Baseball Toaster Mike's Baseball Rants
Help
This is my site with my opinions, but I hope that, like Irish Spring, you like it, too.
Frozen Toast
Search
Google Search
Web
Toaster
Mike's Baseball Rants
Archives

2009
01 

2008
10  09  07 
06  05  04  03 

2007
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2006
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2005
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2004
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2003
12  11  10  09  08  07 
06  05  04  03  02  01 

2002
12  11  10  09  08  07 
Links to MBBR
The Biggest Loser
2005-01-27 18:01
by Mike Carminati

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation… But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.


—Henry David Thoreau (even though Pink Floyd claim that it's the English way). The last sentence should be repeated ad nauseam to Paul DePodesta for the Derrek Lowe signing

There's an email trail going on in SABR-L, the mailing list for the members of the Society for American Baseball Research, trying to find the "biggest loser". That is, the player with the most seasons exclusively on losing teams. Here are the results (note, mine differ from SABR-L since I list by a player's team-seasons and I don't include .500 seasons as losing seasons—They count as half a winning season in the percentages):

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Bruce Bochte13013089311560.00%.436
Dan Meyer12012078910960.00%.419
John Bateman11011073510340.00%.415
Bobby Higginson1001006419590.00%.401
Hugh Mulcahy90904968800.00%.360
Case Patten90905138020.00%.390
Win Mercer90904857480.00%.393
Benny Frey90905678130.00%.411
Billy Bryan90906038480.00%.416
Pat Meares90906057850.00%.435
Keith Osik90906488080.00%.445
Jason Kendall90906498060.00%.446
Tim O'Rourke80804096510.00%.386
Johnny Hetki80804987320.00%.405
Charlie Puleo80805087230.00%.413
Ron Brand80805487470.00%.423
Bill Champion80805467420.00%.424
Brian Meadows80805557390.00%.429
Balor Moore80805547340.00%.430
Arnold Earley80805557300.00%.432
Jason Johnson80805677280.00%.438
Abraham Nunez80805767170.00%.445
Harry Perkowski80805526780.00%.449
Kevin Wickander80805806800.00%.460
Jeff D'Amico80806036900.00%.466

Kendall is a good bet to get off that list this year with the A's. Higginson is a good bet to break the "record". Win Mercer has to be the most ironic name in sport. By the way, that the Pirates, not the Marlins, Abraham Nunez, and the Brewers, not the Royals, Jeff D'Amico (though he was a "loser", too).

I included team winning percentage in the study to add depth to the loserdom. Here are the players that lag the farthest behind in that category (min. 5 seasons):

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Frank Selman505023860.00%.211
Tom Barlow5050511840.00%.217
Henry Kessler5050652100.00%.236
Bill Stearns50414411710.00%.273
Charlie Pabor6051711838.33%.280
Fred Warner60601242930.00%.297
Amos Booth514010624920.00%.299
John Kirby60602144840.00%.307
Jack Neagle514014933120.00%.310
Billy O'Brien60601793870.00%.316
George Keefe60602435240.00%.317
Pinky May50502445190.00%.320
George Creamer70701883970.00%.321
Ike Pearson60603006150.00%.328
Frank Fleet61508416816.67%.333
Eddie Booth70701062110.00%.334
Bill Atwood50502555060.00%.335
Stan Benjamin514025350120.00%.336
Al Mattern50502575070.00%.336
Lena Styles50502545010.00%.336
Charlie Gould62409919433.33%.338
Mel Mazzera50502595060.00%.339
Billy Barnie50501232380.00%.341
Dick Harley716033665014.29%.341
Crazy Schmit624028554733.33%.343

Barnie's luck improved somewhat (.438) as a manager. Charlie Gould was a member of the Cincinnati "Red Stockies" and enjoyed their winning streak for the better part of two seasons, 1869-70. I guess he "forgot" how to win. My friend Chris points out that Dick Harley and Crazy Schmidt were members of the team widely regarded as the worst in baseball history, the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.

