The WORST 10 MLB CONTRACTS Of All Time!!! Unmitigated DISASTERS!!

One of the worst feelings in the world is buyer’s remorse, and the larger the purchase the worse the feeling. We’ve all been there. So, just imagine how it must feel to be a general manager in an MLB front office after spending hundreds of millions of dollars over multiple years on one player who ends up bringing the team almost zero or possibly even negative value. The owners might even feel worse since they’re the ones who provided all that lost money. But it’s a sad reality in professional sports – if you want to get the player, you have to overpay and offer contracts that extend well beyond the projected prime of a player. This means sometimes contracts as long as 10 years or more, guaranteeing players get paid handsomely well into their late 30’s and sometimes even into their 40’s. Today, let’s talk about the 10 worst MLB contracts ever handed out and find out exactly what went wrong with these deals. I’ll stick to deals at least 5 years long and with one exception I’m going to avoid current contracts.

First, a few dishonorable mentions:

Barry Zito – SF Giants: 8 years, $126 million

Zito was the best available free agent arm entering 2007 and the Giants signed the former Cy Young Award winner to a massive deal that almost immediately backfired. I remember attending his second start of the season against the Dodgers and he gave up 8 runs. He finished the year with a 4.53 ERA then led the league in losses in 2008 with a 5.15 ERA. He had a losing record through the first 5 years of his contract, but he avoids the main list, because of a nice 2012 season in which he pitched well in the playoffs and helped the Giants win a World Series.

Albert Pujols – LA Angels: 10 years, $240 million

This one just misses the main list because Pujols did provide some value for the Angels, made an All-Star team and crushed 222 homers in an Angels uniform, 4th all time. However, he was a shadow of the player they thought they were signing. Pujols was a 3-time MVP who consistently hit well over .300 and was simply the best hitter in the game when LA gave him a 10-year deal in 2012. He immediately declined and became a slow .250 hitter with power for most of his Angels career – a good player, but not one worth $240 million.

Alex Gordon – Kansas City Royals: 4 years, $72 million

After making three straight All-Star teams and helping the Royals win a pennant in 2014 and the World Series in 2015, Gordon was rewarded with a 4 year, $72 million contract deal to stay in Kansas City. He immediately declined and hit just .220 in 2016. He hit just .237 throughout the deal and never made another All Star team although he still played great defense and won 3 Gold Gloves. The Royals even signed him for one more year in 2020 in which he won another Gold Glove, the 8th of his career.

David Wright – New York Mets: 8 years, $113 million

I’ll put David Wright as a mention instead of on the main list because injuries were the sole reason for his massive decline, but it caused his 8 year, $113 million deal to be a complete disaster. He had made 6 All Star teams in 7 years and just finished 6th for the MVP after hitting .306 with 21 home runs when he signed the deal in 2013. His first year of the contract went well, although he had some hamstring issues and played in just 112 games. In 2014, he hit just 8 homers all year long with a .269 average. In 2015, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and played in just 38 games. Then, in 2016, while still struggling to stay on the field due to spinal stenosis, he suffered a herniated disc. Wright tried to rehab his injuries but setbacks occurred and he could never make a full-fledged comeback although in 2018, he was activated for the last home stand of the season and made 3 plate appearances, walking once.

Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies: 5 years, $125 million

During the late 2000’s one of the best hitters in the game had to be Ryan Howard of the Phillies, who won a Rookie of the Year in 2005 and an MVP in 2006 after crushing 58 homers with a .313 average. From 2006 to 2009, he averaged around 50 home runs per season. The Phillies thought they had a future Hall of Famer and wanted to make sure they locked him up so he could be spend most if not all his career in Philadelphia. That’s about the only goal that was achieved with a 5 year $125 million extension offered to Howard in 2010. The new contract kicked in in 2012 and that’s when the decline began. During an injury-riddled season, he hit just .219 with 14 home runs. In 2013, he suffered a torn left meniscus and played in just 80 games. He finally played in a full year again in 2014 but hit just .223, leading the league with 190 strikeouts. His numbers continued to decline and in 2016, he hit .196 in his final year of the extension and MLB season. At least he finished out his contract – but the same can’t be said for every one on the main list, which starts now.

TOP 10:

10. Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels: 7 years, $245 million

I was going to avoid putting current contracts, but I have to make an exception for Anthony Rendon. I’ll put him at #10 since he still has time to get it together, but I wouldn’t bet on it. For his first 7 years, Anthony Rendon established himself as one of the best overall players in Major League Baseball. The third baseman played stellar defense, won multiple silver sluggers, finished as high as 3rd for the MVP and helped the Nationals win it all in 2019 after hitting .319 with 34 homers, and a league-leading 126 RBIs and 44 doubles. He was one of the top free agents entering 2020 and the Los Angeles Angels signed him to a 7 year $245 million deal that seemed to make sense at the time, but what they didn’t know at the time was – Anthony Rendon doesn’t really like baseball, which makes it kind of tough to play through nagging injuries when players hit their thirties. Incredibly, Rendon, after 5 years of this contract, has not played in 60 games yet for the Angels. In 2020, it took 29 plate appearances for him to get his first hit, although he finished the year with decent numbers including a .286 average and 9 homers. In 2021, however, he hit just .240 with 6 home runs, missing most of the year with various injuries. In 2022, he was again hurt almost all season long and was suspended for his part in a brawl. He hit just .229 with 5 homers. The spiral continued in 2023 as he got into an altercation with a fan and was suspended 4 games. He hit .236 with 2 home runs. In 2024, he landed on the injured list again multiple times and hit a career low .218. His contract has been an absolute disaster and he admitted this year that baseball has never been a priority for him and they need to shorten the season. Well, it seems it’s already been shorted for him as Rendon has played in about 37% of the Angels games since signing that 7 year deal.

9. Jordan Zimmermann – Detroit Tigers: 5 years, $110 million

One of the premiere free agent pitchers entering into the 2016 season had to be Jordan Zimmermann, who had recently made 2 All Star Games with Washington and led the league with 19 wins in 2013. In 2015, he had a slightly high 3.66 ERA, but was still solid and had just had his 4th straight season of at least 32 starts. He had proven to be healthy and effective, so The Tigers decided to give him a 5 year deal worth $110 million. He never made 30 starts in a season for Detroit. He had a hot start in Detroit and was 5-0 after April, winning pitcher of the month. After that, things fell apart and he finished the year 9-7 with a 4.87 ERA. 2017 was even worse and Zimmermann went 8-13 with an ERA over 6 and led the league in earned runs. By 2019, Zimmermann could hardly win a game – literally. He went 1-13 with a 6.91 ERA. He pitched in just 3 games in the last year of this contract in 2020 with a 7.94 ERA. For his 5-year stint with the Tigers, his WAR was in the negatives.

8. B.J. Upton – Atlanta Braves: 5 years, $72.5 million

Upton was a former Tampa Bay Devil Rays second overall pick who could fly on the basepaths, make sparkling plays in the outfield and absolutely crush a baseball. In 2012, his last year with Tampa Bay, he smashed a career high 28 bombs, his 3rd season hitting north of 20 home runs. He was one of the hottest free agents available and the Braves signed him to the biggest deal in franchise history. His stats immediately plummeted and he looked like a completely different player. After averaging 39 steals for 5 years, he stole just 12 bases and hit a mere 9 homers with an abysmal .184 batting average. He had a negative 1.7 WAR that season and did not improve much from there. In 2014, he hit .208 with another WAR in the negatives. To get rid of him, the Braves had to package him in a deal with their elite closer Craig Kimbrel and ship him off to San Diego for prospects. He played slightly better there for two part-time seasons before being traded to the Blue Jays, where he hit .196 and was released before the final season of his contract. He signed minor league deals with the Giants and Indians later, but never made it back to the big leagues.

7. Madison Bumgarner – Arizona Diamondbacks: 5 years, $85 million

By the time MadBum reached free agency in 2019, he was a 4-time All Star and postseason legend who had finished in the top 5 for the Cy Young Award 4 times. He was basically unhittable in the postseason and had a .25 ERA in 5 World Series starts. However, he was entering into his thirties and had recently experienced a couple injuries, one from a dirt bike accident. His velocity was down a bit and in 2019, he had just gone 9-9 with a 3.9 ERA, but still struck out 8.8 batters per 9. The Giants offered him 4 years and $70 million but the D-Backs topped their offer. Things didn’t go well to start the deal in the Covid-shortened 2020 as MadBum struggled then suffered a back strain. In 9 starts, he went 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA. He was terrible again in 2021 apart from one 5-game stretch in which he was pitched very well and even threw a 7-inning no-hitter. But for the season, he went 7-12 with a 4.67 ERA. In ‘22, he lost 15 games and had the worst strikeout ratio in his career. He was released after 4 starts in 2023 in which he went 0-3 with a 10.26 ERA. The D-Backs had to continue to pay Bumgarner through the 2024 season. He provided a negative WAR for his services during the contract.

6. Prince Fielder – Detroit Tigers: 9 years, $214 million

After seven years in Milwaukee, Prince Fielder was clearly was one of the league’s most dominant and healthy hitters. He never missed a game and absolutely crushed the baseball. In 2011, he hit .299 with 38 bombs, finishing third for the MVP. The Tigers gave Fielder a massive 9 year deal worth $214 million. He wore a Tigers uniform for just 2 seasons. He did play well during the regular season, hitting .313 with 30 bombs, but then struggled in the postseason and hit .071 in the World Series, which the Tigers lost to San Francisco. In 2013, he hit .182 in the ALCS then pissed off every Tigers fan by saying

"It's not really tough, man. It's over. I got kids I got to take care of, I got things I got to take care of. It's over."

It’s a sentiment he had expressed before, even after the 2012 World Series loss.

Although yes, it’s a good thing to go home and take care of your kids, fans weren’t trying to hear about how little Fielder cared about losing, especially after a poor postseason performance with the bat. After some outrage in Detroit, Fielder was traded to the Rangers but he played in just 42 games in 2014 before season-ending neck surgery. He recovered enough to hit .305 with 23 bombs in 2015, but after hitting just .212 in 2016, he had to step away from baseball after a second neck surgery, as doctors would not clear him to play again. But, he did not officially retire so that the Rangers would still have to pay him through the 2020 season. Ultimately, it was the Rangers, not the Tigers, who really paid the price for this bad contract.

5. Alex Rodriguez – NY Yankees: 10 years, $275 million

Alex Rodriguez singed not just one, but two 10-year contracts during his career. The first one he signed with the Rangers in 2001, and while he played well for Texas, the team itself wasn’t that great and they traded him after just 3 seasons. He went on to win 3 MVPs for the Yankees, so the first 10-year deal wasn’t so bad. The second, however, was in many ways a complete disaster, although it has to be said that he did help the Yankees win a World Series in 2009, which is why this isn’t ranked higher. As for the bad, the controversies during this 10-year deal began before he even signed the contract when A-Rod opted out of the original 10-year deal in 2007 before even speaking with the front office, becoming an unrestricted free agent. He and his agent Boras announced this during the 8th inning of what would be the deciding World Series game between the Red Sox and Rockies, which created controversy as they seemed to want to take the attention away from the field and focus it on them. The Yankees and A-Rod eventually settled on a 10-year deal that would last through A-Rod’s age 42 season. Just a year into the contract, Rodriguez was first exposed for using PEDs during the 2003 season with Texas. He admitted to using PEDs from 2001 to 2003 but said he quit after the 2003 season. Then, in 2013, he was linked to the BioGenesis scandal and busted for PEDs again. After denying it and appealing it, he was suspended for the entire 2014 season and eventually admitted guilt. When he wasn’t suspended during the new contract, Rodriguez struggled with injuries and played in less than 100 games 3 times. He retired in 2016 before the contract was over. A-Rod did give the Yankees some value, but based on the suspensions, controversies and injuries, I’d say it ended up as a terrible deal in the end.

