Worst ERA+ Ever
Posted by Chris J. on September 27, 2007
After my last post, a reader asks what's the worst single-season ERA+ of all-time. Well . . . . among guys with at least 162 IP, it's Jack Neagle from 1883, whoever the hell he was, with a 54.
Worst 20th century pitcher: Rube Bressler, 56 in 1915.
Worst liveballer: Jose Lima, 62, 2005. Given how many really old pitchers dominate the list, this might be the worst, in context of the era.
How 'bout worst by franchise? Well that list has the bottom 200. Let's see what teams I can find on it. First AL then NL teams, alphabetical by current nickname:
American League:
Angels - Willie Fraser - 1988, 71
Athletics: Rube Bressler - 56 in 1915
Devil Rays - Mark Hendrickson, 73, 2005
Indians - Bob Feller (!?!?) - 71 in 1952
Mariners - Joel Pineiro - 68 in 2006
Orioles/Browns: Willie Sudhoff - 66, 1904
Rangers/Senators - Phil Ortega - 68, 1965
Red Sox: Jack Lamabe, 65, 1964
Royals: Jose Lima 62 in 2005
Tigers - Joe Coleman, 72, 1975
Twins/Senators - Dolley Gray, 1909, 67
White Sox - Pat Carraway - 68, 1931
National League:
Astros - Jose Lima, 74, 2000. He's the only person to be the all-time worst with two different clubs. Well, that's some sort of accomplishment, I guess.
Braves: Curry Foley, 59, 1880.
Cardinals: Pol Perritt, 62, 1913
Cubs - Pat Luby, 70, 1891 TIED with Tex Carleton, 1938
Dodgers: Oscar Jones, 62, 1905
Expos: Javier Vazquez - 68, 1998
Florida - Scott Olsen, 72, 2007 - PRIOR TO TODAY, WHERE HIS NUMBERS IMPROVED
Giants: Mark Davis, 66, 1984
Mets - Jack Fisher, 1967, 72
Padres - Steve Arlin 68, 1973
Phillies: John Coleman, 63, 1883
Pirates: Kirtley Baker, 58, 1890.
Reds - Eric Milton, 69, 2005 TIED with Bill Phillips, 1901
Original 16 teams not listed: Yankees. That's it. Those bastards! Expansion teams not here (oldest to youngest): Pilots/Brewers, Blue Jays, Rockies, D-backs. Marlins as of tommorrow won't be listed either.
September 27th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Interesting to note the quality of some of those pitchers. They always say you need to be a decent pitcher to lose 20 games, and the same is probably true for this list. If they don't believe you're going to turn it around, they won't leave you out there that long pitching that badly.
Bob Feller of course is HOF
Joel Pineiro looked like a future star not long ago...pitched very well tonight
Jose Lima won 21 games in a season. He sucked, came back, and then sucked again, enabling his 2 spots on the list.
Javy Vazquez's career #s aren't as good as they should be, but he's won in double-digits 7 years running, and will get over 150 career wins
Mark Davis was converted to relief and won the Cy Young
Eric Milton was a quality pitcher for a few years...100 career wins is looking tough though
September 27th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Chris J, that's awesome! Thanks so much for doing the research.
September 29th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Does Joe Maddon read this blog? He pulled Edwin Jackson today after 7 IP leaving hiom at 161 for the year.