Worst wins
Posted by Andy on June 7, 2010
A reader named Ellis asked me to post the "worst wins" of all time. Below are the results of what I found.
All of these games are from 1920-present, minus 1940-1951, although a little bird tells me that those additional box scores may not be all that far off.
Here are the most earned runs allowed by a pitcher getting the win:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddie Rommel | 1932-07-10 | PHA | CLE | W 18-17 | 17.0 | 29 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 87 | |
| 2 | Thornton Lee | 1938-09-28 | CHW | CLE | W 14-11 | 9.0 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 49 |
| 3 | Jack Knott | 1936-09-02 | SLB | PHA | W 13-11 | 9.0 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 43 |
| 4 | Pete Donohue | 1928-06-02 | CIN | BSN | W 20-12 | 6.1 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33 |
| 5 | Russ Ortiz | 2000-05-21 | SFG | MIL | W 16-10 | 6.2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 32 |
| 6 | Bob Friend | 1954-05-02 (2) | PIT | CHC | W 18-10 | 7.2 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 42 |
| 7 | Buck Ross | 1938-08-16 | PHA | BOS | W 14-11 | 8.2 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 45 |
| 8 | Oral Hildebrand | 1937-04-21 | SLB | CHW | W 15-10 | 9.0 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 47 |
| 9 | Tommy Bridges | 1934-09-26 (1) | DET | CHW | W 12-10 | 7.0 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 35 |
| 10 | Phil Collins | 1932-06-23 | PHI | CHC | W 16-10 | 9.0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 40 |
| 11 | Herb Pennock | 1930-06-26 | NYY | CLE | W 13-11 | 7.1 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 38 |
| 12 | Ray Moss | 1929-05-18 (1) | BRO | PHI | W 20-16 | 5.2 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 33 | |
| 13 | Elam Vangilder | 1928-09-29 | DET | NYY | W 19-10 | 9.0 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 45 |
| 14 | Bill Sherdel | 1926-07-13 | STL | BRO | W 12-10 | 9.0 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 42 |
| 15 | Ernie Wingard | 1925-05-31 | SLB | CHW | W 15-11 | 9.0 | 19 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 45 |
That Rommel game is quite famous. He came in for the second inning with his Athletics losing 3-2 and pitched the rest of the game, which went 18 innings. He allowed quite a few runs but one fewer than the Indians allowed the rest of the way.
Incidentally, here are the leaders for the same search, 2000-present:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russ Ortiz | 2000-05-21 | SFG | MIL | W 16-10 | GS-7 ,W | 6.2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 132 | 81 | 22 | 32 |
| 2 | Dan Haren | 2006-08-21 | OAK | TOR | W 12-10 | GS-6 ,W | 5.2 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 100 | 62 | 13 | 28 |
| 3 | Andy Pettitte | 2007-09-29 | NYY | BAL | W 11-10 | GS-5 ,W | 5.0 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 50 | 14 | 26 |
| 4 | Jaret Wright | 2005-04-18 | NYY | TBD | W 19-8 | GS-6 ,W | 5.1 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 107 | 61 | 15 | 28 |
| 5 | Victor Zambrano | 2003-07-24 | TBD | BOS | W 15-9 | GS-7 ,W | 6.2 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 98 | 58 | 30 | 29 |
| 6 | Woody Williams | 2001-04-07 | SDP | COL | W 14-10 | GS-6 ,W | 5.0 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 101 | 64 | 12 | 29 |
Finally, here's a surprisingly different list for winnings pitchers who allowed the most baserunners:
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | BR | SO | HR | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Feller | 1952-04-29 | CLE | PHA | W 21-9 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 50 |
| 2 | Robin Roberts | 1952-09-06 (1) | PHI | BSN | W 7-6 | CG 17 ,W | 17.0 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 71 | 71 |
| 3 | Mark Lemongello | 1977-08-01 | HOU | PIT | W 4-3 | CG 11 ,W | 11.0 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 62 | 52 |
| 4 | Burt Hooton | 1974-04-17 | CHC | PIT | W 18-9 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 33 | 47 |
| 5 | Bill Singer | 1973-09-29 | CAL | MIN | W 4-3 | CG 11 ,W | 11.0 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 61 | 53 |
| 6 | Billy O'Dell | 1962-04-16 | SFG | LAD | W 19-8 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 47 |
| 7 | Bob Grim | 1959-04-26 | KCA | DET | W 4-3 | GS-9 ,W | 8.2 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 43 |
| 8 | Tom Sturdivant | 1958-04-22 | NYY | BOS | W 12-7 | GS-9 ,W | 8.1 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 44 |
