The book "Cubs by the Numbers" (Yellon, et al., New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2009) says that Corey Patterson in 2005, "..had the worst offensive seasons for anyone who had more than 400 at bats since the pitchers' year of 1968."(116) Patterson was pretty bad in '05. He hit .215 with 118 strikeouts and only 23 walks. Plus, he did not compensate with power; he had only 31 extra base hits. His adjusted OPS was 54. I decided to investigate and see if this really was the worst offensive season between 1969 and 2005, using adjusted OPS as a measure. As it turns out, it wasn't even close. There were 42 player-seasons in that era that were worse. Here are the ten worst:
Rob Picciolo, 1977 A's - 31
Cristian Guzman, 1999 Twins - 38
Larry Bowa, 1973 Phillies - 39
Bob Boone, 1984 Angels - 40
Doug Flynn, 1982 Rangers and Expos - 41
Alfredo Griffin, 1990 Dodgers - 43
Neifi Perez, 2002 Royals - 44
Ivan DeJesus, 1981 Cubs - 44
Tim Johnson, 1973 Brewers - 44
Tommy Helms, 1970 Reds - 44
Rob Picciolo, 1977 A's - 31
Cristian Guzman, 1999 Twins - 38
Larry Bowa, 1973 Phillies - 39
Bob Boone, 1984 Angels - 40
Doug Flynn, 1982 Rangers and Expos - 41
Alfredo Griffin, 1990 Dodgers - 43
Neifi Perez, 2002 Royals - 44
Ivan DeJesus, 1981 Cubs - 44
Tim Johnson, 1973 Brewers - 44
Tommy Helms, 1970 Reds - 44
Picciolo hit .200 with 9 walks and 17 extra base hits in 446 plate appearances as Oakland's regular shortstop. The worst season from 2006 through 2010 was by Pedro Feliz, who had an adjusted OPS of 46 in 2010.
