Level Four of the Stink Matrix is the 11-13 seasons in a row stink, the air becomes more rarified here as children could have grown up never witnessing a winning year by their home baseball team, and that is just plain sad.
**** FOUR STAR STINK
Boston Doves/Rustlers/Braves/ --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB 1903 6th 58 80 .420 32 1904 7th 55 98 .359 51 1905 7th 51 103 .331 54.5 1906 8th 49 102 .325 66.5 1907 7th 58 90 .392 47 1908 6th 63 91 .409 36 1909 8th 45 108 .294 65.5 1910 8th 53 100 .346 50.5 1911 8th 44 107 .291 54 1912 8th 52 101 .340 52 1913 5th 69 82 .457 31.5 1914 1st 94 59 .614 +10.5
How would you like your team to give you eleven straight losing seasons with a stunning six 100-loss campaigns? Would you scream, cry or just give up? Look at 1909 and 1910, they are particularly painful to stomach. In the span the Boston NL team went through 8 different managers, instability to the core. This is perhaps where we can trace back the Red Sox to stealing the town from the National League, and no wonder the Braves winning the World Series in 1914 was termed a “Miracle” by the press, they had spent this era being beat up by the Giants, Pirates and Cubs on a year in and year out. You know the crew, McGraw and Matty, Tinkers and Chance, and Wagner.
Now name one Brave from that era.
RC/G vs. the league AT BATS AB RC/G Bill Sweeney 3219 0.51 Fred Tenney 2996 0.71 Ed Abbaticchio 1856 -.44 Johnny Bates 1632 0.43 Ginger Beaumont 1463 1.10 Doc Miller 1260 0.52 Al Bridwell 1256 -1.15 Tom Needham 1085 -1.50 Pat Moran 1054 -.75 Dave Brain 1034 0.33
I thought so.
Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers ---------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB 1904 6th 56 97 .366 50 1905 8th 48 104 .316 56.5 1906 5th 66 86 .434 50 1907 5th 65 83 .439 40 1908 7th 53 101 .344 46 1909 6th 55 98 .359 55.5 1910 6th 64 90 .416 40 1911 7th 64 86 .427 33.5 1912 7th 58 95 .379 46 1913 6th 65 84 .436 34.5 1914 5th 75 79 .487 19.5 1915 3rd 80 72 .526 10
In 1899 and 1900 the Dodgers were the best team in the National League, four years later they had a new majority stockholder (Charles Ebbets), he upped his salary from $7000 to $10,000 and dumped the managers (Ned Hanlon) from $10,000 to $7500. This could be because Hanlon was lobbying to have the Dodgers move to Baltimore and replace Hanlons departed Orioles. Whatever was going on behind closed doors one things for sure, the stink was settling in.
During the run of bad teams the Dodgers had the worst offense in the National League, across town the Giants had the best one.
1904-1914 RC/G vs. the league OPS OPS RC/G Giants .695 0.48 Pirates .669 -.02 Cubs .665 -.07 Phillies .652 -.25 Reds .644 -.36 Cardinals .629 -.58 Braves .622 -.69 Dodgers .617 -.73
1904 began an eleven-year dip that included seven straight season 40 games or more out of first. Perhaps the Dodgers biggest claim to fame at this time was introducing Elmer Stricklett to the National League, They were later saved by Wilbert Robinson, who at the time was less of a caricature and more of an old time Oriole with some know-how.
Washington Senators ---------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB 1901 6th 61 72 .459 20.5 1902 6th 61 75 .449 22 1903 8th 43 94 .314 47.5 1904 8th 38 113 .252 55.5 1905 7th 64 87 .424 29.5 1906 7th 55 95 .367 37.5 1907 8th 49 102 .325 43.5 1908 7th 67 85 .441 22.5 1909 8th 42 110 .276 56 1910 7th 66 85 .437 36.5 1911 7th 64 90 .416 38.5 1912 2nd 91 61 .599 14
Washington, first in war, first in peace and last in the American League.