4. Josh Hamilton – LA Angels: 5 years, $125 million

After being picked first overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999, Josh Hamilton nearly threw his entire career away due to an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He missed three entire minor league seasons and was considered the biggest draft bust in MLB history when he got his life together and got a second chance with the Reds in 2007. He hit .292 with 19 home runs, displaying the incredible ability he had to hit a baseball that got him drafted first overall. After a trade to the Rangers, he became a superstar and won the MVP in 2010 with an insane season in which he hit .359 with 32 bombs and an OPS of 1.044. He made 5 straight All Star teams and crushed 43 bombs in 2012, his last year before entering free agency. Not surprisingly, teams threw money at him and Hamilton signed with the Angels, who offered a massive 5 year deal worth $125 million. There was some risk given Hamilton’s past, but he seemed to have completely changed his life. But at 32 years old, there was also the risk of a decline in performance due to age. The Angels lost both of those gambles. Hamilton declined immediately and hit just .250 with 21 homers his first year. Then, the injury bug hit and he played in just 89 games in 2014. In the ALDS, he went 0 for 13. Before the 2015 season, while rehabbing a shoulder injury, he suffered a drug and alcohol-related relapse. The Angels were done with Hamilton and traded him back to the Rangers, but still were on the hook for most of his contract. He played in just 50 more games for the Rangers in 2015, but suffered injury problems the rest of his career until finally retiring after a failed comeback attempt in 2017.

3. Pablo Sandoval – Boston Red Sox: 5 years, $95 million

After the Giants won the World Series in 2014, fan favorite Pablo Sandoval AKA “Panda” became an attractive free agent due to his elite hand eye coordination at the plate and reliable glove at third base. He had made two All-Star teams in 2011 and 2012, but also had a history of being out of shape and wasn’t exactly a top-tier superstar. The Red Sox gave him a huge contract anyway with a 5 year deal worth nearly $100 million in guaranteed money. It turned out to be an unmitigated disaster and Pablo showed up to Spring Training out of shape and had career lows in several offensive categories including batting average which was just .245. He had a negative WAR and only got worse from there. In 2016, he was overweight again and ended up missing the entire season except for 6 hitless at bats due to injury. In 2017, he was hitting .212 when Boston pulled the plug. He was designated for assignment, removed from the 40-man roster, then released after passing through waivers. They still had pay him through 2019 and did so even though he had returned to San Francisco and began to play better there. The Red Sox ended up paying Pablo about $48 million to not play for them. It was one of the most regrettable and disastrous contracts in MLB history.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury – New York Yankees: 7 years, $153 million

No list of bad MLB contracts would be complete without the 7 year Jacoby Ellsbury disaster. Ellsbury was a speedy and exciting player for the Red Sox from 2007 to 2013. He led the league in steals 3 times, won a Gold Glove and could also handle the bat, especially in 2011 when he crushed 32 homers with a .321 average, finishing 2nd for the MVP. During the 2013-2014 offseason, the Yankees penned Ellsbury to a massive 7 year deal north of $150 million. He immediately turned into a slightly above average centerfielder with decent speed. In 2014, he hit .271 with 16 homers and that was his best year in New York. In 2015, he hit just .257 with 7 homers and 21 steals. After 2 more mediocre seasons, it was announced he would miss all of the 2018 season with hip injuries and a torn labrum. He never played professional baseball again. The Yankees released him in November of 2019 and still owed Ellsbury $21 million along with a $5 million buyout for 2021. They tried to not pay him, claiming he received an unauthorized medical, so the MLBPA filed a grievance. They won the case and the Yankees were forced to pay Ellsbury the owed money on his disastrous contract.

1. Chris Davis – Baltimore Orioles: 7 years, $161 million

It had to be the most epic performance meltdown ever for a player who just signed a massive contract extension and, in my opinion, it’s the worst contract in MLB history. From 2012 to 2015, Chris Davis was one of the Orioles’ most productive bats and he had just smashed a league-leading 47 home runs with a .923 OPS. He was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and finished as high as 3rd for the MVP. He was also not even 30 years old yet, so the Orioles did what seemed like the logical thing and secured his services for the foreseeable future with a 7 year extension. In 2016, he led the league with a career high 216 strikeouts and hit just .221. But this was just the beginning of the collapse. In 2017, he hit just .215 and in 2018, he became perhaps the worst single-season hitter in MLB history, hitting .168 with a slugging percentage under .300. Even Duane Kuiper, who hit one career home run, slugged .316. In 2019, Davis made history and completed 54 consecutive at bats without a hit, an MLB record for a non-pitcher. In 2020, he hit .115 and missed most of the season with a knee injury. He missed all of 2021 after hip surgery and then retired. However, much of the contract was deferred and the Orioles will still be paying Chris Davis through 2037.

The 10 WORST Teams In The HISTORY OF MLB...Will The 2024 CHICAGO WHITE SOX Be the WORST EVER??

Something historic is happening during the 2024 season and it isn’t good. The Chicago White Sox currently sit in last place in the American League Central with an MLB worst 35-115 record, a pitiful record that might make them the worst team in MLB history. There are 3 teams on today’s worst 10 list of all time that lost just 111 games in a 162 game season, and the White Sox have already lost more than that many with 2 weeks left to play. So, to find out if they are actually the worst team ever, let’s do a ranking – the 10 worst teams in modern Major League Baseball history going all the way back to the beginning of the modern era. Then, I’ll look at where the White Sox project to finish the season and explain what they will have to do avoid the fate of being the worst team in MLB history. I’ll calculate how many wins they need to not be the worst of all time, and even give my opinion on if they’ll be able to get there or not. The only two rules for this video will be that I won’t put any defunct teams that are no longer in the league, and I won’t repeat the same franchise, so it’s not full of the A’s and Phillies.

#10 - the 2013 Houston Astros (51-111) .315

In their first season in the American League, the Houston Astros did not fair well. They were a team in rebuilding and did have some good young players like Jose Altuve and J.D. Martinez, but neither had hit their prime yet. 21 players made their big league debut that year for the Astros and their big off-season signing Rick Ankiel hit .193. Dallas Keuchel was their Ace in just his second season and he had not found his Cy Young form yet. Other than that, their pitching was awful and they had the worst team ERA in baseball. But, they had a great farm system with players like Carlos Correa and George Springer moving through the system and would become World Series champions in 2017. Of course, that title isn’t considered the cleanest of all time.

#9 – the 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks (51-111) .315

They had just won a World Series 3 years before, but the 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks had zero resemblance to that 2001 Championship Club. They traded away key players like Curt Schilling, Craig Counsell and Junior Spivey. Many of the big bats still in their lineup had down years like Luis Gonzalez, who hit just .259 with 17 homers, a huge dropoff from his 2001 form when he hit .325 with 57 bombs. Their big offseason acquisition, Richie Sexson, had just smashed 45 homers for the BrewCrew in 2003. He was injured almost all season long and hit just 9 homers for Arizona. As a team, the D-Backs hit just 135 homers all season long, the worst in MLB. Their bullpen was atrocious as well and the only starter who had a good year was Randy Johnson, but the run support was so bad, he lost a career high 14 games despite a 2.6 ERA and 2nd place finish for the Cy Young.

#8 – the 2018 Baltimore Orioles (47-115) .290

Back in 2018, the Baltimore Orioles won their first game of the season then went on to lose 20 of their next 26 en route to a god awful 47-115 record. Things got so bad they put Chris Davis, one of the worst hitters in the game at the time, in the lead off spot. He had one of the worst offensive seasons in MLB history, hitting .168 with a -3.3. WAR. The Orioles would’ve likely won at least 3 more games if they replaced him with an average player. Their new free agent pickup, Colby Rasmus, played in just 18 games then quit baseball in the middle of the season. Their bullpen was bad and none of their starters could stay healthy or effective. Former All Star Chris Tillman had an ERA over 10 in 7 starts and hasn’t played since. Their new free agent, Alex Cobb, who signed a 4-year deal for $57 million, went 5-15 with a 4.9 ERA. In fact, 3 starters – Cobb, Andrew Cashner, and Dylan Bundy – each lost at least 15 games. One of their few bright spots, Manny Machado, was hitting .315 with 24 bombs when he was shipped off to Los Angeles.

#7 – the 1932 Boston Red Sox (43-111) .279

In 1932, Boston Red Sox fans had more reason to be depressed than just the economy. They finished the season an incredible 64 games behind the New York Yankees. This was a team that was simply inept across the board and finished the season last in batting average, runs, on-base-percentage, OPS, ERA, complete games, walks and strikeouts. The Red Sox owner Bob Quinn severely under financed the team for years, not necessarily because he was greedy, but because he was broke, and it all came to a head in 1932. The front office had to throw together a team full of borderline MLB players who would play for the league minimum. They did pick up one great hitter in a trade, Dale Alexander, who was hitting .250 for the Tigers. He came over to Boston and hit .372 the rest of the way, winning a batting title. But the pitching staff was awful. Their Ace was Bob Weiland, and he went 6-16 with a 4.51 ERA and almost every other pitcher had an ERA over 5. Fortunately, Tom Yawkey bought the team shortly after the 1932 season and helped turn the franchise around.

#6 – the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates (42-112) .273

Coming into the 1952 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a reputation similar to the one they have today – and it’s not a good one. They were coming off back to back 90 loss seasons and their 1952 roster featured 13 rookies, 4 of whom were still teenagers, along with a lackluster pitching staff. To make matters worse, their star player Ralph Kiner got off to a slow start due to a bad back. They lost 18 of their first 21 games that season and never recovered. Their ace pitcher, 35-year old Murray Dickson, who won 21 games in 1951, led the league in earned runs and home runs given up, and ended up losing 21 games. G.M. Branch Ricksey started to promote more and more youngsters throughout the year and the season became known as “Operation Peach Fuzz.” The Pirates promoted a 20-year old pitcher named Ron Necciail, who became famous for striking out all 27 batters in a minor league game. He went 1-6 with an ERA over 7. The ‘52 Pirates were just terrible across the board, but a few rookies did go on to have great careers like Dick Groat, who won the MVP in 1960

#5 – the 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119) .265

After losing 106 games and finishing in dead last in 2002, the Detroit Tigers new GM Dave Dombrowski hired local legend Alan Trammel as their new manager. Unfortunately, he would have a monumental task ahead as the product on the field was not upgraded at all; in fact, Dombrowski decided to move on from several veteran players and focus on a youth movement, using a farm system that lacked any genuine big-league ready prospects. Pitching would be a massive problem. The average age in the starting rotation was 26 and it included 20-year old Jeremy Bonderman, a High School draft pick who had never pitched above High A, and the Opening Day starter, Mike Maroth, was completely unproven. The only pitcher with previous success they signed was Steve Avery, who was making a comeback attempt after not pitching for 4 years. The bullpen was equally uninspiring and did not even have one arm strong enough be considered an official closer. Other than the powerful Dmitri Young, the lineup was not much better. It included castoffs from other clubs like Austin Warren and a few young Tigers like Brandon Inge & Ramon Santiago, whose better years were in the future. They started the year on a 9-game losing streak, then after a win, lost 8 more. After a month, it turned out the offense was even worse than the pitching, as the team was hitting around .220. Things never got better for the 2003 Tigers and they lost a franchise record 119 games. After the season, the franchise began to turn around with the acquisition of Ivan Rodriguez and other talented players who, combined with some of the youngsters from that 2003 team like Inge and Santiago, ended up in the World Series in 2006.

