The end of the season throws the Reds into the 6th straight year of losing and the Pirates and Brewers are adding their 14th straight year of losing. Fourteen years is impressive, it’s basically a run of bad decisions and bad luck that compounds into a situation that generally becomes baseball quicksand and once you are caught in baseball quicksand you join the list of stinkers that have plagued the game since the early part of the 20th century
***** FIVE STAR STINK
Philadelphia Phillies -------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1918 6th 55 68 .447 26 1919 8th 47 90 .343 47.5 1920 8th 62 91 .405 30.5 1921 8th 51 103 .331 43.5 1922 7th 57 96 .373 35.5 1923 8th 50 104 .325 45.5 1924 7th 55 96 .364 37 1925 T6th 68 85 .444 27 1926 8th 58 93 .384 29.5 1927 8th 51 103 .331 43 1928 8th 43 109 .283 51 1929 5th 71 82 .464 27.5 1930 8th 52 102 .338 40 1931 6th 66 88 .429 35 1932 4th 78 76 .506 12
A true five star stink, back to back, creating a legacy of apathy.
The early definition of stink in the NL can be directly traced back to the trade that sent Grover Cleveland Alexander to the Cubs from the Phillies on 12/11/1917. Therefore they bleed a bit in our time frame, but with purpose, they were bad and they were bad for a long, long time.
How bad was it?
Worst season in runs allowed in modern NL history.
RUNS YEAR R L Phillies 1930 1199 102 Phillies 1929 1036 82 Rockies 1999 1028 90 Braves 1911 1021 107 Phillies 1923 1008 104 Rockies 1993 967 95 Rockies 1996 964 79 Phillies 1928 948 109 Mets 1962 948 120 Astros 2000 944 90
Three of the worst seasons are the 1928-1930 seasons for the Phillies, check out the difference between the 1929 losses and the 1930 losses, then take a look at the starting staff vs. the league and compare it to the 1930 Phillies Staff vs. the league.
1929 ERA YEAR DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE RSAA Claude Willoughby 1929 -.29 5.00 4.71 11 Leo Sweetland 1929 -.41 5.12 4.71 7 Phil Collins 1929 -1.06 5.76 4.71 -6 Hal Elliott 1929 -1.37 6.08 4.71 -8 Ray Benge 1929 -1.58 6.29 4.71 -19 1930 ERA YEAR DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE RSAA Phil Collins 1930 0.19 4.78 4.97 21 Ray Benge 1930 -.73 5.69 4.97 -3 Hap Collard 1930 -1.84 6.80 4.97 -17 Claude Willoughby 1930 -2.62 7.59 4.97 -34 Hal Elliott 1930 -2.72 7.69 4.97 -28 Leo Sweetland 1930 -2.74 7.71 4.97 -40
In 1932 the Phillies finally climbed above .500, however the following season the team began a run of futility that was mammoth in scale, a sixteen year run of under .500 was broken in 1949 as the Phillies finished 8 games above .500
YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1933 7th 60 92 .395 31 1934 7th 56 93 .376 37 1935 7th 64 89 .418 35.5 1936 8th 54 100 .351 38 1937 7th 61 92 .399 34.5 1938 8th 45 105 .300 43 1939 8th 45 106 .298 50.5 1940 8th 50 103 .327 50 1941 8th 43 111 .279 57 1942 8th 42 109 .278 62.5 1943 7th 64 90 .416 41 1944 8th 61 92 .399 43.5 1945 8th 46 108 .299 52 1946 5th 69 85 .448 28 1947 T7th 62 92 .403 32 1948 6th 66 88 .429 25.5 1949 3rd 81 73 .526 16
The Phillies placement in 4th in 1932 was the ONLY time between 1918-1949 that Phillies finished above 5th place. The run was marked by fire sales, collapsing stands and an owner being banned from the game. It’s a wonder that the A’s didn’t run the Phillies out of town instead of the other way around. It took the money from Dow Chemical and the patience to build a farm system to pull them out of it slightly, but the Phillies would never be seen as a powerhouse, even experiencing their biggest years when the Reds and Dodgers were peaking as well.