| 9 | Bob Porterfield | 1954-06-18 | WSH | BAL | W 7-5 | CG 13 ,W | 13.0 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 10 | 0 | 65 | 57 |
| 10 | Bob Lemon | 1952-08-20 | CLE | BOS | W 18-8 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 48 |
| 11 | Pete Vuckovich | 1982-06-11 | MIL | DET | W 8-6 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 42 |
| 12 | Bob Veale | 1965-07-20 | PIT | CIN | W 8-6 | GS-9 ,W | 8.2 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 37 | 45 |
| 13 | Steve Barber | 1961-08-13 | BAL | BOS | W 6-5 | CG 11 ,W | 11.0 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 69 | 51 |
| 14 | Bud Podbielan | 1953-05-18 | CIN | BRO | W 2-1 | CG 10 ,W | 10.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 49 |
Hmm, that's a lot of Bobs. Unsurprisingly, a lot of these performances came in extra innings and/or where lots of runners were stranded so the starter was allowed to continue.
On a totally separate note:
- How have I never heard of Mark Lemongello before? That is one of the coolest names I have ever heard.
- Furthermore, how cool is it that Lemon and Lemongello show up on the same list?
June 7th, 2010 at 7:20 am
Could Rommel and Moss have a game score of a negative? LOL
Awesome list btw.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:25 am
Rommel couldn't because he wasn't the starter. Only the starter gets a game score. Negative game scores are possible.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Andy, how about a list of wins by lowest game score?
June 7th, 2010 at 8:20 am
It would be interesting to see the worst wins based on lowest Game Score, though I suspect there would be much overlap with these lists. I love Pete Donohue's Game; Game Score of 1 but still won the game. It would also be interesting to see a "best" losses list based on highest Game Scores.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:36 am
OK the the lowest game scores for a win are right here. Donohue is indeed the worst in the years covered.
I'll make a separate post about losses and negative game scores.
June 7th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Couple of other trivia for that Ed Rommel game.
1. The A's only brought 2 pitchers to that Cleveland road game (a 1-game "series"), so once Rommel went in, it was his until the end.
2. It was Ed's final career win and one of his 3 hits garnered his final RBI.
June 7th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Interestingly, that 17 IP stint was the last of Rommel's 171 career wins. He had also pitched 3 innings the previous day, and 2 innings the day before that! He didn't pitch again for another 40 days, so I wonder if it took that long for the arm re-attachment surgery to heal. lol
June 7th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Off topic:
Jason Motte had a streak of 32 consecutive batters in a row retired that ended last night. Is it possible to find out if that is a Cardinals franchise record, at least for the time period open to search?
June 7th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I remember when Lemongello pitched for the Blue Jays in '79. I kept confusing him with Dave Lemanczyk.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Never heard of Lemongello? The dude who bit his pitching shoulder after a bad outing? He was let go by Houston because of he was a flake, and in Toronto he once flipped the ball past his manager after he was taken out of a game.
He and Manny Seoane were arrested for trying to kidnap Lemongello's cousin, 'famous' (at least on shows like Merv Griffin) Peter Lemongello.
June 7th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Andy's list in post 5 contains a game where a) the starter got the win while pitching only 4⅓ innings, and b) Ty Cobb proved he could hit as many homers as he wanted to.
June 7th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
The lists for lowest game score and worst wins do overlap. I guess I'm more intrigued by lowest game score ever. You said negative game score was possible. I'm intrigued to see who has done it and the box score for said game(s)
June 7th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Decided to take matters into my own hands with my limited Playindex use. I found the lowest game score ever was this: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA193609110.shtml
Hod Lisenbee's score for the game: -35
His line 8IP 26H 17R 14ER 4BB and just one 1K. Talk about a brutal outing. Amazing that he went the distance for a complete game (his team was a way and, not surprisingly, lost).