#4 – the 1904 Washington Senators (38-113) .252

Today they’re known as the Minnesota Twins and one piece of their team’s history they’d like to leave in D.C. is the 1904 season when the Senators lost 113 games out of just 151, an embarrassing .252 winning percentage. The Senators had been a middle of the road club for a while, but their real downfall began in 1902 when their star player, one of the best hitters in game and future Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty died after he was kicked off a train for being drunk and disorderly then somehow ended up at the bottom of Niagra Falls. Whether he fell accidentally or committed suicide was never officially determined. Around this time, the team had no proper owner and the league was forced to take over ownership. The team was finally purchased just before the season in 1904, and new ownership had quickly scrape together enough players to field a team on Opening Day. There were no real threats in a lineup and during an era when batting averages were much higher, their best hitter was Jake Stahl, who hit just .262 and led the league in strikeouts. As a team, they hit just .227, an incredibly low average even by today’s standards. The Senators were also dead last in the league with just 10 home runs as an entire team, an incredibly low number even for 1904. Their pitching was also abysmal and they had the worst ERA in the league and were, simply put, an unmitigated disaster. With more time to regroup and organize the roster, ownership improved the team and in 1905, they went 64-87 and made it out of the basement, finishing ahead of the St. Louis Browns.

#3 – the 1962 New York Mets (40-120) .250

Although the 1962 New York Mets were definitely terrible, at least they had a good excuse as it was their inaugural season as a brand new expansion team in Major League Baseball. However, they could’ve been a lot better if upper management weren’t more concerned about signing washed up former Dodger and Yankee players as gate attractions rather than signing real up and coming talent. In addition to bringing in 72-year old legendary manager Casey Stengal, they also signed ex-Dodgers Roger Craig, Don Zimmer, and Charlie Neal along with several former Yankees, most of whom were past their prime. Veterans signed to the ‘62 Mets included Richie Ashburn, 35 years old, Gene Woodling, 39, and Gil Hodges, 38. They had some youngsters too, but none who had real MLB talent and they got off to a 9-game losing streak to start the year. The rotation was abysmal and the first 3 starters lost at least 19 games each. The 4th man in the rotation, Bob Miller, went 1-12. There was another Bob Miller in the bullpen who had an ERA over 7. The defense was even worse and committed 210 errors. The offense had only one serious threat, former Pirate outfielder Frank Thomas, who hit .266 with 34 homers but the Mets still finished last in the league with a .240 batting average. They lost an MLB record at the time 120 games.

#2 – the 1935 Boston Braves (38-115) .248

One of the worst teams in the history of Major League Baseball, The 1935 Boston Braves, lost 115 games out of just 153, good enough for a .248 winning percentage. This is the team that will always be remembered for signing an old and washed up Babe Ruth to play in his final MLB season as assistant manager with hopes of eventually becoming manager. He was no longer effective as a player apart from one glorious day in which he crushed 3 home runs, bringing the crowd at Pittsburgh to their feet. Ruth retired by June 1st and was never offered the managerial position. As for the rest of the 1935 team, many of them had returned from 1934 and simply had terrible seasons. Starting pitcher Ed Brandt, for instance, was decent in 1934, going 16-14 with a 3.53 ERA. In 1935, his ERA ballooned 5 to and his record was 5-19. Starter Ben Cantwell went 4-25, an abysmal record but a lot of it was due to terrible run support. The Braves were last in the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits and doubles.

#1 – the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (36-117) .235

The Philadelphia A’s were in the World Series in 1913 and 1914. Then, in 1915, they lost 109 games and finished in dead last. In 1916, they were the worst team in the history of the game and their win-loss percentage remains the worst in modern MLB history. What in the hell happened? A big factor in this historic collapse was the Federal League, a new organization that entered into Major League status around this time and began to raid existing N.L. and A.L . clubs for talent. They offered big money and Philadelphia A’s manager and part-owner Connie Mack refused to match those offers, instead allowing the “prima-donnas” as he called them leave the team and go join the Federal League. Veteran starter Eddie Plank jumped to the Federal League and won 21 games with a 2.08 ERA in 1915. Mack decided to go ahead and perform a full-fledged rebuild and began to sell off more great players like Home Run Baker and Eddie Collins. By 1916, the team no longer resembled the 1914 World Series team. The average age in the pitching staff was just 23 and they had the worst team ERA in baseball by far at 3.92. Offensively, they brought in some old veterans like 41-year old Nap Lajoie, who had his worst season before retiring. Their defense was a joke, literally, as their infield was referred to as the $10 infield. They made 314 errors, averaging more than 2 per game. Rookie shortstop Whitey Witt made 78 all by himself. Despite the horrific season, Connie Mack stayed on as manager and they eventually had another dynasty, winning World Series titles in 1929 and 1930.

And now that brings us to the 2024 Chicago White, who just won their 35th game of the season and their current record is 35-115 with 12 more games to play. If the season ended today, they would have the worst win-loss percentage in MLB history at .233, worse than the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics. So, the question is, do they have a chance to avoid that fate and finish with at least a win-loss percentage above .235?

In order to do that, they would have to finish with at least 39 total wins. A 39-123 record would still break the record for the most losses in a season ever, breaking the 120 loss mark set by the 1962 Mets, but it would give them a .241 winning percentage, which wouldn’t be the worst of all time. So, they need to go 4-8 the rest of the way, a tall task for this team. To avoid the most losses of all time, they need to go 8-4 the rest of the way, a near impossibility based on what we’ve seen so far in 2024.

So, it looks like their fate is almost certain – the Chicago White Sox will break the 1962 New York Mets record and lose more than 120 games in 2024, but they have a chance to at least win 4 more games and avoid the worst win-loss percentage of all time. My prediction is they’ll fall just short in that goal as well and the 2024 Chicago White Sox at the end of this season will be the worst team in MLB history. Let me know if you’re watching this video before the season ends if you agree or disagree with that assessment, and if you’re watching after the season, was I right? And did the White Sox end up as literal the worst team in modern MLB history?

Thanks for checking out today’s video; make sure to hit that thumbs up and subscribe button for more; I appreciate you all so much and if you enjoyed it there is a thanks button down below that really helps out the channel since MLB has been copyright claiming all my videos lately. I really appreciate the support and we’ll talk to you in the next video.

Good For Just ONE Season!! Top MLB 15 ONE-AND-DONE Ultimate FLASHES In The PAN!!!

Welcome to another Humm Baby countdown and today we’re talking about my top 15 “one-and-dones,” the ultimate flashes in the pan, these are players who had one and only one excellent MLB season and were never able to do it again. Unlike my Flashes in the Pan video, the players on this list were only good for literally one season. I’ll be ranking them from the least impressive single good season to the best, and many of these players you probably never even heard of, but they all had one thing in common – one impressive big league season that probably earned them a spot in a lineup or rotation the following year, but none of them were able to ever repeat that one amazing year. Players with more than one All-Star nod are ineligible for the list, since that means they had at least 2 good seasons. So, let’s get right into it, starting at #15…

15. Warren Morris, IF – 1999 (1.7 WAR)

Warren Morris was a Louisiana State hero who smashed the game winning home run in the 1996 College World Series. He was drafted by the Rangers but traded to the Pirates and in 1998, drove in 103 runs in the minor leagues. He made his big league debut in 1999 and looked like he was off to a long and prosperous career, finishing 3rd in the Rookie of the Year vote by hitting .288 with 15 bombs and 73 runs driven in. But in 2000 he hit just 3 bombs all season long and his batting average dropped 30 points. Things only got worse from there and Morris ended up back in Triple-A in 2001. He never had another big league season like his first.

14. Bob Hamelin, 1B/DH -1994

A top power-hitting college prospect in the late 80’s, Bob Hamelin was drafted by the Royals in the 2nd round of the ‘88 draft and slowly moved through the minors. He showed he was ready for a shot in the big leagues in 1993 when he crushed 29 home runs for Triple-A Omaha. He was put into the Royals lineup for the ‘94 season and absolutely crushed it and was hitting .282 with 24 home runs when the season abruptly ended due to the player strike. Awards were still given out and Hamelin won the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Unfortunately, in 1995, he was hitting just .168 when he was sent back to Triple-A. Hamelin ended up with the Tigers and Brewers but could never repeat his amazing rookie season. He retired in the middle of a Triple-A game in 1999 after grounding out, telling his manager simply, “I’m done.”

13. Jerome Walton, OF – 1989

Jerome Walton became a top prospect while in the Cubs minor league system when he hit .331 with 42 stolen bases in 1988. The Cubs put him in their everyday lineup in 1989 and he became one of the most exciting young talents in the game. At one point, Walton became the talk of the baseball world when he went on a massive hitting streak that eventually ended at 30 games. Meanwhile, he was stealing bases, making amazing plays in the outfield and even tore it up in the playoffs, hitting .364 in the NLCS. Overall, Walton hit .293 with 24 steals and won the Rookie of the Year and even got some MVP votes. In 1990, he had what appeared to be a Sophomore slump, hitting just .263 with 14 steals. But he only got worse from there, hitting .219 in 1991 then an abysmal .127 in 1992. He bounced around the league throughout the 90’s, with some short-lived success, but could never stay fully healthy and productive for an entire season again.

12. Joe Charboneau, OF/DH – 1980 (2.4 WAR)

Another rookie sensation, the powerful Joe Charboneau made his debut in 1980 with the Cleveland Indians and looked like a future MLB superstar. He not only put up big numbers but was a huge hit with the fans, who loved his crazy personality. Charboneau died his hair different colors and consumed beer through his nose. “Super Joe,” as he was called, hit .289 and crushed 23 home runs his rookie season, driving in 87 runs. He took home the Rookie of the Year Award and looked to be a future staple in the Indians lineup. Unfortunately, he injured his back in 1981 Spring Training and struggled to regain his 1980 form, hitting just .208 when he was sent back to Triple-A. He was the first Rookie of the Year to get demoted the following season. He played in just 22 big leagues games in 1982, hitting .214, and spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues.