Boston Red Sox --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1919 6th 66 71 .482 20.5 1920 5th 72 81 .471 25.5 1921 5th 75 79 .487 23.5 1922 8th 61 93 .396 33 1923 8th 61 91 .401 37 1924 7th 67 87 .435 25 1925 8th 47 105 .309 49.5 1926 8th 46 107 .301 44.5 1927 8th 51 103 .331 59 1928 8th 57 96 .373 43.5 1929 8th 58 96 .377 48 1930 8th 52 102 .338 50 1931 6th 62 90 .408 45 1932 8th 43 111 .279 64 1933 7th 63 86 .423 34.5 1934 4th 76 76 .500 24 1935 4th 78 75 .510 16
Frazee, Ruth, the trades, player sales, No-No Nannette, the floating lease, most of it ha all been written leading up to the stink, but go peruse a book stores shelves and note the many about the Red Sox, note the subject matter often avoids this time span, it’s like a bad dream… or girlfriend.
Who really wants to go there?
It’s a wonder that baseball fans didn’t kill themselves in Boston in the 1920′s, both teams sucked air and both teams sucked air real hard. Between 1925 and 1930 the Red Sox lost 609 games, that’s an average of 101.5 per season. In 1931 they broke that by dropping only 90, the next season they lost a franchise record 111 games. It took the Michigan bred Yawkey and all his dollars to save this franchise from going the route of the cross town Braves.
Everyone knows the Sox as a hitting team; well in the 1920′s it was a different story.
1920-1930 EXTRA BASE HITS DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE Yankees 486 5157 4671 Indians 9 4702 4693 Tigers -101 4641 4742 A's -118 4572 4690 Browns -124 4596 4720 Senators -564 4156 4720 White Sox -671 4096 4767 Red Sox -848 3915 4763
Fenway was still the smaller park at that time, the White Sox and Senators pitched in pastures in comparison.
Chicago Cubs -------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1947 6th 69 85 .448 25 1948 8th 64 90 .416 27.5 1949 8th 61 93 .396 36 1950 7th 64 89 .418 26.5 1951 8th 62 92 .403 34.5 1952 5th 77 77 .500 19.5 1953 7th 65 89 .422 40 1954 7th 64 90 .416 33 1955 6th 72 81 .471 26 1956 8th 60 94 .390 33 1957 T7th 62 92 .403 33 1958 T5th 72 82 .468 20 1959 T5th 74 80 .481 13 1960 7th 60 94 .390 35 1961 7th 64 90 .416 29 1962 9th 59 103 .364 42.5 1963 7th 82 80 .506 17
1961 Vedie Himsl 0-21 Harry Craft 7-9 El Tappe 42-54 Lou Klein 5-6 1962 El Tappe 4-16 Lou Klein 12-18 Charlie Metro 48-58
The core of their stink
1950-1959
RUNS DIFF PLAYER LEAGUE Dodgers 597 7850 7253 Braves -168 7108 7276 Giants -180 7055 7235 Reds -218 7013 7231 Cardinals -279 6949 7228 Phillies -593 6631 7224 Cubs -840 6450 7290 Pirates -1172 6111 7283 ========================================================== ERA ERA PCT Braves 3.53 .554 Giants 3.71 .533 Phillies 3.83 .498 Dodgers 3.90 .592 Cardinals 4.10 .505 Reds 4.16 .481 Cubs 4.20 .437 Pirates 4.40 .400
In the fifties the Cubs lagged behind the league in both scoring runs and preventing them, this streak began a sustained mediocrity that would envelope the franchise until the early 1980′s, a run so enriched in stink that the phrase “Lovable Losers” followed the franchise around from the era of one Elvis to the era of another Elvis.
