Worst batting average lineup ever?

[brewerfan82]

I went to the Orioles game yesterday and at one point in the game they had 7 of 9 hitters in the lineup with sub-.200 batting averages. Also, keep in mind none of those were pitchers and one of them was a .138 pinch hitter who came in for a .214 DH...

 

Has there ever been a lineup like that later than like 3 games into the season before? Pretty mindboggling, lol.

 

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/indians-vs-orioles/2018/04/22/529724#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=529724

 

[sveumrules]

Baltimore is currently sporting a .215 team batting average, good for 19th worst of all time.

 

Of the 18 teams to sport a lower team batting average, 15 of them played between 1873 & 1888, so we can probably throw them out.

 

Two more were deadball era teams, 1908 Superbas & 1910 White Sox, so we can probably throw them out.

 

The closest a somewhat recent team has come to pulling off a .215 team batting average was the 1968 Yankees who came in at .214 & featured a few guys below the Uecker, errr Mendoza Line: Tom Tresh (.195/590 PAs), Dick Howser (.153/190 PAs), Frank Fernandez (.170/170 PAs) and Gene Michael (.198/119 PAs).

 

Of the eleven remaining teams rounding out the top, errr bottom 30 another five are 19th Century/deadball era clubs & three more are 2018 clubs which leaves the 1972 Rangers (.217), 1963 Mets (.219) & 1963 Colt .45s (.220) as other somewhat recentish teams who have collectively gotten hits as infrequently over a full season as the Orioles have so far over 22 games.

[kestrel79]

Didn't know the O's were that bad, wow.

 

Bar comparison how were they compared to some of those "Dark Times" early 2000's Brewers teams?

[owbc]

Didn't know the O's were that bad, wow.

 

Bar comparison how were they compared to some of those "Dark Times" early 2000's Brewers teams?

 

The 2002 Brewers actually hit for a higher average (.253) than the 2017 team (.249). Crazy how the game evolves.

[jerichoholicninja]

Didn't know the O's were that bad, wow.

 

Bar comparison how were they compared to some of those "Dark Times" early 2000's Brewers teams?

 

Those early 2000's Brewers never had players the caliber of Manny Machado, Trey Mancini, or Adam Jones.

[MNBrew]

Man, good thing Alex Cobb held out so long in order to end up on a winning team & organization. At least he's getting something close to the paycheck (and years) he wanted, and of course there was never a guarantee (nor as much of a chance as we thought, it turns out) he would've come to MIL anyway.

 

On topic, and in all seriousness, I can't imagine they stay that bad all season, but nearly a month in, that's pretty poor.

[wallus]

Why haven't the Orioles traded Machado yet again?

[reillymcshane]

Still can't believe the Orioles gave Chris Davis that huge contract. They still owe the something like $110M. Brutal.

[istanbultaye]

Didn't know the O's were that bad, wow.

 

Bar comparison how were they compared to some of those "Dark Times" early 2000's Brewers teams?

 

Those early 2000's Brewers never had players the caliber of Manny Machado, Trey Mancini, or Adam Jones.

 

With all due respect to Trey Mancini and Adam Jones, Richie Sexson and Geoff Jenkins in the early 2000s match up with them pretty well. The dark times of the Brewers generally had some decent offense from what I recall, but pitching was terrible outside of Sheets, and defense was suspect.

[monty57]

Why haven't the Orioles traded Machado yet again?

 

Because they're not a very well-run organization.

[bill hAll Star]

I'll obviously echo that was incredibly stupid not to trade Machado earlier, but they're now the Tigers, circa 2016 or so. They tried one more free agency bonanza to see if they could make something in the final years of Davis (around for a while), Machado, Trumbo, Britton, Jones, etc. which was dumb, but that's what they tried. Now their hand will be forced.

 

Barring a miraculous run over the next few weeks, their deadline is going to be very interesting. Machado, Britton, Brach, Tillman (meh), and Jones are free agents. Schoop, Trumbo, and others will be gone the year after that. Britton and Trumbo obviously need some healthy games logged before dealt.

 

I can't imagine they'd be dumb enough not to have a firesale this deadline and next offseason.

Some of these guys are not very valuable anymore, but I could see them dealing 10+ players in the next 10 months. The roster will probably just be Davis, Cobb, and a bunch of AAAA players early next season similar to how the Tigers have Miggy, V-Mart (1 more year), and Zimmermann rotting during the tank/rebuild.

[Dead Simmons]

And speaking of hitting: There are 5 teams in the NL that lead in the major offensive categories (Ave, HR and slugging) The thin air Rockies and the NL Central, minus the Reds. http://gatewayredbirds.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

[owbc]

And speaking of hitting: There are 5 teams in the NL that lead in the major offensive categories (Ave, HR and slugging) The thin air Rockies and the NL Central, minus the Reds. http://gatewayredbirds.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

 

The wild card race is going to be crazy if the NL East remains a 3-team race.

[Dead Simmons]

And speaking of hitting: There are 5 teams in the NL that lead in the major offensive categories (Ave, HR and slugging) The thin air Rockies and the NL Central, minus the Reds. http://gatewayredbirds.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

 

The wild card race is going to be crazy if the NL East remains a 3-team race.

LOL I didn't think of that! With the Giants completely out of it will be the Mets/Nats and the Central.

 

I have to wonder if the Cubs will land an Ace and pen help soon? I guess it's really too soon for them to panic...or maybe not.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I have to wonder if the Cubs will land an Ace and pen help soon? I guess it's really too soon for them to panic...or maybe not.

 

With what currency? They pretty much have nothing left for farm depth.

[bill hAll Star]

I have to wonder if the Cubs will land an Ace and pen help soon? I guess it's really too soon for them to panic...or maybe not.

 

Their bullpen has been good. I still think their starters will turn the corner. Pitching in Colorado this past weekend wasn't the best place to get right for Darvish and Quintana.

[Dead Simmons]

With the currency of currency. Aren't they among the deepest pockets in the NL? Also I've heard a lot of talk about trading Schwarber.