11. Fernando Tatis, 3B - 1999 (3.0 WAR)

Fernando Tatis, now more commonly known as Fernando Tatis Sr., played in parts of 11 big league seasons, but was never really a major impact player – except in one season – an absolutely incredible 1999 performance. To say he started the season with a bang is an understatement – on April 23rd, 1999, he did something truly unbelievable and crushed 2 grand slams not only in the same game, but in the same inning, breaking an MLB record for RBIs in a single inning. And he kept hitting all year long, ending the season with a .298 average, 34 home runs and 107 RBIs. In 2000, though, injuries limited him to 96 games and he hit just .253. He went on to play for the Expos, Orioles and Mets with some limited success but nothing close to the incredible 1999 campaign.

10. Wayne Garland, RHP – 1976 (3.8 WAR)

Garland was drafted by the Orioles in 1969 and after 5 solid years in the minors, made his MLB debut in 1973. For the next 3 seasons, he was mostly used as a reliever with occasional starts, putting up average numbers. Then, in 1976, after a trade opened up a spot in the rotation in June, Garland took it and thrived, going 20-7 with a 2.67 ERA. He didn’t strike out a ton of batters but induced soft contact and rarely allowed home runs. Garland’s epic season garnered him Cy Young Award votes and instantly made him a top highly sought after MLB starter. Unfortunately, he didn’t get along with his manager, Earl Weaver, and wanted to leave the O’s. He was able to enter free agency after the epic 1976 season and signed a lucrative 10 year deal with the Cleveland Indians, the first 10 year contract in MLB history. In 1977, his first year in Cleveland, he led the league with 19 losses and allowed 23 home runs as opposed to just 10 in ‘76. In 1978, he tore his rotator cuff and started just 6 games, not pitching well. He continued to struggle with injuries and under performance until the Indians released him after the 1981 season. He tried to make a comeback as a knuckleballer with the Yankees in 1982, but had a 7.48 ERA in 6 Double-A starts before being released, ending his career.

9. Atlee Hammaker, LHP - 1983 (4.6 WAR)

Hammaker was a 1979 first round draft pick who ended up with the San Francisco Giants and showed some promise in 1982 with a 4.11 ERA in 27 starts. Then, in 1983, it all came together for the lefty and he had a season for ages, leading the league with a 2.25 ERA and making his first and what would turn out to be his only All-Star Team. Through June, he was absolutely dominant, going 9-3 with a 1.52 ERA. He had a few struggles in the second half, which would be more reminiscent of the remainder of his career. In 1984, he started just 6 games before needing surgery on his rotator cuff and to remove bone spurs in his elbow. In 1985, he went 5-12. From there, he continued to deal with injuries and was sent to the bullpen, pitching for the Padres and White Sox. Hammaker never had another year like 1983.

8. Joe Mays, RHP – 2001 (6.6 WAR)

Mays was a 1994 6th Round pick who showed some excellent stuff as a starter in the minor leagues, leading to his big league promotion to the Twins in 1999. He was not great, going 6-11 with a 4.37 ERA but showed some promise, including one complete game shutout. In 2000, he struggled again, however, with a 5.56 ERA and 7-15 record. The Twins stuck with Mays for another year and it paid off as in 2001, everything came together and Mays dominated, making his first and only All-Star Team. He won 17 games for the Twins with a 3.16 ERA and led the league in ERA+. He threw 233 innings and had 4 complete games. The Twins inked him to $20 million 4-year extension. This turned out to be a mistake as Mays never repeated that 2001 performance. He had a 5.38 ERA the next year then missed all of 2004 with Tommy John Surgery. He was eventually sent to the bullpen, bounced around the league a bit and retired after a poor Triple-A season in 2007.

7. Cito Gaston, OF – 1970 (5.1 WAR)

Known now for his time as a big league manager with the Toronto Blue Jays, Cito Gaston was once a big league ballplayer and put together an 11-year career that started in 1967 with Atlanta. In 1969, with the Padres, he played his first full season but hit just .230 with 2 home runs. He did not look to have a bright future until 1970, when his bat absolutely exploded. Gaston crushed 29 bombs with a .318 batting average and 93 RBIs. He made the All Star Team and was instantly propelled into superstardom. But then, in 1971, his stats plummeted. Gaston hit just .228 with his slugging percentage falling over 150 points. The Padres kept giving his opportunities in the years to come but he could never come close to repeating his 1970 season. In 1974, he hit just .213 and was traded to the Braves. In Atlanta, he never hit more than 6 home runs in a single season, mostly coming off the bench. He retired after the 1978 season, only having made the one All Star team in that incredible 1970 season in which Gaston looked like an absolute superstar. Incredibly, despite having a single season 5.1 WAR in 1970, his career WAR in the negatives. Of course, he went on to become a great manager, helping lead the Blue Jays to World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.

6. Billy Grabarkewitz, IF – 1970 (6.5 WAR)

Billy Grabarkewitz, AKA Grabs, was an excellent multi-sport athlete in High School who went on to become an intriguing MLB prospect at St. Mary’s University. The Dodgers drafted him in 1966 and he instantly impressed in the minors, hitting .281 with 27 home runs in 1967. In Double-A in 1968, he bumped his average up to .308 and by ‘69, he was in the big leagues. His first big league stint was a rough one, and he went 6 for 65, an .092 average with zero home runs. The kid looked like a bust, but the Dodgers would give him an extended shot in 1970 just to be sure. Grabs made the most of it and had an incredible season. By July, he was hitting over .400 and was selected to play in the All-Star Game. He slumped a bit in the second half, but still had a phenomenal season, hitting .289 with a .399 on-base-percentage, and 17 homers. The Dodgers planned to use him as their everyday second baseman moving forward, but in 1971 Spring Training, he suffered an arm injury. He played in just 44 games that year, hitting .225 with no home runs. He 1972, he was even worse, hitting .167. He started to have more injury issues, including shoulder and ankle problems. He was traded to the Angels but hit .163 for them in 1973. Teams continued to sign him, hoping to find that 1970 performance, but it never happened. Grabarkewitz played for the Phillies, Cubs and A’s before retiring after the 1975 season, which he spent mostly in Triple-A.

5. Kyle Freeland, LHP – 2018 (7.7 WAR)

A top prospect in the 2014 MLB Draft, Kyle Freeland was taken 8th overall by the Colorado Rockies and after 3 solid minor league systems, was put into their rotation for the 2017 season. He went 11-11 but showed more than enough to stay in the rotation for the 2018 and that’s when he had his special season. He got off to a slow start, going 0-3 after 4 games, but then dominated the rest of the way. Freeland broke a franchise record with a 2.84 ERA and ended the season with a 17-7 record. He had an insanely impressive 2.4 ERA at the super hitter friendly Coors Field. He then dominated in the playoffs, throwing 6+ scoreless innings in the Wild Card game. Freeland finished 4th for the Cy Young Award and it looked like the Rockies finally found their Ace. Unfortunately, in 2019, he was awful, going 3-11 with a 6.73 ERA. He has only had losing records ever since, and has not put together as season remotely close to 2018, although Freeland is still active and has a chance to get off this list with one more excellent season. So far in 2024, he has dealt with an elbow problem and is 4-6 with a 5.51 ERA.

4. Chase Headley, IF - 2012 (6.4 WAR)

Although Headley did have a respectable 12-year career with a few decent seasons, there was only one season in which he really excelled – a freak outlier of a year in 2012. Headley had already earned a spot in the every day lineup for the Padres and was a solid fielder who could hit around .265 with about a dozen homers. But in 2012 Spring Training, he set a goal for himself to hit at least 15 home runs. He was having an excellent year, on pace to meet his goal, when he suddenly turned into one of the best power-hitters in the league in the 2nd half of the season. He was the NL Player of the Month in August and September, and over the last 2 months of the year, hit .313 with 19 bombs. For the 2012 season, Headley hit .286 with 31 home runs and a league leading 115 RBIs. He won his only Sliver Slugger, his only Gold Glove and finished 5th for the MVP Award. Headley came back to Earth in 2013, hitting .250 with 13 home runs. He never had another season like 2012 again.

3. R.A. Dickey, RHP – 2012 (5.7 WAR – Cy Young Award)

Although knuckleballer R.A. Dickey pitched in parts of 15 seasons, he only had one in which he was clearly one of the best in the game, but unlike many of the players on this list, it didn’t happen early in his career. Dickey was drafted in the 1st round in 1996 out of Tennessee as a traditional right-handed pitcher. He pitched well in the minors, but not as well as the Rangers had hoped from a 1st round pick. For 10 years, he bounced up and down from Triple-A to the big leagues and, in fact, spent time in the minor leagues every single season of his career from 1997 all the way through 2010. 2011, with the New York Mets, was his first full big league season without a demotion. But Dickey had developed a powerful knuckler that took years to perfect. In 2012, he used that knuckleball to completely baffle the competition and went 20-6 with a league leading 230 strikeouts, 5 complete games and 3 shutouts. He had a 2.73 ERA, made the All-Star team, and won the Cy Young Award, the first knuckleballer to win the award. He was also awarded with a trade to the Blue Jays that included a $25 million extension. Unfortunately, although he gave the Blue Jays some good stamina and plenty of innings, he never repeated his 2012 performance and 2012 would be the only elite season of his career.

2. Mark Fidyrch, RHP – 1976 (9.6 WAR)

Although his success was short-lived, Mark “The Bird” Fidyrch is one of the memorable players of all time. This 6’3” pitcher was drafted by the Tigers and brought a fun quirkiness to the mound as well as, for one season, his first in 1976, pure domination. After spending his first two years in the minors, Fidyrch was a non-roster invitee during 1976 Spring Training. He impressed enough to make the Opening Day roster, then, after throwing a 2-hit complete game in his first start, earned a spot in the rotation. The fans loved watching him, as he would march around the mound after each out, talk to the baseball and not allow the groundskeepers to work on the mound during the game. He completed nearly every game he started and started the All Star Game during an incredible season. He finished out the year with 19-9 record, 2.34 ERA and an incredible 24 complete games, including 4 shutouts. He won the Rookie of the Year award and finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. The next season, Fidrich started to experience injury issues, starting just 11 games. Things only got worse from there and he was able to appear in just 7 games over the following two seasons, suffering from a torn rotator cuff that was never diagnosed or treated properly during his career. He made his last MLB appearances in 1980, going 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA.

1. “Seattle” Bill James, RHP – 1914 (7.9 WAR)

There might be two people in baseball with the same name more famous than this player – Bill James, the statistician who was hugely influential in introducing the analytical era of baseball and “Big” Bill James, a pitcher who played for 8 seasons and was a clean member of the 1919 White Sox team made famous by the Black Sox Scandal. “Seattle” Bill pitched in parts of just 4 seasons, but it was his second in which he looked like a future Hall of Famer. James picked up his nickname with the Boston Braves, because they purchased him from a minor league team, the Seattle Giants. He went 6-10 his first big league season, but in 1914, everything came together for James and he went 26-7 with a 1.9 ERA, finishing 3rd for the MVP award. He could also handle the bat, hitting .256. He was instrumental in helping the Braves, who were in last place on July 4th, make one of the most unlikely late season pushes in MLB history. They miraculously won the pennant and James was unhittable in the 1914 World Series, throwing a complete game shutout in Game 2, then coming in as an emergency reliever in the 11th inning of Game 3, throwing 2 shutout innings to help secure the victory. The Braves ended up sweeping the Phillies and Bill James became an instant legend in Boston. Then, James missed most of Spring Training in 1915 while trying to negotiate a new contract. He could never get it going and struggled with a sore arm all season long. He was sent home in August to rest his pitching arm, finishing the year with a 5-4 record. He was back in the minor leagues the next year and other than 1 relief appearance in 1918, James never pitched in the big leagues again. He finished his pro career in 1925 with the minor league Sacramento Senators. His one good big league season was absolutely phenomenal, and without it, another team would’ve won the 1914 World Series, so he comes in on today’s list as the greatest “one-and-done” player in MLB history.