Next, I took a look at the biggest winners, the players who spent the most seasons on winning teams:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Bill Dickey1717001636966100.00%.629
Frankie Crosetti1717001622979100.00%.624
Tony Lazzeri1515001405888100.00%.613
Al Bumbry1414001254941100.00%.571
Bill Lee1414001222981100.00%.555
Ellie Hendricks1414001329910100.00%.594
Lefty Gomez1414001346793100.00%.629
Tom Burns131300937574100.00%.620
Phil Rizzuto1313001265734100.00%.633
Mickey Cochrane1313001212771100.00%.611
Joe DiMaggio1313001272724100.00%.637
Jim Davenport1313001151925100.00%.554
Johnny Murphy1313001259732100.00%.632
Ray Culp111100957816100.00%.540
Tommy Henrich1111001072617100.00%.635
Spud Chandler1111001045642100.00%.619
Art Jorgens1111001058620100.00%.631
Chipper Jones1111001081681100.00%.614
Duffy Lewis111100971693100.00%.584
Greg McMichael111100984733100.00%.573
Joe Gordon1111001040650100.00%.615
Red Rolfe101000978550100.00%.640
Rick Leach101000860706100.00%.549
Rich Dauer101000896661100.00%.575
Pinch Thomas101000906580100.00%.610
Roy Campanella101000935606100.00%.607
Billy Johnson101000921619100.00%.598
Floyd Robinson101000883729100.00%.548
Al Rosen101000928613100.00%.602
Bob Montgomery101000895714100.00%.556
Andy Pettitte101000957641100.00%.599
Derek Jeter101000966632100.00%.605
Don Buford101000948660100.00%.590
Pat Malone101000918611100.00%.600
Gil McDougald101000954583100.00%.621
Mariano Rivera101000966632100.00%.605
Joe Collins101000975562100.00%.634
Hugh Nicol101000729435100.00%.626
Jorge Posada101000966632100.00%.605
Jackie Robinson101000945596100.00%.613

You'll note that there are quite a few Yankees from the last decade or so. There are good number of Yankees and, unexpectedly, Orioles on the list. The active leader is the Braves' Chipper Jones. For those of you who don't remember Tom Burns, he was a long-time Cub—actually they were still known as the White Stockings back then—infielder from the nineteenth century.

Now here's the list by team winning percentage (min. of 5 team-seasons):

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Harry Wright7700306109100.00%.737
Harry Schafer8800347128100.00%.731
Al Spalding861133313781.25%.709
Tommy Beals63212159658.33%.691
Cal McVey981037417388.89%.684
Ross Barnes972038418977.78%.670
George Wright12102053627483.33%.662
Jack Pfiester8800800412100.00%.660
Al Reach550016586100.00%.657
Andy Leonard971136319283.33%.654
Marv Breuer5500496271100.00%.647
George Selkirk9900884491100.00%.643
Red Rolfe101000978550100.00%.640
Bill Shores6600583329100.00%.639
Joe Boley7700683386100.00%.639
Carl Lundgren871076143187.50%.638
Joe DiMaggio1313001272724100.00%.637
Jerry Coleman9900881502100.00%.637
Dick McBride6600204117100.00%.636
Ralph Houk8800781448100.00%.635
Tommy Henrich1111001072617100.00%.635
Joe Collins101000975562100.00%.634
Marius Russo6600583338100.00%.633
Phil Rizzuto1313001265734100.00%.633
Johnny Murphy1313001259732100.00%.632
Whitey Kurowski9900876511100.00%.632

The highest team winning percentage (min. 5 years) for an active player is (.618) Orlando Hernandez followed by three Braves: Chipper Jones (.614), Mark DeRosa (.610), and Andruw Jones (.609). By the way, the worst active is Jamie Walker (.383), Eric Munson (.389), and boatload of players who were on the Devil Rays over the last five years (.395).

Finally, if you are not yet sick of this, I re-ran the data solely for Hall of Famers (i.e., those selected as players).

Here are the best by percentage of winning seasons:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Bill Dickey1717001636966100.00%.629
Tony Lazzeri1515001405888100.00%.613
Lefty Gomez1414001346793100.00%.629
Joe DiMaggio1313001272724100.00%.637
Mickey Cochrane1313001212771100.00%.611
Phil Rizzuto1313001265734100.00%.633
Jackie Robinson101000945596100.00%.613
Roy Campanella101000935606100.00%.607
Jim Palmer1918101756124294.74%.586
Yogi Berra1918101786116894.74%.605
King Kelly181710124476194.44%.620
Lou Gehrig171610161698294.12%.622
Juan Marichal1615101407116493.75%.547
Pee Wee Reese161510148897893.75%.603
Larry Doby141310126289492.86%.585
John Clarkson13121098066292.31%.597
Earle Combs121110110972791.67%.604
Lefty Grove1715111497109291.18%.578
Ross Youngs1091087761190.00%.589
Frankie Frisch1917201679122089.47%.579
Bobby Doerr141211122192289.29%.570
Stan Coveleski141211119490989.29%.568
Bob Feller1816201569119388.89%.568
Duke Snider1816201602120088.89%.572
Eddie Mathews1816201558127988.89%.549

Now the worst:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Ralph Kiner1129071497918.18%.422
Chuck Klein1941501176172821.05%.405
George Sisler1641201102130925.00%.457
Ryne Sandberg1641201201128025.00%.484
Rick Ferrell2151511481172726.19%.462
Luke Appling2051411374167227.50%.451
Ted Lyons2161411473172930.95%.460
Ernie Banks1961301371163331.58%.456
Zack Wheat1961301395146931.58%.487
Richie Ashburn154921078123833.33%.465
Kirby Puckett1247192495337.50%.492
Red Faber2071211462156137.50%.484
Robin Roberts2171221570172038.10%.477
Dazzy Vance1871101342138438.89%.492
Ernie Lombardi1771001215138141.18%.468
Harmon Killebrew2291121722177345.45%.493
Jake Beckley2291121498156845.45%.489
Dave Winfield23101211783181845.65%.495
Rabbit Maranville23101211697178345.65%.488
Al Simmons21101101681152147.62%.525
Eppa Rixey21101101563163547.62%.489
Walter Johnson21101101559160947.62%.492
Bobby Wallace25121301706193048.00%.469
Billy Williams189901389149350.00%.482
George Kell199911426149350.00%.489

