Picking the Phillies' Worst Possible Single-Season Lineup

The Phillies lead all professional sports worldwide in losses; They've had far more terrible seasons than great ones. So, there's a lot to choose from when to comes to finding the worst players from baseball's worst franchise.

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On July 15, 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies became the first franchise in worldwide professional sports history to amass 10,000 losses. Today they still hold the undesirable record for most losses in professional sports history with 11,112 after the 2021 season.

There have been more than enough terrible seasons in franchise history to pick and choose the most sub-par players from over 79 losing seasons. The Phillies had almost 31 straight losing seasons from 1918 to 1948, spelled only by a 78-win season in 1932. Thus, to keep Phillies from this era from dominating the list, we’ve limited selections to only post-integration era players.

Criteria for this lineup not only includes on-field performance, but also intangibles, off-field matters and player hype/contracts.

Lineup:

C: Andrew Knapp - 2021

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Phillies fans witnessed greatness in 2021, both in right field and at catcher. We may never see the likes of Knapp’s 2021 performance again. Knapp’s ability to consistently remain in the lineup with a slash line of .152/.215/.214 and an OPS+ of 17 is unheard of.

Of course, he managed to hold a roster spot due to his knowledge of the pitching staff and the idea that he was a good fielder. Knapp was worth -6 DRS according to Baseball-Reference. However, DRS does not yet include framing. So let’s examine his framing data.

Knapp was worth 0 runs from framing, perfectly mediocre. Even in the tasks he was supposedly good at, Knapp still failed to be above average. He’ll undoubtedly make a great manager some day.

1B: Pete Rose - 1983

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It seems almost unbelievable to find a Hall of Famer anywhere on a list of worst players, but Rose doesn’t get credit for his mediocrity after signing a record-breaking free agent deal with the Phillies in 1979.

Much of that poor play comes from his switch from third base to first base. Rose’s light hitting was acceptable as third baseman and outfielder. But an OPS of .602, OPS+ of 69, and -8 DRS at first base would spell retirement for many other players at age 42.

Rose was worth -2.1 WAR in 1983. That total at first base was eclipsed only by Rico Brogna in 1997. Brogna amassed a -2.5 WAR, yet much of that is due to an outlier -17 DRS in '97. For a typically sure-handed first baseman, it seems like some of his -17 DRS is almost certainly statistical noise. So Rose’s steadily terrible defensive play at first base carries more weight.

2B: Denny Doyle - 1970

Doyle is a perfect example of a modern rebuild-era Phillie, just 40 years before the current era of rebuilding. After leaving the Phillies in 1973, Doyle went on to receive MVP votes with the Boston Red Sox on their way to an AL pennant in 1975, but never had an OPS above .665 in four seasons with the Phillies.

Doyle's rookie season was special. That summer he slashed .208/.266/.281 for an OPS+ of 49. He was a terrible defensive player as a rookie as well, worth -9 runs on defense, -26 runs from batting, and -2 runs from base running. Overall, Doyle managed -1.8 WAR in 1970.

3B: Kim Batiste - 1994

Batiste is remembered much more for his walk-off in Game 1 of the 1993 NLCS than his poor play throughout the early 90s. Yet, Batiste was consistently below average throughout his career.

Considered a defensive specialist for much of his time with the Phillies, defense was actually one of his greater failings, Batiste averaged nearly -5 DRS per year through his five MLB seasons. In 1994, that number peaked to -8 and his OPS+ dropped to 34. Batiste's slash line was .234/.239/.278 in 214 plate appearances.

Abraham Núñez in 2006 could have taken this spot, but when WAR is translated to a rate based stat, with .500 being league average, Núñez was worth .478 waaWL% and Batiste was worth .459 waaWL%, the lowest for a position player on this list.

SS: Larry Bowa - 1973

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Like Batiste and Rose, Bowa is remembered as a Phillie more for his accomplishments than his failings. Nevertheless, Bowa’s greatest strengths lie more in his defense than hitting ability, neither of which matured until later in his career.

In Bowa’s first six seasons, he averaged less than one defensive run saved per year; that held true in 1973 when Bowa did have one DRS. Yet, Bowa did have -32 runs from batting that season. He slashed just .211/.252/.249 and his OPS+ was 39.

LF: Raúl Ibañez - 2011

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In the first two months of Ibañez’s time with the Phillies, he slashed .312/.371/.656, and in his last two months, he batted .239/.277/.381. While not truly abhorrent on offense in 2011, with an OPS of .707 and OPS+ of 91, Ibañez was by then a glorified DH.

From 2007 to 2013, Ibañez was worth nearly -12 DRS a season, culminating with -20 in 2011. That defense, combined with below-average offense, meant WAR valued him at -1.7 for the 2011 season.

Ron Stone in 1969 did manage to accrue a WAR of -2.3 on only 259 plate appearances, but much of that total is due to an outlier -17 DRS. Some of Stone's total can be discredited due to small sample size whereas Ibañez was a consistently terrible fielder.

CF: Marlon Byrd - 2004

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Byrd has very little competition for the centerfielder spot on this team. Most Phillie fans probably remember him as a right fielder when the club re-acquired him in 2014, and rightfully so. But Byrd originally debuted with the Phillies in 2002, and spent over two full seasons in Philadelphia before being moved to Washington.