Top 25 CLOSERS In MLB HISTORY - ELITE Relief Pitchers!!

One of the most difficult tasks in winning a baseball game is finishing it off, especially if it's a close game. That’s why it’s important to have some one in the bullpen who can be consistently relied upon to come into the 9th inning and close out the game. These pitchers are of course known as closers and didn’t really exist in the early days of the game when the starter was expected to always go the distance. The save didn’t even become an official statistic until 1969, but by the 70’s and 80’s, several elite closers began to emerge and since then, more than a few have even made it into the Hall of Fame. So, without further ado, let’s rank the Top 25 closers in MLB history.

25. Dave Righetti

Southpaw Dave Righetti had a 16-year career and he was originally a starter who won the Rookie of the Year in 1981 when he had a 2.05 ERA with the Yankees. In 1984, he was sent to the bullpen to be the closer and never turned back. He made his first All Star team in 1986 with a league-leading 46 saves and a 2.45 ERA and later became the closer for the Giants, saving 24 games in 1991. He won 2 Reliever of the Year Awards and finished his career with 252 saves,

24. Roberto Hernandez

Hernandez pitched for 10 different teams in his career, accumulating 326 saves along the way. He became an elite closer with the White Sox in 1993 and led the league in games finished for 3 straight seasons. In 1996, he made the All-Star Team and finished the year with 38 saves and 1.91 ERA. He was traded to the Giants in 1997 for the playoff push and went on to become the closer for the Rays, then Royals. Hernandez is 14th all-time with 1,010 appearances as a pitcher.

23. John Wetteland

Wetteland was drafted by the Dodgers and pitched for them for 3 seasons, but didn’t become a closer until he landed in Montreal. In 1992, he saved 37 games for them and never left the role. He led the American League with 43 saves with the Yankees in 1996, and absolutely dominated the competition in the World Series that year, finishing off 5 games and taking home World Series MVP honors. Wetteland also saved games for the Rangers through the 2000 season. He had 330 career saves and also more saves than any other pitcher during the decade of the 90’s.

22. Eric Gagne

He’s only ranked this low because he was a bit of a flash in the pan, but when Eric Gagne his his peak, there was nobody better. He was originally a starter, but never found sustained success until he went to the bullpen and became practically unhittable during his peak. Unfortunately, that peak only lasted 3 All-Star seasons – from 2002 to 2004. During that time, he averaged over 50 saves per season, winning the Cy Young in 2003. He set an MLB record by converting an astonishing 84 consecutive save opportunities. After some injury issues though, he never regained that level of domination and finished his career with 187 saves.

21. Troy Percival

Percival was drafted as a catcher, but after hitting just .203 in Low A, he was converted to a relief pitcher, and thrived. With 358 career saves, Troy Percival currently ranks 13th all-time and held the position as the primary closer for the Angels for 9 seasons, averaging 35 saves per year. He made four All Star Teams and was a key member of the 2002 World Series championship team. During that playoff run, Percival picked up seven saves with a 2.79 ERA.

20. Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon, AKA “The Terminator” was throwing 98 MPH heat long before it became the norm among MLB relief pitchers. He was a dominant reliever for the Mets early in his career but did not became a full-time closer until he got to Montreal. There, he became an All-Star and in 1985, led the league with 41 saves. He returned to Minnesota and saved 103 games over 3 seasons before heading to Boston, where he made his 4th All Star Team. He finished his career with 367 saves - 12th all time.

19. Robb Nen

Although he only pitched for 10 years in the big leagues, 3-time All Star Robb Nen was one of the most dominant closers in the game for a 7-year stretch from 1996 to 2002. He averaged about 40 saves per season during that time, maxing out at a league leading 45 in 2001. Nen was fantastic in the postseason, with a career 2.25 ERA with the Marlins and Giants. He didn’t allow a run in 3 World Series appearances in 2002. Unfortunately, a major tear in his rotator cuff led to 3 surgeries and an early retirement after that season. Despite his relatively short career, he still picked up 314 career saves.

18. Tom Henke

During the late 80’s and early 90’s, one of the most feared closers in the game was Tom Henke, a 6’5” pitcher easily recognized by his large-rimmed glasses. His stuff was filthy and Henke struck out 9.8 batters per 9 innings throughout his career. He led the league with 34 saves in 1987 and maxed out at 40 saves in 1993. His best years were with the Blue Jays and Rangers, although he did have one final dominant season with the Cardinals in 1995 when he picked up 36 saves with a 1.82 ERA. He had 311 career saves and saved 5 games in the 1992 playoffs, helping the Blue Jays win it all.

17. Jonathan Papelbon

6-time All Star Jonathan Papelbon ranks 11th all time with 368 career saves, pitching for the Red Sox, Phillies and Nationals. He was already an elite college closer with Mississippi State when he was drafted and continued to dominate in the role as a big leaguer. He broke a Red Sox rookie record with 35 saves in 2006. Papelbon was a strikeout machine, striking out 10 batters per 9 innings throughout his career and had an incredibly impressive 2.44 career ERA. He also dominated when it really counted, setting an MLB record with 25 scoreless innings to start his postseason career. He didn’t give a single run in the 2007 playoffs, helping the Red Sox win it all. Pabelbon is still the career saves leader for both the Red Sox and the Phillies.

16. Dan Quisenberry

Like Eric Gagne, Dan Quisenberry makes the list for his peak more so than his entire career. He ended up saving 244 games with an impressive 2.76 ERA, but during one 6-year stretch, he led the league in saves 5 times and was nearly untouchable. He didn’t strike out a ton of guys, but used a sinking fastball to induce groundballs and had pinpoint control, rarely giving out free passes. After 5 seasons as a reliever in the minors, Quisenberry finally got his chance in the big leagues in 1979 and did not disappoint with a 3.15 ERA out of the pen. He became the closer in 1980 and led the league with 33 saves, finishing 5th for the Cy Young and 8th for MVP. In ‘82, he made his first of 3 consecutive All Star Teams and in 1983, had perhaps his best year, saving a then MLB single-season record 45 games with a 1.94 ERA. Unfortunately, the save numbers began to drop significantly after 1985 and a torn rotator cuff ended his career by 1990. His peak lasted just 6 seasons, but during that time, there was nobody better.

15. Aroldis Chapman

From his first season in the big leagues in 2010, the Cuban Missile wowed fans by lighting up radar guns in a way never before seen. Pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, he threw a 105.1 MPH pitch in San Diego that made highlight reels. He became their full-time closer by 2012 and made 4 consecutive All-Star teams, averaging over 36 saves per season. His strikeout numbers were ridiculous – in 2014, he struck out an average of 2 batters per inning. Chapman went on to pitch for the Yankees with a stop in Chicago, helping the Cubs win their first World Series since 1908. He also pitched for the Rangers during their 2023 World Series run and is currently a member of the Pirates bullpen. Chapman has 325 career saves and an insane 1,219 career strikeouts in just 742 innings.

14. Joe Nathan

Nathan was drafted as a shortstop by the Giants, but after struggling to hit in the minors, was converted to a pitcher and made it to the big leagues as a starter in 1999. After some ups and downs, he found his comfort zone in the bullpen and in 2003, made 78 appearances with a 2.96 ERA. However, it was after a trade to the Twins that he became an elite closer. In 2004, he made the All Star Team, saved 44 games, and continued to pitch as a top tier closer for over a decade, making 6 total All Star teams and finishing his career with 377 saves, 10th All Time. He also pitched for the Rangers, Tigers and Cubs before returning to San Francisco to finish his career. Nathan has an MLB record 89.13% save percentage amongst pitchers with at least 200 saves.

13. Hoyt Wilhelm

One of the pioneers of the modern day reliever, Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm became the 1st MLB pitcher to appear in 1,000 games – not even Cy Young managed that. In his first season in 1952 with the Giants, he made a league-leading 71 appearances and went 15-3 with a 2.43 ERA, finishing 2nd for the Rookie of the Year and 4th for MVP. He went on to make 8 All Star teams and win two ERA titles. During his career, he wasn’t strictly used as a closer and would be used in a variety of high-leverage situations, but he still saved 228 games in his career, an MLB record at the time of his retirement. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as one of MLB’s great relievers, but in 1959, the Orioles tried him out as a starter and Wilhelm was an All-Star, going 15-11 with a 2.19 ERA, 3 shutouts and 13 complete games.

12. John Franco

Franco was drafted by the Dodgers as a starter out of St. John’s, but after a trade to the Reds during his minor league career, was sent to the bullpen and found his role, earning a quick promotion to the big leagues. In 1985, he had a 2.18 ERA in 99 innings and was promoted to full-time closer by ‘86. From that point on, he became a dominant closer and remained so throughout the rest of the 80’s and 90’s, pitching for the Reds and Mets. He led the league in saves 3 times, made 4 All Star Teams and won 2 Rolaids Reliever of the Year Awards. He is 7th all time with 424 saves and is the current New York Mets career saves leader. He had a 21-year career with a 2.89 ERA, yet somehow was snubbed on the Hall of Fame ballot, receiving less than 5% of the vote and falling off completely.

11. Francisco Rodriguez

K-Rod originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Angels and showed incredible stuff as a starting pitcher in the minors. When he moved to the bullpen in 2002, however, he found his true calling, saving 15 games with a 2.27 ERA, earning a call-up to the majors. He quickly became of the of the most dominant and reliable relievers in the game, leading the league in saves in 3 out of 4 seasons, including an insane single-season MLB record 62 saves in 2008. He went on to the Mets and picked up 83 saves in 3 seasons before moving on the Milwaukee, where he continued to rack up saves with 44 in 2014 and 38 in 2015 then 44 again in 2016 with the Tigers. The 6-time All Star and 2-Time Reliever of the Year retired with 437 saves, 6th on the All Time list and also had some big playoff success, especially in 2002 when he helped the Angles win the World Series with a 2.08 ERA.

10. Craig Kimbrell

Potential future Hall-of-Famer Craig Kimbrell led the National League in saves for an incredible four consecutive seasons to kick off his amazing career. He was the Rookie of the Year award in 2011, made four straight All Star Teams and looked to be one of the greatest closers in MLB History. He was traded to the Padres in 2015 and picked up his 200th career save, faster than any pitcher in history. Since then, he’s had some ups and downs, but continued to pick up saves and reached 300 at the age of 29. In 2023 with the Phillies, he made his 9th All Star Team and is currently pitching for the Orioles, with 440 career saves and counting. Kimbrell has a 14.1 per 9 career strikeout ratio and will likely retire as one of the best closers in MLB history.