OPS OPS OBA SLG AVG Senators .612 -.019 -.027 -.018
That phrase was introduced in the middle of the 12-year run of losers they had in DC during the turn of the last century. It took the Reds ex-manager Clark Griffith and maybe the best pitching year in the history of the game to pull them out of it, but for the majority of the AL’s opening decade they were beat up by the A’s and the Tigers. During the span the Washington team couldn’t hit a lick, falling far below the leagues average in OB%, Slg% and Batting Average.
Philadelphia A's --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB 1915 8th 43 109 .283 58.5 1916 8th 36 117 .235 54.5 1917 8th 55 98 .359 44.5 1918 8th 52 76 .406 24 1919 8th 36 104 .257 52 1920 8th 48 106 .312 50 1921 8th 53 100 .346 45 1922 7th 65 89 .422 29 1923 6th 69 83 .454 29 1924 5th 71 81 .467 20 1925 2nd 88 64 .579 8.5
In 1916 the A’s posted the worst winning percentage for a team in the modern era.
WINNING PERCENTAGE YEAR PCT A's 1916 .235 Braves 1935 .248 Mets 1962 .250 Senators 1904 .252 A's 1919 .257 Tigers 2003 .265 Pirates 1952 .273 Senators 1909 .276 Phillies 1942 .278 Phillies 1941 .279 Red Sox 1932 .279 Browns 1939 .279
They finished FORTY games behind the seventh place Senators. Connie Mack recognized the changing landscape of baseball in the teens, the Federal League and the unionization attempts by players coupled with a lagging economy in a two team town led him to strip his team of its once deep riches. Seven straight last place finishes followed the A’s loss in the 1914 World Series.
The A’s are a strange case, they succeeded from 1903-1914 and 1924-1933, both times with loaded lineups.
Compare the top ten players by at bats for the three eras
1903-1914 AT BATS AB OPS Danny Murphy 4843 .094 Harry Davis 4306 .095 Rube Oldring 3815 .020 Eddie Collins 3616 .192 Topsy Hartsel 3530 .094 Home Run Baker 3437 .172 Jack Barry 2878 -.023 Socks Seybold 2625 .102 Stuffy McInnis 2274 .087 Bris Lord 2082 -.008 ================================================= 1915-1924 AT BATS AB OPS Cy Perkins 2988 -.082 Jimmy Dykes 2721 -.033 Tilly Walker 2685 .076 Chick Galloway 2365 -.096 Whitey Witt 2322 -.005 Amos Strunk 2007 .066 Frank Welch 1906 -.024 Joe Dugan 1884 -.058 Stuffy McInnis 1535 .032 Joe Hauser 1467 .101 ================================================= 1925-1933 AT BATS AB OPS Al Simmons 4427 .241 Mickey Cochrane 4097 .129 Max Bishop 3825 .025 Jimmie Foxx 3323 .300 Jimmy Dykes 3302 .037 Bing Miller 3194 .038 Mule Haas 2440 .022 Sammy Hale 1912 .004 Joe Boley 1776 -.098 Eric McNair 1389 -.045
Pretty stunning gap of mediocrity in the middle, hence the long run of 8th place finishes.
Boston Bees/Braves --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1922 8th 53 100 .346 39.5 1923 7th 54 100 .351 41.5 1924 8th 53 100 .346 40 1925 5th 70 83 .458 25 1926 7th 66 86 .434 22 1927 7th 60 94 .390 34 1928 7th 50 103 .327 44.5 1929 8th 56 98 .364 43 1930 6th 70 84 .455 22 1931 7th 64 90 .416 37 1932 5th 77 77 .500 13 1933 4th 83 71 .539 9 Boston Bees/Braves --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB 1939 7th 63 88 .417 32.5 1940 7th 65 87 .428 34.5 1941 7th 62 92 .403 38 1942 7th 59 89 .399 44 1943 6th 68 85 .444 36.5 1944 6th 65 89 .422 40 1945 6th 67 85 .441 30 1946 4th 81 72 .529 15.5
The Braves had two losing streaks of stink in-between 1922 and 1945, the first was eleven years long and the second just a brief seven. The war hurt the weak teams, the Braves had long been one and thus they were just a few of the teams that held the bottom down in the early 40’s.