Eventually, Byrd was moved to right field, but for nearly 10 seasons he was a starting center fielder. There he managed -8 DRS, -15 of which came in 2004. That season, he slashed .228/.287/.321, good for an OPS+ of 54.

In an entire career, most players don’t match their worst offensive season with their worst defensive season. But magic occurred in 2004, and Byrd ended the season with -2.1 WAR.

RF: Oscar Gamble - 1970

305 PA, .262/.330/.345, 84 OPS+, -15 DRS, -1.3 WAR

“They don’t think it be like it is, but it do.” —Oscar Gamble

Bench: 

Michael Martínez - 2012

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Martínez is less remembered today as a Phillie and more remembered for being the last out in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. The Dominican utility-man did start his career in Philadelphia though, where he slashed .187/.234/.261.

Martínez did have some value on defense where his positional flexibility could be exploited in late innings, but few players in baseball history have been as automatic an out as Martinez. In 2012, his OPS dropped all the way to .461, an OPS+ of 24. Martínez amassed -11 runs from batting that summer. Had he started every game, it’s possible he would have reached -60 rBAT.

Still, Martínez managed 122 plate appearances as his defense kept him valuable enough for a major league roster. It’s possible the Phillies will never again see a player who manages as many plate appearances who is as offensively detrimental as Martínez.

Rotation:

#1: Adam Eaton - 2007

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Eaton is not the worst starter on this list by a rate basis, he also might not even be the worst starter by a cumulative basis either, but he is without a doubt the worst pitcher on a value basis.

Minimum MLB salary in 2007 was $380,000, the Phillies paid Eaton nearly 19 times that in 2007 to perform at 2.9 wins below replacement level. Had the Phillies given any AAA level player the same amount of playing time Eaton received in 2007, they probably would have clinched the NL East about half a week earlier.

His ERA was 6.29 over 161.2 IP, his FIP was 5.97, and his ERA+ was 73. Adam Eaton is the pinnacle of disappointment.

#2: Gavin Floyd - 2006

Had Floyd pitched a full season, his stats almost might have made Eaton seem like a league average player.

Going into his 2005 rookie season, Floyd was the #35 MLB prospect, having peaked at #9 pre-2003. As the fourth pick of the 2001 MLB amateur draft, Floyd had huge expectations on his shoulders. He eventually managed a solid MLB career with the Chicago White Sox, but not before giving the Phillies 11 starts to the tune of a 7.29 ERA and a 65 ERA+ in 2006.

Using WAR as a rate stat, his waaWL% was .380. Baseball-Reference reckons that had Floyd started every game in 2006, a league average team would have just 61 games.

#3: Adam Morgan - 2016

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While Morgan certainly never had Floyd’s level of hype, there was some expectation that he might add stability to a Phillies team in the midst of an eight-year rebuild. He did not bring stability.

Morgan had a 6.04 ERA for an ERA+ of 69 in 2016 over 113.1 IP. His FIP was a somewhat more acceptable 4.98, but results are king in baseball, not projections. Because Morgan didn’t pitch a full season, he was worth just one win below replacement level.

#4: Jerome Williams - 2015

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The Phillies bottomed out in 2015 with their worst record since 1979, 63-99. Williams was a big part of that.

He had a stellar back half of 2014 after being selected off waivers in August. Williams made nine starts for an ERA of 2.83, but was unable to maintain that pace the following year. Williams made 33 appearances for the fifth place Phillies to a 5.80 ERA over 121 innings. Neither a 66 ERA+ nor a 5.24 FIP make Williams seem any more competent.

#5: Don Carman - 1989

Congratulations Don Carman, you’re only the least worst Phillies starter over the last 74 years!

The Phillies let Carman make 20 starts in 1989, in those starts Carman had a 5.58 ERA and walked more than he struck out. He was worth -1.4 WAR that season, a shockingly low total given he managed to convince Phillies manager Nick Leyva to let him pitch 149.1 IP.

Closer: 

Brad Lidge - 2009

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It would be tough for any player to follow up a season as “perfect” as Lidge’s 2008. But the man who was 48/48 in save opportunities in 2008 blew 11 saves in 2009 to the tune of 7.21 ERA. Even advanced stats don’t favor Lidge, who Charlie Manuel continued to ride down the stretch in 2009.

Lidge’s FIP that season was 5.45 and his HR/9 nearly sextupled from 0.3 to 1.7. Both Lidge’s BB/9 and K/9 were worse as well. Through his entire horrendous 2009 campaign, Lidge was only able to manage such dreadful numbers because Manuel “always looked at him as our closer.”

Lidge’s 2008 was impressive, but perhaps more impressive was the fact he pitched 58.2 innings and appeared in 67 games with an ERA of 7.21.

Manager: 

Ben Chapman - 1947

As much as every Phillies fan, as well as every human, would like to forget Ben Chapman ever existed, it’s important to remember his name and his actions so they may never be repeated. Chapman managed a slew of terrible Phillies teams from 1945 to 1948, but that is not why he makes this list.

Chapman’s abuse of Jackie Robinson during his rookie season is well documented both in writing and the movie 42. Chapman did have an illustrious playing career with the New York Yankees, but his actions toward Robinson overshadow those moments.

Chapman is dead now, but it is vital to never forget what the initial black players went through during the first wave of integration in the late 1940s. If the worst parts of history are forgotten, we are doomed to repeat it.

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