9. Kenley Jansen

Yet another closer on the list who started his professional career as a position player, Kenley Jansen was drafted as a catcher but after 5 years struggling to hit consistency in the minors, the Dodgers decided to try him out on the mound. It was a good decision. He dominated the minors as a pitcher and was quickly promoted to the big leagues, earning the job as a the Dodgers closer in his second full season. Jansen saved 25 games in 2012, 28 in 2013 then 44 in 2014, becoming one of the game’s premiere closers. He continued to dominate in the role year after year, eventually breaking the Dodgers all-time saves record, making 4 All Star Teams and winning 2 reliever of the year awards. He is also second all-time with 20 career postseason saves. He signed with the Braves in 2022 and led the league with 41 saves then headed to Boston, where he continues to pile up the saves. At the time of this recording, he has 441 saves - 4th All Time.

8. Bruce Sutter

One of the best closers of all time, Bruce Sutter, signed with the Cubs as an undrafted free agent in 1971 and was almost released until he learned a pitch called the splitfingered fastball. The pitch revitalized his career and propelled him into the big leagues, where he became the Cubs primary closer in 1977, picking up 31 saves. By 1979, he was the best in the National League and led the league in saves in 5 out of 6 seasons. He tied Dan Quisneberry’s single-season record of 45 saves and in 1979, won the Cy Young Award. He had one of the most dominant 8-year runs of any reliever on the list, but unfortunately injuries began to take their toll in the late 80’s and Sutter retired after 1988, saving just 17 games after 1985. But he made 6 All-Star Teams, won 4 Reliever of the Year Awards, and saved 3 games during the postseason for the 1982 Champion Cardinals. He finished his career with exactly 300 saves and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006.

7. Billy Wagner

The greatest MLB reliever in the history of the game who is eligible but still not in the Hall of Fame might be Billy Wagner, a lefty who accumulated 422 career saves with an absolutely incredible 2.31 career ERA. He became the full-time closer for the Astros in 1997 and kept the role for pretty much his entire career, also pitching for the Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Braves. Even in his final big season, he was dominant with Atlanta in 2010, saving 37 games with a 1.43 ERA He had a career 11.9 per 9 strikeout ratio, made 7 All-Star Teams and won a Reliever of the Year Award. The only knock on Wagner is his struggles in the playoffs – in 14 appearances, he had an ERA over 10. But, he got 73.8% of the vote this year, falling just short – so I expect Billy Wagner to be voted into the Hall of Fame in 2025.

6. Rich “Goose” Gossage

One of the first pitchers to really create what the closer role is all about was Rich Gossage, one of the most intimidating and feared relief pitchers in MLB history. He threw almost exclusively a hard fastball that hitters struggled with even knowing it was coming. He first embraced the role of the closer in 1975 with the White Sox, when he picked up a league-leading 26 saves with a 1.84 ERA. From there, he went on to become one of the best closers in the game, pitching for a variety of teams, but mostly remembered for his years with the Yankees and Padres. He led the league in saves 3 times and finished 2nd twice. He was excellent in clutch situations, recording the final out to clinch a division, pennant or World Series championship seven times. He made 8 All-Star teams, a record for a reliever at the time. He finished his career with 310 saves and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2008.

5. Lee Smith

For years, the legendary Lee Smith was the all-time MLB saves leader with 478 career saves. He became the Cubs closer in the early 80’s and from 1983 to 1995 – a 13 year stretch – he averaged 35 saves per season, leading the league 4 times and maxing out with 47 in 1991 with St. Louis. Smith finished in the Top 10 for the Cy Young 4 times, finishing runner-up once and he made 7 All Star teams. He is the Cubs all-time saves leader and he is unquestionably one of the greatest relievers in the history of the game, but he rarely got postseason opportunities, making just 4 appearances. He did not pitch very well in those games and likely lost some Hall of Fame votes due to this fact. Smith was never elected on the traditional ballot but the Committee elected him in 2019 and Lee Smith finally got his much deserved plaque.

4. Dennis Eckersley

One of the most impressive names on this entire list has to be 6-time All Star Dennis Eckersley, because he spent his first 14 big league seasons – basically an entire career – as a starting pitcher. During that time, Eckersley made 2 All-Star teams, had a 20-win season and was one of the most solid starters in the game. But after a trade to the Oakland A’s, he was converted to a reliever and quickly established himself as one of the best in the game, picking up a league-leading 45 saves in 1988. Despite the fact that he was already in his mid-30’s, Eckersley continued to pile up the saves and in 1992, won the Cy Young Award and MVP with 51 saves and 1.91 ERA at the age of 38. He kept on going until he was 43, picking up 390 career saves. He was excellent in the playoffs, winning the ALCS MVP, and picking up 15 career postseason saves. Imagine how many saves he could’ve had if he was a reliever his entire career. He had nearly 400 saves with 197 wins, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first year on the ballot.

3. Rollie Fingers

Another pioneer of the modern closer role, Rollie Fingers had a 17-year big league career in which he played for the A’s, Padres and Brewers, breaking Hoyt Wilhelm’s career saves record and becoming the first player to reach 300 saves. The 7-time All Star was a key member of the 1970’s championship A’s teams, and was absolutely dominant in the postseason. Fingers won the 1974 World Series MVP award and had a 2.35 career postseason ERA with 9 saves. With the Brewers in 1981, he saved 28 games with a ridiculous 1.04 ERA, earning him both the Cy Young Award and MVP. Fingers ended his career with 341 saves, a 2.9 ERA and 4 Reliever of the Year Awards. For many years, he would’ve come in as the best closer in the history of game. Then, a couple more amazing arms came along.

2. Trevor Hoffman

Yet another converted position player, Trevor Hoffman became a pitcher during his time in the Reds minor league system and quickly showed an ability to close out games with 20 saves and a 1.89 ERA in the minor leagues in 1991. The Florida Marlins selected him in their inaugural draft and he was a fantastic reliever for them in 1993 until the Marlins traded him to San Diego in a multi-player deal that included Gary Sheffield heading from San Diego to Miami, enraging many Padres fans who even booed Hoffman in his Padres debut. Hoffman would turn out to be a Padres legend, using a deadly change-up to make 7 All Star teams. He became the best closer in the game by the late 90’s. In 1998, he saved 53 games – a single season National League Record at the time - with a 1.48 ERA. He was the Padres closer for 16 seasons before heading to Milwaukee, where he made the All Star team in 2009 and closed out 37 games. He became the first pitcher to save 500 games then the first to save 600 and finished his career with an MLB record 601 saves. Hoffman, who should’ve been a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame in his first eligible year, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018, his third year on the ballot.

1. Mariano Rivera

Coming in at #1 as the greatest closer in the history of the game should surprise no one – the New York Yankees legend Mariano Rivera, who broke Hoffman’s record and finished his career with an insane 652 saves and a 2.21 ERA. Rivera was a starter in the minor leagues and even started 10 games for the Yankees in 1995, but found much more success as a reliever and in 1996, he had a 2.09 ERA coming out of the pen and was absolutely stellar in the playoffs, helping the Yanks win a World Championship. He was given the chance to be the Yankees closer in 1997, took the job and did not relinquish it for the rest of his career. He made 13 All Star teams, 5 Reliever of the Year Awards and led the league in saves 3 times. Rivera has an almost unbelievable 42 postseason saves with a 0.7 ERA. He has more than twice as many postseason saves as Kenley Jansen, who comes in 2nd all time with 20. He became the first player in MLB history to be elected to the Hall of Fame with 100% of the vote and easily comes in as the greatest closer in the history of baseball and it’s not even close.

And there you have it for the best 25 closers in the history of the game; let me know your thoughts down below – I’m sure some people will argue with some of the lower ranked players, but I doubt any one will have an issue with Mo at #1. If so, let me know, and we’ll fight it out in the comments. Please hit that thumbs up and subscribe button and have a wonderful day – we will talk to you in the next video.

TOP 15 MLB UNBREAKABLE CAREER RECORDS!! - Ridiculous UNTOUCHABLE Numbers!!

Welcome back to another Humm Baby Baseball countdown and today we’re talking about some of the most unbreakable career records in Major League Baseball. Simply due to the way the sport evolved, there are records in baseball that barring unimaginable changes that could take several hundred years, simply cannot and will not be broken. The 15 records I’ll be talking about today will not be broken in any of our lifetimes, and if any of them are, comment down below that I was wrong. I probably won’t respond, though, because I’ll probably be dead by the time any of these records get broken. I will discuss some of what would have to happen for it to even be possible to break some of these records, and what would have to happen would usually be extreme to the point that not even Rob Manfred could make the kind of changes that would have to happen for these records to become at risk. Also, to make the list more manageable, I’m only focusing on career and consecutive game records, not single-season or single-game records, and I’m also not including negative records like most balks or most wild pitches.

So, let’s get into it, and we’ll progress towards #1, which will be the most unbreakable record in the game. But before hitting the top 15, I have one single honorable mention that didn’t quite make the main list. This is a record that will be very very difficult to break, but I wouldn’t quite call it unbreakable.

Barry Bonds

Honorable Mention: Most Career HR’s – Barry Bonds: 762 Hrs

The only reason this one didn’t make the Top 15 is because I think it is possible that a gifted and insanely powerful slugger comes along someday – some one similar to Aaron Judge except much less injury prone. If a player like that did come along and averaged about 45 home runs per season for 16 years, they could approach the record and have a shot at breaking it. However, it would take a very special player to do so. With P.E.D. testing, that player would not have the benefit of steroids to help them. They would have to be some one like an Albert Pujols without the decline he had in his later years. Pujols still hit 703, proving it can be done. Still, I would be surprised to see this record fall in the next 20 years. However, I do think within the next 20-50, it could happen. Young players are hitting more home runs than ever and with changes in the game to improve offense, another big offensive era could be on the way soon, and with the right player, this record could be in jeopardy. Now let’s move onto the main list.

Tris Speaker

#15 Most Career Doubles – Tris Speaker: 792 Doubles

Starting right off the bat with a record from the early 20th Century, Tris Speaker was an absolute doubles machine, leading the league 8 times and hitting at least 50 4 times. He consistently hit doubles for over 20 years and for any player to get close, they would have to average 40 doubles for 20 straight seasons. I will rank this one at #15 because players do commonly hit over 40 doubles – Freddie Freeman hit 59 last season. But with the way players get injured now, and with the smaller ballparks and bigger focus on the long ball, I don’t see any one touching this record anytime soon. However, if the right player comes along, hits around 40 doubles per season, stays incredibly healthy and consistent for 20+ years, this one could be in danger someday – but I wouldn’t bet on it.

