Stat corner: Who had the least valuable careers in baseball history?

Who had the least valuable careers in baseball history?

We can use the Wins Above Average stat, covered in a previous stat corner, to give one possible answer. Remember, WAA gives you credit for what a player did that was above that done by an average player at their position in the years they played. Conversely, it can tell you what a player did that was below an average player.

The number represents how many wins a player meant for his team compared with an average player (a negative number is how many wins a player cost his team). The worst active players are also included.

To make the list, you had to have at least 2,000 plate appearances or 500 innings pitched.

Players

1. Bill Bergen (1901-11), -24.5

2. Doc Cramer (1929-48), -22.8

3. Tommy Dowd (1891-1901), -21.3

4. Alfredo Griffin (1976-93), -20.5

5. Doug Flynn (1975-85), -20.4

6. Dan Meyer (1974-85), -19.9

7. Ski Melillo (1926-37), -19.8

8. Tommy Thevenow (1924-38), -19.6

9. Ken Reitz (1972-82), -19.5

10. Bill Wambsganss (1914-26), -19.2

Active

1. Mark Reynolds, -10.2

2. Alcides Escobar, -9.8

3. Jeff Mathis, -8.0

4. Justin Smoak, -7.6

5. Logan Morrison, -6.7

Pitchers

1. Tony Cloninger (1961-72), -14.3

2. Mike LaCoss (1978-91), -13.5

3. Randy Lerch (1975-86), -12.9

4. Ed Doheny (1895-1903), -12.8

5. Bill Stearns (1871-75), -12.7

6. Mike Kekich (1965-77), -12.6

7. Jack Fisher (1959-69), -12.2

8. Herm Wehmeier (1945-58), -11.9

9. Kevin Jarvis (1994-2006), -11.6

10. Chick Fraser (1896-1909), -11.5

Active

1. Jordan Lyles, -9.8

2. Clayton Richard, -7.1

3. Edwin Jackson, -6.7

4. Jesse Chavez, -6.1

5. Charlie Morton, -6.0

Source: baseball-reference.com