June 7th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Addition to that last post:
Lisenbee was forced to pitch the entire game because, once again, Mack wanted to cut down on the number of pitchers travelling with the club. Seems fitting that he is mentioned with Rommels game
June 7th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Kahuna: I don't think you're reading the table correctly. In the 5/5/1925 Dutch Leonard game, Detroit got the win, but Dutch got an ND. The pitcher listed got the win only if a 'W' is recorded in the 'App,Dec' (Appearance, Decisions) column.
It is possible for a starter who goes less than 5 IP to get a win if the game is called early due to rain. I think there was also a time before they added the minimum of 5 IP for starters rule when it was also possible to get a win even in a full-length game (though off the top of my head I don't know of any instances where that was the case). None of the games on that list, however, fall into those categories.
Jim: I recall a few years ago (2007?) that there were several game scores that were around -10 to -12. I'm pretty sure one of them was pitched by Jon Garland. Obviously, based on the table in comment #5, those games resulted in losses for the pitcher's team, and I'm guessing that they probably were charged against the starting pitchers involved in most cases.
Yes, looking at Garland's Game log for 2007, on July 6, Jon gave up 12 runs (11 earned) on 11 hits (3 walks, 2 HR) in 3.1 innings to earn a game score of -11. This was obviously a fluke, as it was bookended by regular rest (4 or 5 days) starts with Game Scores of 64 and 54. That was his only negative score start that year, and he only had 3 others with game scores less than 35. His average game score in 2007 was 49, with 12 scores of 60 or higher. His top Game Score was 81, in his last start of the year.
June 7th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I will post negative game scores tomorrow. I already wrote it. You just need to be patient and check back to this blog...:)
June 7th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Sorry Andy, but my impatentience may have ruined your post for tommorow
June 7th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Nope, I've got lots of other info in there.
June 7th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Kahuna: I don't think you're reading the table correctly. In the 5/5/1925 Dutch Leonard game, Detroit got the win, but Dutch got an ND. The pitcher listed got the win only if a 'W' is recorded in the 'App,Dec' (Appearance, Decisions) column.
Tomepp, the table criteria specify "Pitcher Won, as Starter." I think you're inferring a ND for Leonard because the Play Index apparently doesn't generate "App,Dec" information for games played before 1952.
At any rate, I didn't refer to the table but to the box scores, which show Leonard as the winning pitcher. So does Leonard's 1925 game log. The five-inning rule didn't exist back in 1925. As you said, "there was . . . a time before they added the minimum of 5 IP for starters rule when it was also possible to get a win even in a full-length game." The 5/5/25 Leonard game and this Bill Sherdel win on 7/13/28 are two examples from Andy's list.
I'm having trouble determining when the five-inning rule was first put into effect.
June 7th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
According to a post on this blog (about halfway down), quoting The Baseball Encyclopedia, the five-inning rule became official in 1950. See also the on-line version of the Baseball Digest Official Baseball Rules for 1950, pp. 56-57.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
I see Russ Meyer had the game with the lowest game score where he actually won the game. I wonder what he did to bust up that one.
June 7th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Rommel should be on top of the 3rd table, winning pitchers who allowed the most baserunners. 29 hits and 9 walks puts him streets ahead of Feller's stingy 24 baserunner effort.
June 8th, 2010 at 12:32 am
>>>How have I never heard of Mark Lemongello before? That is one of the coolest names I have ever heard.>>>
For the record, Mark is not related to the Orangejello and Lemonjello brothers of "You Gotta Play Hurt" fame. 🙂
June 8th, 2010 at 12:37 am
Also not to be confused with Mike Limongello, http://www.pba.com/Bowlers/HallOfFame/269 of the Pro Bowlers Hall of Fame.
June 8th, 2010 at 5:58 am
Never heard of Mark Lemongello? As far as reading about him, you must have been
pudding it off
June 8th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Kahuna: You're right, I didn't actually look at the box score and was assuming that the 'App,Dec' column was complete; thanks for pointing that out. (I always like learning something new.)
Though I vaguely remember Lemongello as a player, I mainly remember his name because it keeps popping up on "all time foods" type of lineups. I'm surprised that you hadn't run across it in the same way, Andy.