1922-1932 AT BATS AB OPS Lance Richbourg 2434 -.025 Rabbit Maranville 2251 -.124 Jimmy Welsh 2079 -.032 Wally Berger 1774 .121 Eddie Brown 1693 -.032 Dave Bancroft 1626 -.016 George Sisler 1551 -.021 Al Spohrer 1507 -.112 Freddie Maguire 1504 -.204 Dick Burrus 1431 -.006
A team with no hitting in one of the biggest hitting eras, the 1920’s were great for New York fans, but up the coast in Boston stink was coming from both corners of town as far as the baseball was concerned. Of all the players that saw the most at bats in the streak only one could muster an OPS above league average.
Poor Tommy Holmes.
1939-1945 AT BATS AB OPS 1 Tommy Holmes 2454 .113 2 Eddie Miller 1984 -.051 3 Max West 1909 .065 4 Sibby Sisti 1622 -.096 5 Whitey Wietelmann 1556 -.129 6 Chuck Workman 1547 -.014 7 Buddy Hassett 1453 -.074 8 Phil Masi 1379 -.021 9 Johnny Cooney 1373 -.040 10 Chet Ross 1309 -.008
If you ever wonder why the Braves who were in Boston before the Red Sox and can trace their roots back to the 1869 Red Stockings ended up being the team that split Boston, take a look above at the tables.
St. Louis Browns ---------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1930 6th 64 90 .416 38 1931 5th 63 91 .409 45 1932 6th 63 91 .409 44 1933 8th 55 96 .364 43.5 1934 6th 67 85 .441 33 1935 7th 65 87 .428 28.5 1936 7th 57 95 .375 44.5 1937 8th 46 108 .299 56 1938 7th 55 97 .362 44 1939 8th 43 111 .279 64.5 1940 6th 67 87 .435 23 1941 T6th 70 84 .455 31 1942 3rd 82 69 .543 19.5
Phil Ball got into the baseball business through the Federal League; he got the Browns in the post trial deal making that followed the FL’s demise. He later battled with Browns GM Branch Rickey and eventually Rickey went across town to the Cardinals. After a brief spurt By 1930 the Cardinals owned the town, and they could fill up the Browns park (which they rented) meanwhile Ball had a waning interest in the Browns, as did most of St. Louis. Below is the yearly attendance for the streak.
Attendance: 152,088 Attendance: 179,126 Attendance: 112,558 Attendance: 88,113 Attendance: 115,305 Attendance: 80,922 Attendance: 93,267 Attendance: 123,121 Attendance: 130,417 Attendance: 109,159 Attendance: 239,591 Attendance: 176,240
That’s 1,599,907 in 12 years, and oddly enough a number that the current sad sack of baseball (Tampa Bay) has only been able to top once in this era of increased attendance.
After the 1941 season the Browns had readied their staff to introduce to the AL during the owners meeting their plans to move the franchise to LA, armed with train schedules and ideas to make it work for all involved the Browns brass prepared for the meeting that was scheduled for Monday, December 8th 1941. A meeting that was eventually canceled.
Philadelphia A's --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1934 5th 68 82 .453 31 1935 8th 58 91 .389 34 1936 8th 53 100 .346 49 1937 7th 54 97 .358 46.5 1938 8th 53 99 .349 46 1939 7th 55 97 .362 51.5 1940 8th 54 100 .351 36 1941 8th 64 90 .416 37 1942 8th 55 99 .357 48 1943 8th 49 105 .318 49 1944 T5th 72 82 .468 17 1945 8th 52 98 .347 34.5 1946 8th 49 105 .318 55 1947 5th 78 76 .506 19
The end of an era, Connie Mack proved that he had no more rabbits in his hat as the game changed (Minor League Systems, Deeper Owner Pockets) Once again the Mack man saw the economy as being the real battle to confront, not the remaining AL. Six years under 60 wins and 4 more 100 loss seasons, giving Connie 10 for his career in Philadelphia, against 10-100 win seasons. The stink by this franchise masked nice careers by Sam Chapman and Bob Johnson.
