Worst hitters of the Modern Era

Today’s subject is a touchy one.

We’re dealing with players who were good enough to stay in the major leagues for at least a decade, and yet we’re hanging the “worst” tag on them. It’s not an easy thing to do — and admittedly not very nice.

So let me say right off that all of the guys on today’s list were durable. It’s also true that their career batting averages were decent enough — well, except for Ed Brinkman and Mark Belanger — and yet they were all lacking at the plate.

The following list includes the 10 batters who reached the fewest bases per out (BPO) in a minimum of 5,000 plate appearances during the Modern Era (covering the seasons from 1961 through 2021).

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not equating anybody on this list with a batter who strikes out four times in his only game in the majors — not at all — but I am saying that all 10 of them were poor base producers.

Let’s start with Brinkman, the unfortunate leader on this list. He always was a far-ranging, sure-handed shortstop, even winning a Gold Glove in 1972. He also had been a powerful hitter as a teenager, when he played on the same Cincinnati high-school team as Pete Rose. “He was our home-run hitter,” Rose recalled. “Ed hit the long ball.”

That wasn’t the case in the big leagues. Brinkman launched only 60 homers in 15 seasons with four clubs, primarily the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers. He batted less than .240 in all but three of those years — and dropped below .200 in five of them.

Brinkman reached 2,437 bases while making 4,998 outs over the course of his career, resulting in a BPO of .488. That makes him the only batter in the Modern Era (with at least 5,000 plate appearances) to finish with a ratio of less than half a base per out.

It’s noteworthy that the era’s 10 worst batters all played the infield, and several were extremely gifted in the field. Six of the 10, including Brinkman, were primarily shortstops.

The following summaries show the bases per out, bases reached, outs made, and other stats (games, plate appearances, hits, home runs, and batting averages) for the 10 batters with the lowest BPOs. Their career spans are also shown. (Keep in mind that these rankings are confined to the Modern Era, so any pre-1961 stats have been excluded.)

Ties in BPO have been broken by referring to additional decimal places, which are not shown here. A brief list of the next 15 batters (with their career BPOs) follows the 10 worst batters.

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• Bases per out (BPO): .488

• Bases reached: 2,437

• Outs made: 4,998

• Other stats: G 1,846, PA 6,642, H 1,355, HR 60, BA .224

• Span: 1961-1975

• Bases per out (BPO): .502

• Bases reached: 2,478

• Outs made: 4,932

• Other stats: G 1,696, PA 6,573, H 1,515, HR 25, BA .251

• Span: 1970-1985

• Bases per out (BPO): .522

• Bases reached: 1,998

• Outs made: 3,825

• Other stats: G 1,481, PA 5,160, H 1,168, HR 13, BA .245

• Span: 1964-1978

• Bases per out (BPO): .527

• Bases reached: 2,823

• Outs made: 5,355

• Other stats: G 2,017, PA 7,085, H 1,570, HR 124, BA .237

• Span: 1967-1983

• Bases per out (BPO): .528

• Bases reached: 2,903

• Outs made: 5,498

• Other stats: G 1,962, PA 7,331, H 1,688, HR 24, BA .249

• Span: 1976-1993

• Bases per out (BPO): .531

• Bases reached: 2,078

• Outs made: 3,911

• Other stats: G 1,435, PA 5,337, H 1,342, HR 34, BA .269

• Span: 1964-1977

• Bases per out (BPO): .535

• Bases reached: 2,026

• Outs made: 3,788

• Other stats: G 1,344, PA 5,079, H 1,243, HR 68, BA .260

• Span: 1972-1982

• Bases per out (BPO): .538

• Bases reached: 2,877

• Outs made: 5,345

• Other stats: G 1,993, PA 7,133, H 1,764, HR 28, BA .264

• Span: 1985-2000

• Bases per out (BPO): .538

• Bases reached: 1,979

• Outs made: 3,676

• Other stats: G 1,392, PA 5,026, H 1,114, HR 40, BA .247

• Span: 1973-1984

• Bases per out (BPO): .539

• Bases reached: 2,602

• Outs made: 4,826

• Other stats: G 2,016, PA 6,602, H 1,316, HR 20, BA .228

• Span: 1965-1982

• 11. Rey Sanchez (1991-2005), .541

• 12. Rafael Ramirez (1980-1992), .547

• 13. Cookie Rojas (1962-1977), .548

• 14. Don Kessinger (1964-1979), .551

• 15. Horace Clarke (1965-1974), .553

• 16. Bill Mazeroski (1961-1972), .556

• 17. Larry Bowa (1970-1985), .556

• 18. Glenn Beckert (1965-1975), .558

• 19. Tito Fuentes (1965-1978), .571

• 20. Ted Sizemore (1969-1980), .572

• 21. Felix Millan (1966-1977), .573

• 22. Bill Russell (1969-1986), .574

• 23. Alcides Escobar (2008-2021), .574

• 24. Manny Trillo (1973-1989), .578

• 25. Julian Javier (1961-1972), .578