. Lute Boone - 1914
There have been two Lutes to play in MLB. Neither one broke a .300 career OBP. I never heard of Mr. Boone, but it's heartening to know that the Yankees have had a long history of Boones that stunk.
2. Horace Clarke - 1968
Horace Clarke's arrival coincided with the end of the Yankees' string of 15 pennants in 18 seasons from 1947 through 1964. Clarke debuted in 1965 and played his last Yankee season in 1973. The Yankees did not win a single pennant during his Yankee tenure, despite his career line of .256/.308/.313.
3. Hack Simmons - 1912
Simmons was aptly named it seems.
4. Lute Boone - 1915
Lute improved his OPS+ by a whopping 6 points in 1915.
5. Aaron Ward - 1925
The one thing I'm noticing is I haven't heard of most of these people, and it's apparently obvious why.
6. Bill McKechnie - 1913
I'm assuming the 1911-1915 Yankee 2B were defensive wizards, because collectively they hit like crap.
7. Enrique Wilson - 2004
Back in the glory days of Yankee Game Chatter on BaseballThinkFactory, Enrique Wilson was "lovingly" known as the Parasite during the Jason Giambi intestinal parasite saga. Brian Cashman traded Damaso Marte for Wilson in 2001, then spend 7 seasons trying to get Marte back before finally succeeding in 2008.
8. Earle Gardner - 1911
Before there was Hack Simmons, there was Earle Gardner. It's tough to downgrade from a .244/.303/.284 line, but Simmons did it.
9. Jerry Coleman - 1954
Jerry Coleman is probably better known for his announcing. He wasn't a horrible player, putting up a career OBP of .340, but his 1954 was pretty bad.
Some of Coleman's famous announcing moments:
"And Kansas is at Chicago tonight or is it Chicago at Kansas City? Well, no matter as Kansas leads in the eighth four-to-four."
"(Bruce) Benedict may not be hurt as much as he really is."
"Bob Davis is wearing his hair differently this year, short and with curls like Randy Jones wears, I think you call it a Frisbee."
"(Joe) DiMaggio seldom showed emotion. One day after striking out, he came into the dugout and kicked the ball bag. We all went 'ooooh'. It really hurt. He sat down and the sweat popped out on his forehead and he clenched his fists without ever saying a word. Everybody wanted to howl, but he was a god. You don't laugh at gods."
"Enos Cabell started out here with the Astros and before that he was with the Orioles."
"Eric Show will be oh-for-ten if that pop fly comes down."
"Gaylord Perry and Willie McCovey should know each other like a book. They've been ex-teammates for years now."
"George Hendrick simply lost that sun-blown popup."
"(Johnny) Grubb goes back, back. He's under the warning track."
"He (Graig Nettles) leaped up to make one of those diving stops only he can make."
"He slides into second with a stand up double."
10. Sandy Alomar - 1975
Alomar managed a 15 year career despite hitting only .245/.290/.288 with an OPS+ of 60. He was only a Yankee for parts of 3 seasons, but he managed to make this ignomious list anyway.
After the jump, I'm going to cheat for 11-20 and go to 21 instead of 20. You'll see why shortly.
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | Lg | Pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | BRAA | psOPS+ |
| 11 | Horace Clarke | 1973 | NYA | AL | 2B | 148 | 590 | 60 | 155 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 11 | 10 | 47 | 48 | .263 | .317 | .308 | -12 | 80 |
| 12 | Bobby Richardson | 1957 | NYA | AL | 2B | 97 | 305 | 36 | 78 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 26 | .256 | .274 | .298 | -11 | 66 |
| 13 | Fritz Maisel | 1917 | NYA | AL | 2B | 113 | 404 | 46 | 80 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 29 | 0 | 36 | 18 | .198 | .267 | .228 | -11 | 63 |
| 14 | Bobby Richardson | 1965 | NYA | AL | 2B | 160 | 664 | 76 | 164 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 47 | 7 | 5 | 37 | 39 | .247 | .287 | .322 | -11 | 82 |
| 15 | Aaron Ward | 1922 | NYA | AL | 2B | 154 | 558 | 69 | 149 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 68 | 6 | 4 | 45 | 64 | .267 | .328 | .357 | -11 | 85 |
| 16 | Bobby Richardson | 1961 | NYA | AL | 2B | 162 | 662 | 80 | 173 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 49 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 23 | .261 | .295 | .316 | -11 | 81 |
| 17 | Bobby Richardson | 1960 | NYA | AL | 2B | 150 | 460 | 45 | 116 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 19 | .252 | .303 | .298 | -11 | 74 |
| 18 | Earle Gardner | 1910 | NYA | AL | 2B | 86 | 271 | 36 | 66 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 0 | .244 | .303 | .284 | -10 | 78 |
| 19 | Joe Gedeon | 1916 | NYA | AL | 2B | 122 | 435 | 50 | 92 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 14 | 0 | 40 | 61 | .211 | .282 | .262 | -10 | 75 |
| 20 | Andy Fox | 1996 | NYA | AL | 2B | 113 | 189 | 26 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 28 | .196 | .276 | .265 | -10 | 52 |
| 21 | Robinson Cano | 2008 | NYA | AL | 2B | 159 | 597 | 70 | 162 | 35 | 3 | 14 | 72 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 65 | .271 | .305 | .410 | -9 | 89 |
11. Horace Clarke - 1973
Clarke's second appearance on the list.
12. Bobby Richardson - 1957
Richardson was a pretty bad player who was part of some very good teams. Repoz from BaseballThinkFactory is a big fan. In a 12 year career where he broke an OBP of .300 thrice, this was his worst season despite only 305 PA.
13. Fritz Maisel - 1917
I think Fritz is the first player to appear on a top 20 and bottom 20 list.
14. Bobby Richardson - 1965
One wonders how many more runs the 1961-1966 Yankees would have scored without Richardson sucking up outs in over 70% of his plate appearances. He did slug .322 which didn't quite mitigate his .287 OBP.
15. Aaron Ward - 1922
Who?
16. Bobby Richardson - 1961
More Bobby R.
17. Bobby Richardson - 1960
See above.
18. Earle Gardner - 1910
Earle makes his second appearance on the list. Stretch that 1911-1915 era to 1910.
19. Joe Gedeon - 1916
Make that 1910-1916. And with Fritz Maisel's 1917, make it 1910-1917
20. Andy Fox - 1996
I'll admit it, I thought Andy Fox was going to be a good player.
21. Robinson Cano - 2008
I'll admit it, I thought Robinson Cano was going to be a good player.
What jumped out to me when doing this was the stretch from 1910-1917. The primary Yankee 2Bs over that stretch were collectively 116 batting runs below average. Ouch.
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