Cincinnati Reds ---------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1945 7th 61 93 .396 37 1946 6th 67 87 .435 30 1947 5th 73 81 .474 21 1948 7th 64 89 .418 27 1949 7th 62 92 .403 35 1950 6th 66 87 .431 24.5 1951 6th 68 86 .442 28.5 1952 6th 69 85 .448 27.5 1953 6th 68 86 .442 37 1954 5th 74 80 .481 23 1955 5th 75 79 .487 23.5 1956 3rd 91 63 .591 2
Post War Reds history is one that is an example of not taking chances. During the war the Reds cut scouting and signings to a bare minimum, their transition from the deadball style of McKechnie didn’t go over smoothly and for the second half of the 40’s the Reds had the pitching, but not much hitting. After the 5th straight losing season (which is the crossroads where the current team stands) the Reds pitching got much worse, some must have felt it was the Goat Run to blame (sounds like the GAB Park Effect argument) and after losing 90 games in 1949 the Goat Run disappeared in June of 1950 only to reappear again in 1953 and disappear again in 1958.
Worst Slugging vs. the league
SLG DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE 1 Pirates -.034 .372 .406 2 Reds -.030 .376 .406 3 Phillies -.026 .380 .406 4 Cubs -.026 .381 .406 5 Braves -.016 .390 .406 6 Cardinals -.008 .398 .406 7 Giants .003 .410 .406 8 Dodgers .013 .419 .406
The game was changing again; as it so often does, the low scoring offense of the war years receded and a station-to-station offense began to take a firmer hold on the game across the board. After restarting the scouting system the Reds finally pulled out some hitters and it was then that the Reds changed their team philosophy and hoed the roe that they still till to this day.
Chicago Cubs -------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1973 5th 77 84 .478 5 1974 6th 66 96 .407 22 1975 T5th 75 87 .463 17.5 1976 4th 75 87 .463 26 1977 4th 81 81 .500 20 1978 3rd 79 83 .488 11 1979 5th 80 82 .494 18 1980 6th 64 98 .395 27 1981 6th 15 37 .288 17.5 1981 5th 23 28 .451 6 1982 5th 73 89 .451 19 1983 5th 71 91 .438 19 1984 1st 96 65 .596 +6.5 NL EAST CHAMPIONS
The colorful Cubs of the 70’s, these teams that cemented the lovable loser persona more so then the prior generations Five Star stink, perhaps it was the media, they clamored to report the negative coverage the declining Wrigley holdings and the once proud franchise seemed to emit in the 70’s.
1973-1984 ERA DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE 1 Dodgers 0.47 3.17 3.64 2 Astros 0.18 3.45 3.64 3 Pirates 0.17 3.47 3.64 4 Nationals 0.08 3.56 3.64 5 Mets 0.04 3.60 3.64 6 Cardinals 0.02 3.62 3.64 7 Phillies -.03 3.67 3.64 8 Giants -.09 3.73 3.64 9 Reds -.09 3.73 3.64 10 Padres -.14 3.78 3.64 11 Braves -.25 3.89 3.64 12 Cubs -.37 4.01 3.64
Pitching was the malady for these Cub squads and for the 11 years they finished without a winning season they had the leagues worst pitching.
Detroit Tigers ---------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1994 5th 53 62 .461 18 1995 4th 60 84 .417 26 1996 5th 53 109 .327 39 1997 3rd 79 83 .488 19 1998 5th 65 97 .401 24 1999 3rd 69 92 .429 27.5 2000 3rd 79 83 .488 16 2001 4th 66 96 .407 25 2002 5th 55 106 .342 39 2003 5th 43 119 .265 47 2004 4th 72 90 .444 20 2005 4th 71 91 .438 28
And so it ends, the long road of stink that witnessed the owners other teams interest achieving legendary status and the Tigers getting a new stadium whilst the former shrine rotted down the street like Shibe, Ebbetts and Crosley had at their end. Poor management and stupid trades helped push this team to the worst run of their long and storied history. The play off appearance this season ends the run. Below are the worst 10 winning percentages in MLB since the 1994 stoppage.
CAREER 1995-2005 Devil Rays .401 Tigers .404 Royals .426 Pirates .440 Brewers .445 Nationals .461 Rockies .470 Orioles .477 Phillies .480 Marlins .481