Worst pitcher ever?

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-08-2014, 03:28 PM

This guy...he's, um...pretty bad. I know he's pitched for expansion teams a lot recently (Toronto & Berlin both started in 2017), and some lousy Paris teams (they finally posted their first winning record in their 7th season) but still, ouch!

His expanded stats are just as bad. Not too many redeeming qualities, unless "innings eater" is what you need. Probably why he keeps getting picked in the expansion drafts. They'd better keep him in the rotation, because he was even worse the one season his team tried him in the bullpen. Only one ERA under 5, only one WHIP under 1.50 (that just barely) in his "illustrious" career. He's managed to stick around since the league started, though.

I'm guessing somebody can top the "Trojan Horse" for sheer awfulness, so let's see some pitching horror stories. Be happy they're not on your team...unless they are, then go cry in your beer, and/or hope you can find a sucker to trade with!

le receveur · 01-08-2014, 03:34 PM

ERA+ of 82 is not that bad. i have seen way worse, but not as long a career..

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-08-2014, 03:37 PM

That's improved by the 98 in his rookie year, which actually makes all his stats look a little better. He started mediocre, and got worse!

pjh5165 · 01-08-2014, 04:29 PM

It figures players like this guy are the Durable ones

bwburke94 · 01-09-2014, 12:00 PM

Positive WAR, though...

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-09-2014, 01:09 PM

Except for that one year in the 'pen, yeah. Not sure how that happened. "Replacement" must mean "45-year-old overweight guy we found in a beer league".

EvilGenius · 01-09-2014, 01:31 PM

Didn't someone once say, "You gotta be pretty good to lose 20 games"?

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-09-2014, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilGenius

Didn't someone once say, "You gotta be pretty good to lose 20 games"?

He must be damned good, then, since he's done it twice so far!

The Game · 01-09-2014, 08:10 PM

here is my EBL's single season leader in losses. He is a clone of Frank Tanana.

tejdog1 · 01-09-2014, 09:23 PM

His nickname is awesome

falkonisback · 01-09-2014, 10:42 PM

What are you talking about..."Trojan" isn't that bad at all...HE'S GOT 2 SAVES!!! Did you not see that???

Baseballman2K5 · 01-10-2014, 01:19 AM

not terrible career numbers but in 2025 he set the MLB historical HR allowed record....51 smh

tayloraj · 01-10-2014, 08:43 AM

These are two of the worst pitchers who have ever played in my 140-season old custom league, excluding anyone who pitched the majority of their career for the league's Wilmington franchise and its Baker Bowl-esque home field (lowlighted by a guy with a 70-133 record, 20-loss seasons in 5 of his 6 full seasons, and a 6.64 career ERA). Both these sods had the misfortune of playing for terrible teams most of their careers (Austin's team went 49-105 in his historic 3-23 season and never had a winning season his entire career) but, even so, they managed to put up some truly terrible W-L records.
I've always found Miles' career to be one of the starkest illustrations of how team quality can affect pitcher quality and the general year to year volatility apparent in pitchers. After years of getting absolutely pounded for the dreadful Chicago Whales, he finally gets a shot with a decent team, the cross-town American Giants, in '57, pitching respectably well and winning his league's Gold Glove. A free agent after that season, he signs with expansion Ciudad Trujillo and promptly puts up a 7.54 ERA...at which point Havana, one of the other expansion teams, trades THREE players to Ciudad Trujillo for him. Pitching much more effectively in Cuba, he still goes 2-12 as Havana staggers to a then-record 116 losses.
Coming off such a disastrous season, he is signed again by the American Giants for little more than league minimum and buried in the bullpen to start the '59 season. After one pitching appearance in a month, Chicago waives him and he gets picked up again by Ciudad Trujillo, where, aided by a nearly 100 point drop in BABIP, has the best season of his career, finishing 5th in his leauge in ERA and posting a .600 winning percentage on a 71-91 team.
His career rejuvenated, he signs a three year deal with Havana, where he promptly goes 8-20 while serving up a league-leading 51 homers (in a pitcher's park), then rebounding in 1961, allowing only 9 homers in about half as many innings as 1960 before an elbow injury effectively ended his career.

The Wolf · 01-10-2014, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by falkonisback

What are you talking about..."Trojan" isn't that bad at all...HE'S GOT 2 SAVES!!! Did you not see that???

And, you know, saves are like terribly important in baseball and are not a BS nonsense arbitrary stat at all. Really. Just ask Billy Beane.

tejdog1 · 01-10-2014, 11:44 AM

Saves: Getting mediocre/not worth the money relievers huge contracts since 1995. Don't forget to arbitrarily pick up 40 today!

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-11-2014, 12:19 PM

Looks like ol' Trojan might still have the worst pitcher crown, or at least "Worst Pitcher Who Lasted More Than Two Or Three Seasons". Maurning had some pretty bad years, but also had some good ones mid-career.

Horsforth still has yet to have anything resembling a good year, although in fairness the best team he ever pitched for was the 2015 New York Ghostbusters, who finished with a .500 record. I'm almost tempted to trade him to a good team - my own London Doctors, New York, Minnesota - to see if he's even capable of decent pitching.

