Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Worst Twenty Offensive Seasons by a Yankee Catcher
Last year, on Brian Cronin's suggestion, I took a look at the top offensive seasons by a Yankee at each position. As a change of pace from the projections and stuff that I've been writing about, I thought it would be interesting to look at the worst offensive seasons by each position. I'm using the same format and numbers that I used in last year's series. Players are ranked by batting runs above/below average as calculated using linear weights, adjusted for position, park and the run environment of the season in question. Defense is not factored in here.I am also calculating a position-adjusted version of OPS+ which I'm labeling as psOPS+, which is a quick and easy way to look at how the player in question compared to his peers at the same postion and in the same year on a rate basis using their OBP and SLG. An OPS+ of 100 is exactly average. Greater than 100 is better, etc.,
So starting off, here are the worst 20 seasons by a Yankee catcher.
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | Lg | Pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | BRAA | psOPS+ |
| 1 | Fred Hofmann | 1924 | NYA | AL | C | 62 | 166 | 17 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 15 | .175 | .239 | .241 | -12 | 32 |
| 2 | Joe Girardi | 1997 | NYA | AL | C | 112 | 398 | 38 | 105 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 53 | .264 | .311 | .334 | -12 | 75 |
| 3 | Rick Cerone | 1982 | NYA | AL | C | 89 | 300 | 29 | 68 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 27 | .227 | .271 | .310 | -12 | 64 |
| 4 | Joel Skinner | 1987 | NYA | AL | C | 64 | 139 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 46 | .137 | .187 | .230 | -12 | 20 |
| 5 | Jake Gibbs | 1968 | NYA | AL | C | 124 | 423 | 31 | 90 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 9 | 8 | 27 | 68 | .213 | .270 | .277 | -12 | 70 |
| 6 | Rick Cerone | 1983 | NYA | AL | C | 80 | 246 | 18 | 54 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 29 | .220 | .267 | .272 | -12 | 53 |
| 7 | Benny Bengough | 1925 | NYA | AL | C | 95 | 283 | 17 | 73 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 9 | .258 | .305 | .322 | -11 | 67 |
| 8 | John Flaherty | 2005 | NYA | AL | C | 47 | 127 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 26 | .165 | .206 | .252 | -10 | 28 |
| 9 | Bob Geren | 1990 | NYA | AL | C | 110 | 277 | 21 | 59 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 73 | .213 | .259 | .325 | -10 | 68 |
| 10 | Red Kleinow | 1908 | NYA | AL | C | 96 | 279 | 16 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 0 | .168 | .237 | .204 | -10 | 60 |
1. Fred Hofmann - 1924
Hofmann (nicknamed Bootnose) was a backup catcher and had pretty good seasons in 1922 (.297/.360/.484) and 1923 (.290/.350/.403) but was putrid in 1924. To be 12 runs worse than an average catcher in only 180 PA would be like being -44 over a full season. The 1924 Yankees finished in second place, 3 games behind the Washington Senators, and Hofmman's at least partly to blame.
2. Joe Girardi - 1997
Current Yankee manager and former light-hitting backstop Joe Girardi had a good reputation as a defensive catcher, which is good, because his hitting stunk. It didn't hurt the Yankees' chances at making the postseason because the rest of the team was solid, but I often wonder if Girardi's excessive playing time in 1996-1999 may end up being the difference in Jorge Posada's counting stats being considered Hall of Fame worthy or falling short. Still, the Yankees won the World Series three times in Girardi's four seasons as a Yankees, although it's at least partially likely that Girardi was along for the ride as much as anything.
3. Rick Cerone - 1982
By all accounts, Cerone is a nice guy and he did have a long career in MLB, primarily as a backup catcher, but he was pretty brutal for a Yankee team that finished four games under .500.
4. Joel Skinner - 1987
Skinner came to the Yankees from the White Sox in the big Ron Kittle/Wayne Tolleson heist. He was a big dude with a good defensive reputation who couldn't hit for crap. Here's another season where a player was so bad that even though he only had 137 AB, he cost the Yankees around a win.
5. Jake Gibbs - 1968
Even though 1968 was the year of the pitcher, Gibbs was bad enough to stand out.
6. Rick Cerone - 1983
Rick Cerone, the Lou Gehrig of bad Yankee catchers.
7. Benny Bengough - 1925
I have to admit I never heard of this guy, and apparently there's a good reason.
8. John Flaherty - 2005
Flaherty was never a particularly good player despite a big hitting streak with San Diego in 1996. Still, he was a pretty good backup catcher for the Yanks in 2003 and 2004, but Father Time caught up with him in 2005. I still have fond memories of his game winning double in the July 1, 2004 Jeter Dive game.
9. Bob Geren - 1990
When Geren hit .288/.329/.454 as a rookie in 1989, it seemed like he and Clay Parker were going to be the battery of the future for the Yankees. It's safe to say that didn't quite work out.
10. Red Kleinow - 1908
Another guy I'd never heard of. He had a decent IsoD (OBP - AVG) of .069, but when you hit .168 that's still pretty bad.
And here are 11-20, sans commentary.
| Rank | Player | Year | Team | Lg | Pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | BRAA | psOPS+ |
| 11 | Jack O'Connor | 1903 | NYA | AL | C | 64 | 212 | 13 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .203 | .235 | .231 | -9 | 61 |
| 12 | Walter Blair | 1911 | NYA | AL | C | 85 | 222 | 18 | 43 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | .194 | .257 | .252 | -9 | 67 |
| 13 | Art Jorgens | 1934 | NYA | AL | C | 58 | 183 | 14 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 24 | .208 | .296 | .251 | -9 | 49 |
| 14 | Johnny Grabowski | 1928 | NYA | AL | C | 75 | 202 | 21 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 21 | .238 | .274 | .297 | -8 | 60 |
| 15 | Brad Gulden | 1979 | NYA | AL | C | 40 | 92 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 16 | .163 | .238 | .207 | -8 | 25 |
| 16 | Joel Skinner | 1986 | NYA | AL | C | 54 | 166 | 6 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 40 | .259 | .287 | .301 | -7 | 70 |
| 17 | Herb Crompton | 1945 | NYA | AL | C | 36 | 99 | 6 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .192 | .208 | .222 | -7 | 33 |
| 18 | Monte Beville | 1903 | NYA | AL | C | 82 | 258 | 23 | 50 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | .194 | .252 | .256 | -7 | 75 |
| 19 | Joe Girardi | 1999 | NYA | AL | C | 65 | 209 | 23 | 50 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 26 | .239 | .271 | .354 | -7 | 66 |
| 20 | Jerry Narron | 1979 | NYA | AL | C | 61 | 123 | 17 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | .171 | .226 | .309 | -7 | 48 |
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