St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles -------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1946 7th 66 88 .429 38 1947 8th 59 95 .383 38 1948 6th 59 94 .386 37 1949 7th 53 101 .344 44 1950 7th 58 96 .377 40 1951 8th 52 102 .338 46 1952 7th 64 90 .416 31 1953 8th 54 100 .351 46.5 1954 7th 54 100 .351 57 1955 7th 57 97 .370 39 1956 6th 69 85 .448 28 1957 5th 76 76 .500 21 1958 6th 74 79 .484 17.5 1959 6th 74 80 .481 20 1960 2nd 89 65 .578 8
After winning the 1944 AL title with a cast of oldsters, 4 F’s and weekend warriors the Browns still had a dwindling chance of winning the town back from the Cardinals to whom they had lost the World Series. The Browns best performance on the field since the 1920′s was during the war.
W L PCT 324 284 .533
In a different situation that was something that the Browns probably could have built on, however the Cardinals were a bit better during this span.
W L PCT 411 205 .667
The newness of the Browns popularity wore out quickly and the 1945 season was marked by some grumbling about what many players perceived as a sideshow, the signing of Pete Gray; the one armed player. It was not a long-lived success for the Browns, and the next year they were back to their pre war ways. Soon Bill Veeck arrived and his attempt to make hay in a dwindling two-team market was marked by the emergence of Eddie Gadael, and the crazy sideshow antics of a team with neither little capital nor much of a future.
It was during the early 50′s that Veeck wanted to move the Browns back to Milwaukee, a city they had represented in 1901, before heading south to take on the NL in the St. Louis market. The rest of the AL didn’t care for Veeck, and sandbagged him, hoping his lack of resources would force him to sell eventually. Meanwhile the Braves owned the rights (and a minor league team) in Milwaukee, in a sudden decision the Braves moved to Milwaukee, forcing Veeck to turn elsewhere, eventually selling out to a group that moved the team to Baltimore.
In 1953 the St. Louis Browns lost 100 games and won 54, the next season they were in Baltimore and they had the exact same record. The difference was that in 1954 297,238 people watched them do it. The next season 1,060,910 came out for the losses. The Orioles hired Paul Richards and their existence in the 1950′s mirrors the Pirates of the same era. Both had poor MLB teams and were instilling a system that would pay dividends into the 70′s, cumulating with a match up between the two teams in 1979. Oddly enough the Orioles never led the AL in attendance until 1995, and it was Camden Yards that triggered the attendance boom that the Browns had always hoped for in St. Louis.
Philadelphia/Kansas City A's --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1953 7th 59 95 .383 41.5 1954 8th 51 103 .331 60 1955 6th 63 91 .409 33 1956 8th 52 102 .338 45 1957 7th 59 94 .386 38.5 1958 7th 73 81 .474 19 1959 7th 66 88 .429 28 1960 8th 58 96 .377 39 1961 T9th 61 100 .379 47.5 1962 9th 72 90 .444 24 1963 8th 73 89 .451 31.5 1964 10th 57 105 .352 42 1965 10th 59 103 .364 43 1966 7th 74 86 .463 23 1967 10th 62 99 .385 29.5 1968 6th 82 80 .506
I can do this team run of stink no justice; the team left Philadelphia after roller coaster seasons and roller coaster eras. Leaving a legacy that is still tracked. The move west was like any move west back then, designed to increase revenue for a team that had never built an infrastructure. Bill James has covered the A’s stay in Kansas City eloquently on more then one occasion and finishing last in an expansion year whilst a former player hits 61 home runs for the Yankees must have been an especially hard cut to the heart for what A’s fans there were.