ThatSeventiesGuy · 01-14-2014, 12:29 PM

Trojan Update! So, I decided to have Minnesota sign him in the off-season. For the first time in his career, Horsforth was on a winning team - a 100-win team, no less. But his results weren't much better, this time in the bullpen, mostly as a long reliever/spot starter.

But he did make his playoff debut. With...typical results.

But in fairness, nobody pitched very well in that slugfest. The Best Pitcher award winner, Pat "Goose" Johnson, gave up four runs in only two innings. So our man Trojan only pitched a little worse than the best pitcher in the league in that contest!

le receveur · 01-14-2014, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tayloraj

These are two of the worst pitchers who have ever played in my 140-season old custom league, excluding anyone who pitched the majority of their career for the league's Wilmington franchise and its Baker Bowl-esque home field (lowlighted by a guy with a 70-133 record, 20-loss seasons in 5 of his 6 full seasons, and a 6.64 career ERA). Both these sods had the misfortune of playing for terrible teams most of their careers (Austin's team went 49-105 in his historic 3-23 season and never had a winning season his entire career) but, even so, they managed to put up some truly terrible W-L records.
I've always found Miles' career to be one of the starkest illustrations of how team quality can affect pitcher quality and the general year to year volatility apparent in pitchers. After years of getting absolutely pounded for the dreadful Chicago Whales, he finally gets a shot with a decent team, the cross-town American Giants, in '57, pitching respectably well and winning his league's Gold Glove. A free agent after that season, he signs with expansion Ciudad Trujillo and promptly puts up a 7.54 ERA...at which point Havana, one of the other expansion teams, trades THREE players to Ciudad Trujillo for him. Pitching much more effectively in Cuba, he still goes 2-12 as Havana staggers to a then-record 116 losses.
Coming off such a disastrous season, he is signed again by the American Giants for little more than league minimum and buried in the bullpen to start the '59 season. After one pitching appearance in a month, Chicago waives him and he gets picked up again by Ciudad Trujillo, where, aided by a nearly 100 point drop in BABIP, has the best season of his career, finishing 5th in his leauge in ERA and posting a .600 winning percentage on a 71-91 team.
His career rejuvenated, he signs a three year deal with Havana, where he promptly goes 8-20 while serving up a league-leading 51 homers (in a pitcher's park), then rebounding in 1961, allowing only 9 homers in about half as many innings as 1960 before an elbow injury effectively ended his career.

wow, i wish my worse pitchers had 30 and 25 WAR careers...

OBSL Commish · 01-14-2014, 02:20 PM

The English don't know how to throw, much less pitch. That's why they play soccer and cricket. . .

ihatenames · 01-15-2014, 04:26 PM

He is in the bad but not terrible space with me. He's the guy I'd try to sign to a minor league deal and hold in AAA as an injury replacement. A guy like Roman Ortiz.

01-08-2014, 03:28 PM	#1
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,426	Worst pitcher ever? This guy...he's, um...pretty bad. I know he's pitched for expansion teams a lot recently (Toronto & Berlin both started in 2017), and some lousy Paris teams (they finally posted their first winning record in their 7th season) but still, ouch! His expanded stats are just as bad. Not too many redeeming qualities, unless "innings eater" is what you need. Probably why he keeps getting picked in the expansion drafts. They'd better keep him in the rotation, because he was even worse the one season his team tried him in the bullpen. Only one ERA under 5, only one WHIP under 1.50 (that just barely) in his "illustrious" career. He's managed to stick around since the league started, though. I'm guessing somebody can top the "Trojan Horse" for sheer awfulness, so let's see some pitching horror stories. Be happy they're not on your team...unless they are, then go cry in your beer, and/or hope you can find a sucker to trade with! __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1 Last edited by ThatSeventiesGuy; 01-08-2014 at 03:33 PM.

01-08-2014, 03:34 PM	#2
le receveur All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: canada Posts: 1,736	ERA+ of 82 is not that bad. i have seen way worse, but not as long a career.. Last edited by le receveur; 01-08-2014 at 03:35 PM.

01-08-2014, 03:37 PM	#3
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,426	That's improved by the 98 in his rookie year, which actually makes all his stats look a little better. He started mediocre, and got worse! __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1

01-09-2014, 01:09 PM	#6
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,426	Except for that one year in the 'pen, yeah. Not sure how that happened. "Replacement" must mean "45-year-old overweight guy we found in a beer league". __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1

01-09-2014, 08:10 PM	#9
The Game Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Inside The Game Posts: 30,937	here is my EBL's single season leader in losses. He is a clone of Frank Tanana. Attached Images __________________ Go today don't wait for tomorrow It isn't promised, all the time you get borrowed Don't live your life for other people Don't bottle your emotions till they crack and fill a couple just sorrows Take your mind and refocus go get a paper write your goals out Throw your middle fingers to all your haters "Stay Strong"

01-08-2014, 04:29 PM	#4
pjh5165 Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 410	It figures players like this guy are the Durable ones

01-09-2014, 12:00 PM	#5
bwburke94 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Belchertown, MA, USA Posts: 4,507	Positive WAR, though...