#14 Career Total Bases – Hank Aaron: 6,856 Total Bases

Next up is a record that might seem breakable considering Albert Pujols, who only recently retired, is second all-time in total bases with 6,211. But even he came 645 total bases shy despite playing for 22 years. Barry Bonds, who put up video game numbers for many years and of course hit 762 home runs, didn’t even break 6,000. So, how did Hammerin’ Hank accumulate nearly 7,000 total bases in his career? It’s a simple combination of elite performance, lack of injuries, and extreme longevity. For 22 straight seasons, Aaron averaged 146 games per season even though during the early part of his career, the season was just 154 games long. In other words, Aaron almost never missed a game for over 20 years and he was a doubles and home run machine the entire time. He led the league in total bases 8 times and had over 300 total bases in 15 separate seasons. He even reached 400 total bases in 1959. Since then, only 8 players have reached 400 total bases in a season and it hasn’t happened since 2001. To break Aaron’s record, a player will have to average 343 total bases for 20 years. For context on how difficult that is, Mike Trout, despite 3 MVPs, has never had more than 339 in a season.

#13 Most Career No-Hitters – Nolan Ryan: 7 No-Hitters

The no-hitter is such a rare occasion that pitchers dream of just doing it once. Every time it happens, it’s a huge story and almost always, the first and last no-hitter of a pitchers career. Only the elite of the elite are expected to it more than once. For example, future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander has done it an incredible 3 times. The great Sandy Koufax did it 4 times. But neither came close to record – an absolutely ridiculous 7 no-hitters thrown by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. He threw no-hitters across 3 different decades – 4 in the 70’s, 1 in the 80’s and 2 more in the 90’s, with the final one coming at the age of 44. The likelihood of any pitcher ever throwing more than 3 no-hitters is almost non-existent, but there is absolutely no way some one will throw 7 again much less 8, which would break the record. This is especially true in the modern analytical era where managers actually remove pitchers during a no-hit bid. One of the few talents who had the ability to throw multiple no-hitters never got the chance, because Clayton Kershaw has been pulled more than once while working on a no-hitter. On one occasion, he had a perfect game through 7 and had only thrown 80 pitches when Dave Roberts pulled the cord on the no-hit and perfect game bid. To date, Kershaw has just one no-hitter.

Pete Rose

#12 Most Career Hits – Pete Rose: 4,256 Hits

While Pete Rose was certainly an elite ballplayer who could hit like few others, one of the biggest reasons he has so many hits is the fact that he stayed healthy and played for so long – a 24 year career, from the age of 21 all the way up until 45. Very few ballplayers last that long anymore as it is more of a young man’s game than ever before. But even if a player did last 24 years, they would have to do so mostly healthy while maintaining excellence, accumulating around 200 hits per season. Rose managed around 700 plate appearances per season, rarely missing a game, for over 20 years, and had at least 190 hits 12 times. Even some one like Ronald Acuna Jr., who had 217 hits last season, is not on track to catch Rose, because he has only had 2 fully healthy and complete seasons. The active leader is Freddie Freeman, who is about halfway there with 2,146 hits. He would have to average 200 hits for the next 10 years just to get close to Rose. At that time, Freeman would be 44 years old.

#11 Career Walks – Barry Bonds: 2,558 Walks

The only player who could ever challenge this record would be one like Bonds, who has an elite knowledge of the strike zone and can also strike so much fear into the opposing team, that they might walk him intentionally with the bases loaded. Bonds walked so much, that the gap between him and his nearest challenger, the previous recordholder Rickey Henderson, is 368 walks. The active player who is closest to the record is Joey Votto and he’s just barely halfway there with 1,365. Bonds led the league in walks in 12 of his final 16 seasons and maxed out at absolutely insane 232 walks in 2004. On the single-season walks record list, he is #1, #2 and #3. In 2023, the walks leader was Juan Soto with 132. He would have to repeat that for 20 straight years to come close to Bonds record. In other words, Barry Bonds walk record is completely safe and basically unbreakable.

#10 Longest Hitting Streak – Joe Dimaggio: 56 Games

Unlike most of the other records on this list, this one that only takes about 2 months to break. It’s also one that no player has even come close to. This day in age, even a 20 game hitting streak is rare and that would put a player just about 35% of the way there. The only player to make a serious run at the record was Pete Rose back in 1978, but even he fell 12 short despite breaking a National League record with a hit in 44 straight games – a record that stands to this day and is also unlikely to be broken any time soon. The most recent player to even challenge 44 was Paul Molitor, who had a hit in 39 straight games. Since then, 30+ hitting streaks have only gotten more rare as pitchers improve and batting averages drop. On the rare occasion, a player might hit 30, such as Whit Merrifield and Freddie Freeman in 2016, but the streak always ends around 30. To break Dimaggio’s record, a player would have to a have a hit in 30 consecutive games and then continue that for another 27 – an unfathomable feat even in Joe Dimaggio’s time, much less in the modern game.

#9 Career On-Base Percentage: Ted Williams: .482 OBP

The fact that not even Barry Bonds, one of the best hitters to ever live and one who was given free passes like candy, could break this record tells you everything you need to know. When Ted Williams stepped up to the plate, there was almost a 50/50 chance he would reach base, something that is absolutely unheard of in today’s game. The best active player at getting on base is probably Juan Soto, and he has a .421 career on-base-percentage, 19th best all time, and 62 points short of Williams. In fact, there are only 3 active players with enough plate appearances to be considered for the record, who even have an on-base percentage above .400: Soto, Mike Trout and Joey Votto. Simply put, no one can come close to this record against modern day pitching. If Bonds couldn’t do it, no one can.

#8 Most Career Strikeouts – Nolan Ryan: 5,714 Strikeouts

It’s amazing that this one makes the list as the recordholder isn’t some one from the early days of baseball – it’s Nolan Ryan, who pitched through the 1993 season. Also, the record is something that happens a lot these days – strikeouts. Pitchers are striking out batters like never before. So, why would this record be unbreakable? Well, simply put – no pitcher has ever come close to Nolan Ryan. Also, things have changed even since Ryan’s career – with the advent of pitch counts, pitchers don’t go as deep into games, with even today’s best starting pitchers rarely completing their games. They also get injured far more often. So, a pitcher like Clayton Kershaw, who has a better career strikeout per 9 ratio than Ryan, only has 2,944 career K’s, still an impressive number but nowhere close to Ryan, because he has pitched in less than half the amount of total innings. Ryan threw 222 complete games in his career compared to Kershaw’s 25. The closest active leader to Ryan is Max Scherzer with 3,367, still nowhere close to Ryan.

Sam Crawford

#7 Most Career Triples – Sam Crawford: 309 Triples

The only hit more rare than a home run is the triple, and the current active leader in career triples is Charlie Blackmon with 63. He could play until he’s 63 and still wouldn’t be close to Sam Crawford’s 309 triples. Due to the way the game changed in the 20’s with the arrival of Babe Ruth and the end of the dead ball era, ballparks have gotten smaller and triples have gotten more and more rare. Outfielders also have stronger arms and players who prioritize speed over power are not very common. These days, hitting more than 10 triples in a season is a major feat. In 2023, the MLB leader in triples was Bobby Witt Jr. with 11. He would have to repeat that number year after year for 28 years to catch Crawford.

#6 Highest Career Batting Average – Ty Cobb: .366

Assuming a minimum of 3,000 plate appearances, there is no way any player gets close to a career .366 batting average any time soon. In fact, I’d also say that no one touches Ted Williams career average of .344. With the insane improvements in velocity and spin in recent decades – which of course led to all these Tommy John surgeries, but that’s a topic for another video – just hitting over .300 is a huge accomplishment. The last time a player hit over .366 in a single season was 20 years ago when Ichiro hit .372 in 2004. Some players have come close since then, but we’re just talking about doing it in a single season. Last year, Luis Arraez won a Silver Slugger with an absolutely incredible .354 batting average – still 12 points shy of Ty Cobb’s career average. To put it even more clearly why this record is unbreakable, on the list of career batting average leaders, no one who has played in the past 50 years is even in the Top 20.

#5 Most Consecutive Games Played – Cal Ripken Jr.: 2,632 Games

The only reason this record comes in this low is because if I was to make this same list back in the early 80’s when Ripken started his career, I have no doubt I would’ve ranked Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record at close to if not #1. Yet, that record was breakable because of the absolute machine that was Cal Ripken Jr. So, could another Iron Man come along someday and play every day for over 16 seasons? It seems highly unlikely. Nowadays, with analytics taking over, players are given more days off and it’s extremely rare to even see one play in 162 games of a single season. Furthermore, injuries are more prominent than ever and teams won’t let their star player just play through injuries like Ripken was allowed to do. But the biggest reason why this record is so unbreakable – even the best players these days don’t play in 2,632 games in their career period, much less consecutively. Only 2 active players – Joey Votto and Andrew McCutchen have played in more than 2,000 games at all. The current active leader in consecutive games played in Matt Olson and he’s somewhere around 300 – just 2,323 short of Ripken’s mark.

#4 Most Career Stolen Bases – Rickey Henderson: 1,406 Stolen Bases

Coming in at #4 is the career stolen base record held by the greatest of all time, Rickey Henderson, who stole 1,406 bases during his career that lasted a quarter of a century. Henderson’s career spanned 4 decades and he played at the time as Willie McCovey and Miguel Cabrera. During that time, of course, he was a base stealing machine, leading the league in steals 12 times and stealing at least 30 bases 22 times. He also stole at least 100 bases 3 separate times. These days, the stolen base has declined across the board and every year, there are several entire teams who fall short of 100 steals. For instance, the San Francisco Giants stole just 57 bases all year in 2023. There are a few legitimate base stealers still around like Ronald Acuna Jr. who nabbed 73 bases last year. But that was a career high by far, and a number far higher than the typical season stolen base leader, but even if he could repeat it, he’d have to do it for 17 more years to catch Rickey – an impossible feat given that players slow down with age. In 2022, the league leader, Jon Berti, had just 41 steals. To have a chance to catch Henderson, a player would have to be stealing close to 100 bases every year during their 20’s – something that just doesn’t happen anymore. The last player to steal 100 bases in a season was Vince Coleman in 1987. Rob Manfred can make the bases as big as he wants and limit pickoffs as much as he wants, but until teams start running more and allowing young fast players to steal whenever they want, Rickey Henderson’s record will remain untouchable.

Cy Young

#3 Most Career Wins – Cy Young: 511 Wins

Imagine a pitcher averaging 20 wins per season for 25 years. That is what a pitcher would have to do to just approach Cy Young’s record of 511 career wins. In the modern game, starting pitchers often don’t even make it through the 5 innings required to be considered for the win. Combined with 5 and sometimes 6-man rotations, pitch limits, innings limits, and a high frequency in injuries and Tommy John surgeries, there’s no way any pitcher will ever come close to 511 wins. The closest a pitcher has come in the modern era is Greg Maddux, who finished his career with 355 wins, a number no pitcher is likely to reach any time soon if ever. Even today’s elite starters who have had long and successful careers are nowhere close to Maddux much less Cy Young. The active leader, Zack Greinke, has 225 wins. Next is Max Scherzer with 214. Neither are even halfway to Cy Young.

Walter Johnson

#2 Most Career Shutouts: Walter Johnson: 110 Shutouts.