1955-1967 OPS OPS Red Sox .729 Tigers .724 Yankees .724 Senators/Twins .709 Indians .703 White Sox .695 Orioles .684 A's .680 Angels .670 Senators .653 1955-1967 ERA ERA White Sox 3.27 Yankees 3.35 Angels 3.48 Orioles 3.49 Indians 3.67 Tigers 3.72 Senators/Twins 3.95 Senators 3.96 Red Sox 4.07 A's 4.37
Horrible pitching and horrible hitting, the A’s had it all and they flaunted it along with bad deals, low attendance and eventually odd gimmicks like mechanized rabbits and Mules. The A’s were a little behind the Orioles in developing a farm system, their burst of talent arrived as owner Charlie Finely was kicking tires in hopes of moving his team out of Kansas City (even pondering Louisville)
Pittsburgh Pirates --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1993 5th 75 87 .463 22 1994 T3rd 53 61 .465 12.5 1995 5th 58 86 .403 27 1996 5th 73 89 .451 15 1997 2nd 79 83 .488 5 1998 6th 69 93 .426 33 1999 3rd 78 83 .484 18.5 2000 5th 69 93 .426 26 2001 6th 62 100 .383 31 2002 4th 72 89 .447 24.5 2003 4th 75 87 .463 13 2004 5th 72 89 .447 32.5 2005 6th 67 95 .414 33
The Reds played the Pirates this weekend, no mention of stink from the Pirates announcers, however they focused on the one thing that didn’t stink, Freddy Sanchez and his batting title. It was the theme to the weekend like the cupid is the theme to Valentines Day, never relenting they tracked the Marlins games for Miguel Cabrera’s at bats and the fans waved placards with Freddy’s name on it.
HEY PITTSBURGH
You’re in the Five Star Stink section of this poll… that’s bad, you’re kicking with The Browns, A’s and Phillies, slumming is probably a more apt description.
Here’s a hint for the Pirates organization – walks are not bad.
1993-2005, only three teams had walked less then 900 times below the league average.
OBA OBA BB 1 Royals .330 -908 2 Pirates .326 -982 3 Nationals .323 -1114
Since 1993 the above three teams have combined for 18 seasons with 90 losses or more.
Milwaukee Brewers --------------------------------- YEAR PLACE W L PCT GB TITLE 1993 7th 69 93 .426 26 1994 5th 53 62 .461 15 1995 4th 65 79 .451 35 1996 3rd 80 82 .494 19.5 1997 3rd 78 83 .484 8 1998 5th 74 88 .457 28 1999 5th 74 87 .460 22.5 2000 3rd 73 89 .451 22 2001 4th 68 94 .420 25 2002 6th 56 106 .346 41 2003 6th 68 94 .420 20 2004 6th 67 94 .416 37.5 2005 3rd 81 81 .500 19
Another team that got a stadium in the middle of stink, once owned by the Commissioner and always to me will be the Seattle Pilots, and perhaps one the strangest stories in all of the post war expansion shuffling. It was just last year that they tracked the quest to finish off the trail of the stink and in the realm of the plus .500 record.
This team has lacked skill players with offense during this span, check out the top ten RC/27 players the Brewers had since 1993
RUNS CREATED/GAME RC/G AB Richie Sexson 6.75 1987 Kevin Seitzer 6.50 1453 Jeromy Burnitz 6.48 2768 Lyle Overbay 6.35 1116 Jeff Cirillo 6.25 2996 Geoff Jenkins 6.19 3503 John Jaha 6.10 2043 Greg Vaughn 6.08 1706 Dave Nilsson 6.01 2615 B.J. Surhoff 5.37 1101
In that time only Scott Podsednik could claim to have played up the middle for the Brewers and created more then 5 runs every 27 outs. That fact plus no long term clear superstar at the corner positions never enabled the Brewers to generate a world-class offense to make up for their pedestrian pitching. A move to the NL and a new stadium only made this run of futility even more famous in the annals of stink.
I need help and don’t know who to ask. I just recently purchased a bus that was originally purchased by Dow Chemical in 1946. The log records shows it was purchased and used to transport their baseball team around in Michigan for many years. Other than that brief statement, I can not find any information on Dow Chemical’s baseball team, their name, etc. and I am searching to find out more history on this team and my recent purchase’s past. Any information on Dow Chemical’s baseball team in the late 40′s and 1950′s would be greatly helpful or even a direction to go. Thank you.
Dave, the industrial area of Midland is pretty robust, the Dow Chemical company had both womans and mens softball leagues at the time. You might want to check the archives at the Midland Daily News, they might be able to scratch deeper and maybe even have some stories that go more in depth.
If you need an expert on Michigan baseball hit this guy with and email, he’s probably your man.
jlannen@umich.edu – Jim Lannen
Good Luck