01-09-2014, 01:31 PM	#7
EvilGenius Minors (Double A) Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 153	Didn't someone once say, "You gotta be pretty good to lose 20 games"?

01-09-2014, 09:23 PM	#10
tejdog1 All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 1,647	His nickname is awesome __________________ It's amazing How you make your face just like a wall How you take your heart and turn it off How I turn my head and lose it all And it's unnerving How just one move puts me by myself There you go just trusting someone else Now I know I put us both through hell ~Matchbox 20, "Leave" Everyone knows it's spelled "TRAID", not trade

01-09-2014, 10:42 PM	#11
falkonisback All Star Reserve Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: New Iberia, Louisiana Posts: 869	What are you talking about..."Trojan" isn't that bad at all...HE'S GOT 2 SAVES!!! Did you not see that???

01-10-2014, 01:19 AM	#12
Baseballman2K5 Major Leagues Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Phoenix Posts: 485	not terrible career numbers but in 2025 he set the MLB historical HR allowed record....51 smh Attached Images

01-10-2014, 08:43 AM	#13
tayloraj Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 165	These are two of the worst pitchers who have ever played in my 140-season old custom league, excluding anyone who pitched the majority of their career for the league's Wilmington franchise and its Baker Bowl-esque home field (lowlighted by a guy with a 70-133 record, 20-loss seasons in 5 of his 6 full seasons, and a 6.64 career ERA). Both these sods had the misfortune of playing for terrible teams most of their careers (Austin's team went 49-105 in his historic 3-23 season and never had a winning season his entire career) but, even so, they managed to put up some truly terrible W-L records. I've always found Miles' career to be one of the starkest illustrations of how team quality can affect pitcher quality and the general year to year volatility apparent in pitchers. After years of getting absolutely pounded for the dreadful Chicago Whales, he finally gets a shot with a decent team, the cross-town American Giants, in '57, pitching respectably well and winning his league's Gold Glove. A free agent after that season, he signs with expansion Ciudad Trujillo and promptly puts up a 7.54 ERA...at which point Havana, one of the other expansion teams, trades THREE players to Ciudad Trujillo for him. Pitching much more effectively in Cuba, he still goes 2-12 as Havana staggers to a then-record 116 losses. Coming off such a disastrous season, he is signed again by the American Giants for little more than league minimum and buried in the bullpen to start the '59 season. After one pitching appearance in a month, Chicago waives him and he gets picked up again by Ciudad Trujillo, where, aided by a nearly 100 point drop in BABIP, has the best season of his career, finishing 5th in his leauge in ERA and posting a .600 winning percentage on a 71-91 team. His career rejuvenated, he signs a three year deal with Havana, where he promptly goes 8-20 while serving up a league-leading 51 homers (in a pitcher's park), then rebounding in 1961, allowing only 9 homers in about half as many innings as 1960 before an elbow injury effectively ended his career. Attached Images

01-10-2014, 11:44 AM	#15
tejdog1 All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Danbury, CT Posts: 1,647	Saves: Getting mediocre/not worth the money relievers huge contracts since 1995. Don't forget to arbitrarily pick up 40 today! __________________ It's amazing How you make your face just like a wall How you take your heart and turn it off How I turn my head and lose it all And it's unnerving How just one move puts me by myself There you go just trusting someone else Now I know I put us both through hell ~Matchbox 20, "Leave" Everyone knows it's spelled "TRAID", not trade

01-11-2014, 12:19 PM	#16
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,426	Looks like ol' Trojan might still have the worst pitcher crown, or at least "Worst Pitcher Who Lasted More Than Two Or Three Seasons". Maurning had some pretty bad years, but also had some good ones mid-career. Horsforth still has yet to have anything resembling a good year, although in fairness the best team he ever pitched for was the 2015 New York Ghostbusters, who finished with a .500 record. I'm almost tempted to trade him to a good team - my own London Doctors, New York, Minnesota - to see if he's even capable of decent pitching. __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1

01-14-2014, 12:29 PM	#17
ThatSeventiesGuy Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midland, MI Posts: 3,426	Trojan Update! So, I decided to have Minnesota sign him in the off-season. For the first time in his career, Horsforth was on a winning team - a 100-win team, no less. But his results weren't much better, this time in the bullpen, mostly as a long reliever/spot starter. But he did make his playoff debut. With...typical results. But in fairness, nobody pitched very well in that slugfest. The Best Pitcher award winner, Pat "Goose" Johnson, gave up four runs in only two innings. So our man Trojan only pitched a little worse than the best pitcher in the league in that contest! __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...00&postcount=1 Last edited by ThatSeventiesGuy; 01-14-2014 at 12:32 PM.

01-14-2014, 02:20 PM	#19
OBSL Commish All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 946	The English don't know how to throw, much less pitch. That's why they play soccer and cricket. . .

01-15-2014, 04:26 PM	#20
ihatenames Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rockford Posts: 2,534	He is in the bad but not terrible space with me. He's the guy I'd try to sign to a minor league deal and hold in AAA as an injury replacement. A guy like Roman Ortiz. __________________ New Album coming soon!