Worst groups of 1961-1965 – by G. Scott Thomas

The Philadelphia Phillies misplaced on July 29, 1961. They misplaced once more the subsequent day, and repeatedly and once more after that. They might not win till August 20, when a 7-4 victory in Milwaukee snapped a 23-game shedding streak.

The Phillies had a pitiful 31-87 report at that time. They had been 56 video games beneath .500 and 42 video games out of first place.

It hardly appeared a time to rejoice, but 200 followers welcomed the membership on the Philadelphia airport that evening, showering the gamers with confetti. “If we ever win 23 out of 24,” Phillies supervisor Gene Mauch stated fortunately, “they’ll need to construct an even bigger airport.”

There was no want for any building. Mauch’s membership quickly returned to its shedding methods, stumbling via a 10-15 end in September and October. Philadelphia’s remaining report was abysmal — solely 47 wins in opposition to 107 losses.

Baseball writers agreed that the 1961 Phillies had been the worst major-league workforce that they had witnessed in a number of years, in all probability courting again to the horrendous Pittsburgh golf equipment of the early Fifties.

However there was worse to return. A lot worse.

The Nationwide League expanded the next 12 months. The 1961 Phillies would rapidly be forgotten as followers made the acquaintance of the kings of ineptitude, the New York Mets.

I devoted the previous 13 Mondays to a evaluation of the very best groups of baseball’s Trendy Period, which dates from 1961 to the current. My breakdowns proceeded at five-year intervals, starting with 1961-1965, a span that was dominated by the 1961 New York Yankees.

Now for the flip aspect. I intend to conduct the same half-decade examination of the worst groups of the Trendy Period, and the Mets are distinguished — you would possibly say dominant — on this first installment.

The 1963 model of the Mets was the worst membership to take the sector between 1961 and 1965, in accordance with my calculations of workforce scores (TS), that are plotted on an equalized 100-point scale. (Click on right here to be taught in regards to the formulation.)

The 1963 Mets posted a depressing TS of 8.162 factors, placing them forward of simply 0.2 p.c of all 1,656 groups that performed between 1961 and 2022. Gene Mauch’s 1961 Phillies had been solely barely higher at 8.887 factors, giving them a Trendy Period percentile of 0.3 p.c. Three different editions of the Mets spherical out the listing of 1961-1965’s 5 worst groups.

Look beneath for a rundown of 1961-1965’s backside 10. Every membership is listed with its win-loss report and the share of Trendy Period squads that it outperformed. Staff scores and extra data are supplied for the 5 golf equipment that had been the very worst.

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• File: 51-111

• Staff rating: 8.162 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.2%

• Supervisor: Casey Stengel

• Stars: Pitcher Al Jackson accounted for barely greater than 1 / 4 of the Mets’ victories together with his 13-17 report. Fellow starter Carl Willey posted a 3.10 ERA. Second baseman Ron Hunt batted .272 and completed second (to Pete Rose) in balloting for the Nationwide League’s Rookie of the Yr Award.

• Backside line: The Mets flirted with a .500 mark in mid-Might, however that proved to be the spotlight of their second season. A 15-game shedding streak dropped them to a 29-60 report by July 14, they usually completed 48 video games out of first. New York suffered 30 shutouts in 1963, however blanked its opponents solely 5 instances.

• File: 47-107

• Staff rating: 8.887 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.3%

• Supervisor: Gene Mauch

• Stars: Artwork Mahaffey simply topped the pitching employees with 11 victories. None of his colleagues completed with greater than six wins. Outfielder Don Demeter led the Phillies in house runs (20), runs batted in (68), and slugging share (.482).

• Backside line: The Phillies by no means had an opportunity in 1961. They dropped into final place on Might 30 with an 11-26 report, they usually remained within the basement the remainder of the 12 months. Their season of infamy, after all, was capped by that 23-game shedding streak.

• File: 50-112

• Staff rating: 9.282 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.4%

• Supervisor: Casey Stengel and Wes Westrum

• Stars: Jack Fisher pitched 253.2 innings and managed to maintain his ERA beneath 4.00 at 3.94. But he was nonetheless saddled with an ungainly 8-24 report. Ed Kranepool, a 20-year-old first baseman, led the Mets with a .253 batting common.

• Backside line: The summer time of ’65 proved to be a catastrophe for the Mets. They went 26-61 in June, July, and August, paving the way in which for his or her fourth consecutive last-place end. New York misplaced 32 video games by 5 runs or extra in 1965, however notched solely 4 wins by a equally massive margin.

• File: 40-120

• Staff rating: 10.038 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.5%

• Supervisor: Casey Stengel

• Stars: Middle fielder Richie Ashburn batted a strong .306 within the remaining season of his Corridor of Fame profession. Roger Craig pitched 13 full video games and secured 10 wins. The one drawback is that he additionally suffered 24 losses.

• Backside line: The Mets’ 120 defeats had been probably the most for any workforce in 63 years, courting again to the hapless Cleveland Spiders’ 134 losses in 1899. So why doesn’t this New York squad rank as 1961-1965’s worst workforce? As a result of, consider it or not, it was barely extra skillful than the ’63 and ’65 variations. The Mets, for instance, had been shut out solely six instances in 1962, in comparison with 30 in 1963 and 22 in 1965.

• File: 53-109

• Staff rating: 10.277 factors

• Trendy Period percentile: 0.7%

• Supervisor: Casey Stengel

• Stars: Ron Hunt batted .303 and certified for his first All-Star workforce. Proper fielder Joe Christopher hit a fair .300 and led the workforce with 76 runs batted in. Beginning pitcher Galen Cisco long-established a good 3.62 ERA, but he nonetheless misplaced 19 video games.

• Backside line: A depressing stretch drive (9-23 in September and October) buried the Mets in tenth (and final) place, 40 video games behind the Nationwide League champion St. Louis Cardinals and 13 video games wanting the ninth-place Houston Colt .45s.

• 6. Washington Senators (1963), 56-106, 1.8%

• 7. Kansas Metropolis Athletics (1964), 57-105, 2.4%

• 8. Kansas Metropolis Athletics (1965), 59-103, 5.0%

• 9. Washington Senators (1962), 60-101, 5.1%

• 10. Kansas Metropolis Athletics (1961), 61-100, 7.1%