For the Orioles in the Expansion Era (since 1961), there have been some truly terrible offensive performances. Every team is forced to use bad hitters from time to time. Still, in that time span, nine O's hitters completed seasons in which they received at least 100 plate appearances and posted a batting average of .200 or lower and an on-base percentage of .230 or lower.
Here's the list:
| Rk | Player | PA | Year | Tm | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Gutierrez | .414 | .186 | .207 | 152 | 1986 | BAL | 61 | 145 | 8 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 27 | .207 |
| 2 | Caleb Joseph | .422 | .178 | .221 | 138 | 2016 | BAL | 47 | 129 | 7 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 27 | .202 |
| 3 | Mark Belanger | .442 | .174 | .224 | 205 | 1967 | BAL | 69 | 184 | 19 | 32 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 46 | .217 |
| 4 | Freddie Bynum | .444 | .179 | .220 | 121 | 2008 | BAL | 40 | 112 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 31 | .223 |
| 5 | Juan Bell | .450 | .172 | .201 | 223 | 1991 | BAL | 100 | 209 | 26 | 36 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 51 | .249 |
| 6 | Glenn Davis | .460 | .177 | .230 | 123 | 1993 | BAL | 30 | 113 | 8 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 29 | .230 |
| 7 | Lenn Sakata | .476 | .191 | .221 | 168 | 1984 | BAL | 81 | 157 | 23 | 30 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 15 | .255 |
| 8 | Sam Bowens | .495 | .163 | .199 | 222 | 1965 | BAL | 84 | 203 | 16 | 33 | 7 | 20 | 10 | 41 | .296 |
| 9 | Geronimo Gil | .532 | .192 | .220 | 134 | 2005 | BAL | 64 | 125 | 7 | 24 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 23 | .312 |
There's Gil, who was terrible in 2005 but not quite as bad as the rest of the group. And there's Freddie Bynum, who joins Gil and Joseph as the only other player in the 2000s. Joseph slides into the No. 2 spot on the list, and he also has the lowest slugging percentage of all nine players. Not only could Joseph end up at the very top (or bottom) of this list, but he could complete the season without driving in a single run. That's... insanely difficult to do.
Catcher is a demanding position; there's no arguing that. So it's not surprising that generally teams' worst offensive options get stuck there. For example, the league average shortstop in 2016 has a wRC+ of 93. That's second lowest (not counting pitchers), above catcher at 87. Caleb Joseph, meanwhile, has a wRC+ of 9 -- the very worst in all of baseball (min. 100 PAs).
It's been a painful year for Joseph, both at the plate and behind it. He still has a very good and accurate arm and is an above average pitch framer, but if he's even close to this bad offensively again, he might not find himself in the majors for much longer.
5 comments:
I'll take an above-average defensive catcher who can't hit, over a below-average defensive catcher who hits for a ton of power. I realized this during the Chris Hoiles era. Excellent bat, but the worst pair of hands I ever saw. He dropped nearly every pitch he caught; or at least it sure seemed that way. So many games were lost because he couldn't catch.
Caleb did hit some at AAA so he may be able to bounce back. I have to believe his injury had a profound effect on his hitting and wonder if it might possibly still be bothering him or, at least, causing him to change his mechanics.
He really hasn't been able to square up many balls hard (look at the drop off in Hard% this year), which is a shame given that he needs only to be a replacement level bat to bring serious value based on his framing/throwing/blocking skills.
Also, good lord that Juan Bell season is beyond awful. Of his 36 hits 9 were infield hits, and his 26 OPS+ is the worst of any batter w 200+ ABs in Orioles Expansion Era history. JJ Hardy's 54 OPS+ in 2015 is pretty close, and shockingly bad for a hitter of his caliber.
I'm amazed Izturis didn't show up on this...
why do i have this feeling that Caleb is going to come to the plate either early in a game or as a no choice AB in an extra inning game THIS year(playoff maybe?) and hit a multi run homer to win a game for the O's? it would be a fitting way tho wouldn't it?
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