Good bat, but bad everything else @LoMoMarlins
Logan Morrison attempts to catch a ball while looking less-than-confident / Icon SMI
Most fans only think about a player’s offensive production when judging his value. In 2011, though, there were 3 players to produce at least 10 Batting Runs (a component of WAR: see the Stats Glossary link above) while have an overall WAR of at most 1.0–these players had negative contributions from most of the other aspects of their performance.
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | Rbat | Rbaser | Rfield | Tm | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Duda | 0.8 | 16 | -1 | -13 | NYM | 100 | 347 | 301 | 38 | 88 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 50 | 33 | 57 | .292 | .370 | .482 | .852 | 39/7D |
| 2 | Mark Reynolds | 0.5 | 14 | -1 | -25 | BAL | 155 | 620 | 534 | 84 | 118 | 27 | 1 | 37 | 86 | 75 | 196 | .221 | .323 | .483 | .806 | *53 |
| 3 | Logan Morrison | 0.2 | 10 | -2 | -16 | FLA | 123 | 525 | 462 | 54 | 114 | 25 | 4 | 23 | 72 | 54 | 99 | .247 | .330 | .468 | .797 | *7/D3 |
These three guys all did nice things at the plate but bad things on the basepaths and with their gloves.
This is the 3rd straight season that Mark Reynolds “achieved” this “feat”, of having negative baserunning and fielding contributions.
Here are the guys over the last 3 seasons who had -30 fielding runs (or worse) and +10 batting runs (or better):
| Rk | Rfield | Rbat | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | Tm | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Wright | -36 | 54 | 26-28 | 403 | 1735 | 1511 | 235 | 429 | 98 | 7 | 53 | 236 | 195 | 398 | .284 | .364 | .463 | .828 | *5/6D | NYM |
| 2 | Dan Uggla | -32 | 42 | 29-31 | 478 | 2014 | 1753 | 272 | 446 | 80 | 2 | 100 | 277 | 232 | 455 | .254 | .345 | .473 | .818 | *4 | FLA-ATL |
| 3 | Mark Reynolds | -47 | 28 | 25-27 | 455 | 1878 | 1611 | 261 | 367 | 74 | 4 | 113 | 273 | 234 | 630 | .228 | .331 | .489 | .820 | *5/3 | ARI-BAL |
| 4 | Aramis Ramirez | -30 | 33 | 31-33 | 355 | 1475 | 1336 | 187 | 382 | 70 | 3 | 66 | 241 | 105 | 202 | .286 | .344 | .491 | .835 | *5/D | CHC |
| 5 | Adam Dunn | -39 | 40 | 29-31 | 439 | 1812 | 1519 | 202 | 357 | 81 | 2 | 87 | 250 | 268 | 553 | .235 | .354 | .463 | .817 | *3/D79 | WSN-CHW |
| 6 | Bobby Abreu | -31 | 45 | 35-37 | 448 | 1919 | 1638 | 238 | 438 | 100 | 5 | 43 | 241 | 259 | 358 | .267 | .365 | .413 | .779 | *9D/7 | LAA |
Just what Adam Dunn needed…
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In 2008, Brad Hawpe had -41 fielding runs, the worst single season total so far this century. It turned his 2.4 oWAR into a -1.7 WAR.
When I saw this post, I immediately thought of Brad Hawpe.
New post on Hawpe is up.
3 players in history have managed +30 Rbat and -30 Rfield in a single season. Ryan Braun (+33/-35 in 2007), Jason Bay (+31/-35 in 2008), and Adam Dunn (+34/-33 in 2009).
It’s these measures that make me want most of these guys for my fantasy teams and makes me glad they’re not Cardinals.
Did a bit more digging and it appears that Hawpe’s -41 fielding runs is the worst total ever. But what’s odd is that all of the worst totals for fielding runs are recent, with most of them occurring in the 90′s and 00′s. The only exceptions I can find are Rick Monday (-27) in 1974 and Alan Bannister (-29) in 1977. I’m not an expert with the play index so someone else should confirm this.
@4
Ed:
From 1901 to 1989 there have been 6 players with Rfield of -25 or less. From 1990 to 2011 there have been 25 players.
From 1901 to 1989 there have been 57 players with less than -20 and from 1990 to 2011 there have been 73 players.
I wonder if there’s a way to determine if that’s because overall levels of fielding have improved so that the marginal players stand out more or if it’s because the players at those positions don’t belong there…
Thanks for confirming what I found. It definitely calls out for some sort of explanation.
First guy I thought of (well, modern guy) was Ty Wigginton, but when you examine his career, he really only had one year where he could be considered a “good bat,” and that’s 2008. Still, career 11.8 oWAR, and -11.2 dWAR.
I never thought of David Wright as such a poor defensive player… though I try and avoid Mets games.
I gotta admit, i was surprised that neither Dick Stuart — the original Dr. Strangeglove — nor Marvelous Marv Throneberry managed to sneek onto any of these lists.
I keep seeing David Wright defensive highlights on TV. I suppose those are the only plays he makes.
Well, at least Adam Dunn rips it up with the bat.
In the photo, Morrison looks as if he might be wearing his glove on the wrong hand. He’s not, of course, but it’s just further proof that he’s not a good fielder.
Interestingly, there was no shortage of photos like this when selecting one for Morrison. In this Icon Sports Media database there were several where Morrison looked scared/awkward about fielding a ball, and several others where it was apparent that he had just missed a ball. The same is true for other bad fielders such as Ty Wigginton.
Duda and Wright on the list with Daniel Murphy at 2nd base!?!? Where’s Mike Piazza to lend some defensive stability to the Mets?
I can still see Abreu flinching every time he touched the right field warning track at Yankee Stadium. Makes one appreciate O’Neill and Swisher.