Here are the best by team winning percentage:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Joe DiMaggio1313001272724100.00%.637
Phil Rizzuto1313001265734100.00%.633
Lefty Gomez1414001346793100.00%.629
Bill Dickey1717001636966100.00%.629
Lou Gehrig171610161698294.12%.622
King Kelly181710124476194.44%.620
Jackie Robinson101000945596100.00%.613
Tony Lazzeri1515001405888100.00%.613
Mickey Cochrane1313001212771100.00%.611
Roy Campanella101000935606100.00%.607
Yogi Berra1918101786116894.74%.605
Earle Combs121110110972791.67%.604
Pee Wee Reese161510148897893.75%.603
Joe Tinker151230135291080.00%.598
John Clarkson13121098066292.31%.597
Jim O'Rourke231940135591782.61%.596
John Ward171520113476888.24%.596
Tommy McCarthy13112099667984.62%.595
Whitey Ford1613301486102781.25%.591
Johnny Evers1915311694117981.58%.590
Ross Youngs1091087761190.00%.589
Babe Ruth2219301957136986.36%.588
Mickey Mantle1815301664116583.33%.588
Jim Palmer1918101756124294.74%.586
Larry Doby141310126289492.86%.585
Frank Baker131030113480676.92%.585

And the worst:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Chuck Klein1941501176172821.05%.405
Ralph Kiner1129071497918.18%.422
Luke Appling2051411374167227.50%.451
Ernie Banks1961301371163331.58%.456
George Sisler1641201102130925.00%.457
Ted Lyons2161411473172930.95%.460
Rick Ferrell2151511481172726.19%.462
Richie Ashburn154921078123833.33%.465
Ernie Lombardi1771001215138141.18%.468
Bobby Wallace25121301706193048.00%.469
Robin Roberts2171221570172038.10%.477
Pud Galvin1798092299752.94%.480
Billy Williams189901389149350.00%.482
Rogers Hornsby24121201752188250.00%.482
Red Faber2071211462156137.50%.484
Ryne Sandberg1641201201128025.00%.484
Zack Wheat1961301395146931.58%.487
Rabbit Maranville23101211697178345.65%.488
George Kell199911426149350.00%.489
Jake Beckley2291121498156845.45%.489
Eppa Rixey21101101563163547.62%.489
Harry Heilmann1710701259131358.82%.490
Phil Niekro26131212037210451.92%.492
Jim Bottomley169701206124556.25%.492
Walter Johnson21101101559160947.62%.492
Kirby Puckett1247192495337.50%.492
Dazzy Vance1871101342138438.89%.492

Finally here is a comparison between the totals and average for Hall of Fame members and all players overall:

SeasonsRecord
Name#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
Tot HoFers3,5672,4091,10355287,421249,59168.31%.535
Avg Hofer69.17%.538
Tot85,97941,58642,6781,7156,461,9106,592,31949.36%.495
Avg42.86%.477

By the way, the overall numbers are below .500 since losing teams tend to have more players. Therefore, it's not a zero-sum result.

So is team performance a criterion that influences Hall voters or just a happy byproduct of great individual performance? I ran a correlation between a Hall of Famer's wait, i.e., the time between retirement and his induction to the Hall (ignoring years prior to the first vote in 1936), and his team's performance. Do players on perennial winners gain entrance to the halcyon Hall more easily? Well, the correlation doesn't indicate it. Neither percentage of winning seasons nor team winning percentage had any relationship whatsoever to a short wait for induction.

Next, does longevity come from being on winning teams or vice versa?

SeasonsRecord
#Tm YrsWinningLosing.500WL%Win SeasonsTm PCT
>=25 yrs 416.00 275.00 16.00 56,216.00 52,442.00 59.97%.517
20-24 yrs 2,480.00 1,686.00 97.00 335,989.00 318,892.00 59.31%.513
15-19 yrs 8,618.00 6,439.00 324.00 1,207,394.00 1,155,752.00 57.08%.511
10-14 yrs 12,587.00 11,083.00 486.00 1,862,714.00 1,836,736.00 53.11%.504
5-9 yrs 10,415.00 12,251.00 465.00 1,714,662.00 1,789,695.00 46.03%.489
0-4 yrs 7,070.00 10,944.00 327.00 1,284,935.00 1,438,802.00 39.44%.472

Well, you can't stick around if you don't perform, but it does flatten out rather quickly. Apparently, players who wash out rather quickly are not involved with the best organizations, however.

Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.