Worst 1B Seasons since 1957
Continuing with more of the worst. Now there are positions in baseball where clubs are very willing to sacrifice defense for offense, middle infielders being most common. If you have an excellent defensive shortstop or second baseman you can often overlook their offensive shortcomings. First base is not one of those positions. Sure a great defensive first baseman is nice to have but if they can't hit, it's not wise to keep them in the line up everyday if you have a better hitting alternative who isn't at least a complete butcher in the field.
The worst hitting season for a first baseman since 1901 was by Ivy Griffin in 1920 who posted a blistering hitting line of .238/.281/.274 for an OPS+ of 47 in 505 plate appearances, which means he'd qualify under the modern rules for the batting title. Now Griffin played on a horrific Philadelphia A's team that lost 106 games. On the other hand the man who posted the worst hitting season for a first baseman since 1957 played on a team who made it to the World Series and you might have heard of him too, no offense to Mr. Griffin. Actually there was a tie for first/worst so the tiebreak was who had more plate appearances.
Top 25 Worst Offensive First Baseman Seasons since 1957 (per OPS+)
1. Pete Rose, 1983 - Philadelphia Phillies 69 OPS+ (.245/.316/.286)
2. Pete Runnels, 1957 - Washington Senators 69
3. Enos Cabell, 1981 - San Francisco Giants 72
4t. Kevin Young, 1993 - Pittsburgh Pirates 73
4t. Whitey Lockman, 1957 - New York Giants 73
6. Darin Erstad, 1999 - Anaheim Angels 74
7. Dave Stapleton, 1983 - Boston Red Sox 76
8t. Mike Squires, 1981 - Chicago White Sox 78
8t. Tony Taylor, 1967 - Philadelphia Phillies 78
8t. Lee Thomas, 1963 - Los Angeles Angels 78
11t. Kevin Young, 2001 - Pittsburgh Pirates 80
11t. Dale Murphy, 1978 - Atlanta Braves 80
13t. Ron Coomer, 2000 - Minnesota Twins 81
13t. J.T. Snow, 1996 - California Angels 81
13t. David Segui, 1994 - New York Mets 81
16. Bill Buckner, 1973 - Los Angeles Dodgers 82
17t. Cecil Cooper, 1986 - Milwaukee Brewers 83
17t. Vic Power, 1957 - Kansas City A's 83
19t. Ken Harvey, 2003 - Kansas City Royals 84
19t. Keith Moreland, 1988 - San Diego Padres 84
19t. Willie Montanez, 1979 - New York Mets/Texas Rangers 84
19t. Rusty Staub, 1963 - Houston Colt .45's 84
19t. Vic Power, 1961 - Cleveland Indians 84
24t. Pete O'Brien, 1983 - Texas Rangers 85
24t. Frank Thomas, 1960 - Chicago Cubs 85
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