Up next is the insane 110 career shutout record by Walter Johnson. The sad fact is, pitchers rarely complete games anymore – but to break this record, a pitcher would not only have to complete more than 110 games, which is never going to happen, but not allow a single run during any of those outings. The fact that only one active pitcher even has double digit career shutouts tells you how unbreakable this record is. That pitcher – Clayton Kershaw – has 15 career shutouts. Even the great Justin Verlander only has 9. There are great arms like Robbie Ray, Logan Webb, Shohei Ohtani and Luis Severino, all with a single career shutout. It just doesn’t happen anymore and when it does, it’s a massive achievement. Last year, only two pitchers in all of baseball had more than a single shutout – Gerrit Cole and Framber Valdez. To catch Walter Johnson, a pitcher needs to throw 6 shutouts per season for 19 straight years. It’s simply never happening.

#1 Most Career Complete Games: Cy Young: 749 Complete Games

But at #1 is a record I can be confident in saying that no player will ever come close to in my lifetime or the lifetime of any one else alive today. The simple reason – as I already said, pitchers don’t complete games any more, at least not very often. In the early days of baseball, starting pitchers were expected to complete every game they started. That is far from the case today. But that’s not the only reason this record will never be touched. The other reason is the sheer number – 749 complete games, more complete games than today’s starters ever start at all. Even if Clayton Kershaw completed every game he ever started, he would still only have 422 complete games. Even some one with amazing longevity like Bartolo Colon wouldn’t have come close. If Colon completed every game he started throughout his 21-year career, he would have 552 complete games – still quite a bit short. In actuality, he had 38 and Kershaw has 25. In other words, this record is literally unbreakable. I have a better chance of catching Mr. Beast in YouTube subscribers than any MLB pitcher does of ever throwing 749 complete games. Even if the greatest pitcher to ever live with the greatest stamina ever seen came along, he would not be allowed to complete that many games in the modern analytical era. With 5 and 6 man rotations, I would say it’s unlikely any pitcher even starts 749 games again, much less completes that many.

And that does it for today’s video on my Top 15 unbreakable records; I hope you enjoyed it – let me know your thoughts down below. I know there are several other unbreakable records, but these are the main 15 career records that come to mind for me, but feel free to put more in that comments section. Hit the thumbs up button and subscribe button – and let’s see if we can catch Mr. Beast. You guys have a good one and we’ll talk to you later.

Top 25 ACTIVE UNDER-RATED MLB Players!! 🔥Underappreciated TALENT!!🔥

On any given day during the regular season, there are about 780 active Major League Baseball players and only a handful are really big name superstars that the casual fan could name just by seeing his photo – Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Mike Trout, Ronald Acuna Jr. and pretty much the entire 1st half of the Dodgers starting lineup – are examples of some of these types of players. But today we’ll be talking about another group of players who the casual fan might not be able to name, but whose presence in a lineup or on a mound is almost just as important as the big-name superstars. These are players who are often overlooked for All-Star Teams and get very little media and fan attention when compared to the big names, but they put up amazing numbers and do almost just as much if not more to help their teams win games, so let’s get into my list of Top 25 most underrated active MLB players; and let me know your thoughts down below with some names you’d put on the list as well. Also keep in mind this list is not ranking players by how good they are, rather how underrated they are – so please don’t yell at me because a better player is ranked lower – the higher the ranking the more underappreciated I feel they are, but every one’s opinion will differ. So, let’s get into it.

#25 Lars Nootbar: OF – St. Louis Cardinals

During the St. Louis Cardinals atrocious 2023 meltdown of a season, there was one bright spot that got brighter & brighter as the season went along and that’s outfielder Lars Nootbar. Nootbar made his big league debut in 2021 and had some key hits, including a walk off. However, he really didn’t start to get hot until 2023 when he began to play every day and got hotter as the season went along. By July, he was on fire and for a 3-week stretch was one of the best hitting outfielders in the game. He ended the season with a .367 on-base-percentage and 14 home runs with a 3.3 WAR. He may not deserve superstar status, but does seem to be a bit underrated after such a solid season.

#24 Thairo Estrada: 2B – San Francisco Giants

In at #24 is second baseman Thairo Estrada, who was DFA’d by the Yankees after hitting just .167 in 48 at bats in 2020. The Giants grabbed him and stashed him in Triple-A, where he forced a call-up after hitting .333 with 9 homers and a .937 OPS. In San Francisco, he quickly earned the spot as the every day second baseman and has been consistently solid ever since, providing excellent defense with a dangerous bat. He hit 14 home runs in both 2022 and 2023 and has been one of the few Giants who is always a threat to steal a base. Estrada doesn’t do any one thing at an elite level but is a solid all-around guy who helps his team win as evidenced by his 5.1 WAR since coming to San Francisco.

#23 Zach Eflin: SP – Tampa Bay Rays

As a former first round pick who has been around the league several years and never made an All Star team or really been considered a front-tier starter, any hype that once surrounded Zach Eflin has since mostly gone away. He pitched alongside several more prominent starters for years in Philadelphia and then moved on to Tampa Bay, where after some major injuries to their rotation, he stepped up in 2023 to help the Rays win 99 games by going 16-8 with a 3.5 ERA, leading the American League in wins. Eflin had also been quietly effective for years before that, as the highest ERA he had from 2018 to 2023 was 4.36. Over his 9 year career, he has a solid 4.32 ERA with 7.9 per 9 strikeout ratio.

#22 Andrew Vaughn: 1B, Chicago White Sox

Vaughn was taken 3rd overall in the 2019 draft, but gets nowhere near the hype of the 2 picked ahead of him, Adley Rutchmann and Bobby Witt Jr. Of course, that’s because he hasn’t been as good as them so far, but Vaughn has gotten better every season and is coming off of a solid 2023 when he smashed 21 home runs with 80 runs driven in for a struggling White Sox team. He has soft hands and a solid glove at first base and perhaps most importantly, he stays on the field, playing in 152 games last season and at least 127 every year since his rookie season. Vaughn is one of the few bright spots on this year’s Chicago White Sox team. However, he doesn’t get much attention from the national media or much hype as one of the young future stars of the game.

#21 Braxton Garrett: SP – Miami Marlins

Another left-handed arm who has been extremely overlooked recently is Braxton Garrett of the Marlins. He was at one time a top prospect, but he took a long time to develop as a High School pick who had to have Tommy John early in his minor league career. He made a few appearances for the Marlins in 2020 and 2021, but didn’t really break out until 2022 when he had a 3.58 ERA in 17 starts. Last season, he was able to make 30 starts, turning in a 3.66 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP, limiting batters to a .250 average while striking out nearly a batter per inning. Had he not gotten lit up by the Braves during one rough start, his ERA would’ve been 3.12. He certainly isn’t a top-tier starter in baseball, but he has been more than solid and gets very little notice for what he’s doing in Miami.

#20 Wilmer Flores: IF – San Francisco Giants

If you asked a casual baseball fan what player on the San Francisco Giants hit .284 with 23 home runs last season, they might not be able to come up with the answer – Wilmer Flores. Despite never having made an All Star Team and never being considered a big superstar, Wilmer has been a consistent source of production since coming to San Francisco in 2020, and he’s also been absolutely clutch, coming up with several late inning RBI hits, including multiple walk-offs. He also has a rare talent this day in age – he rarely strikes out. In 2023, he struck out just 63 times all season long and so far in 2024, has just 5 strikeouts in 34 at bats. Defensively, Flores is very versatile and can play any position on the infield, although he is mostly used on the corners. He is considered by many to be nothing more than a utility player, he still led the 2023 San Francisco Giants in home runs, slugging percentage, OPS, and OPS+ and he was second in RBIs and on-base-percentage.

#19 Evan Phillips: RP – Los Angeles Dodgers

It’s easy to be underrated when you’re on a team stacked with All Stars and future Hall-of-Famers. When you think of those Dodger superstars, one of the last that comes to mind is reliever Evan Phillips, but despite never making an All-Star Team, he has been one of the most important players on their team, coming out of the bullpen as a lights out reliever. He performed well enough to earn the role as the closer and last season, Phillips had a 2.05 ERA with 24 saves. In 2022, he was even better with an incredible 1.13 ERA in 63 innings. He also has a career 10.4 per 9 strikeout ratio and so far this season, has a 1.37 ERA with 5 saves. Phillips should be, based on the numbers, considered one of the finest relievers in the game. If he continues to perform this season, there’s no reason he shouldn’t make his first All Star team in July.

#18 Michael Harris II: OF – Atlanta Braves

Another player on a team already stacked with insane superstar talent is Braves outfielder Michael Harris II, who like Evan Phillips, has never made an All-Star team. Harris made an incredible run through the minor leagues, making the big leagues very quickly for a High School draft pick; then had an incredible rookie season in 2022, hitting .297 with 19 bombs and an .853 OPS. There was no Sophomore slump coming for Harris, who also raked in 2023, hitting .293 with 18 homers. He is also an elite defender and always a threat to steal bases. Harris was a true 5-tool talent who actually developed into a 5-tool big leaguer; yet despite the Rookie of the Year, he still feels underrated, not getting near the hype other young players like Corbin Carroll and Adley Ruschman.

#17 Lane Thomas: OF – Washington Nationals

Thomas was a 5th round pick way back in 2014 and he spent many years in the minor leagues just hoping for a shot in the bigs. When he finally got it with the Cardinals, he impressed immediately in 2019, displaying his talent with a .319 average and 4 bombs in 38 at bats. However, his numbers dropped in 2020 and 2021 and the Cards traded him to the Nats for Jon Lester. He quickly became the starting center-fielder and crushed 3 home runs in a game in 2022. Last season, he broke out in a big way with 28 bombs, 20 steals, 86 RBIs and a .783 OPS. Still, he failed to make the All-Star team and doesn’t seem to be considered a cornerstone of the Nationals organization.

#16 Sean Murphy: C – Atlanta Braves

If a pitcher looks at the Braves lineup and thinks Sean Murphy might be a weak spot among superstars like Ozuna, Acuna Jr, and Olson, he may be in for a big surprise as Sean Murphy delivered an excellent offensive season last year, crushing 21 home runs in just 108 games with 68 runs driven in. He did all that while also being one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, helping the Atlanta Braves consistently solid pitching staff continue to dominate the opposition. Prior to his time in Atlanta, he was excellent in Oakland, crushing 35 home runs between 2021 and 2022. He won a Gold Glove in 2021 and got MVP votes in 2022, but didn’t make his first All Star Team until last year and although he definitely is considered a great player among baseball fans, Murphy does seem a bit underrated.

#15 Bryson Stott: IF – Philadelphia Phillies

Next up is a youngster who doesn’t get nearly the hype of some of the other recent rookies in the league, but Bryson Stott has been absolutely critical to the success of the Phillies lineup. He is one of the most consistent bats in the league, rarely going into slumps and constantly hitting and getting on base. He was willing to move to a new position when Trea Turner was signed and last year playing mostly second base, he hit .280 with 15 homers and a .329 on-base. He also learned his position quickly and became one of the better defensive second basemen in the league. Last season, he had the same 4.4 WAR as Cody Bellinger, Xander Boegarts, Matt Chapman, Zac Gallen and Bobby Witt Jr.

#14 George Kirby: SP – Seattle Mariners

Despite being a first round pick in 2019, most of the hype behind the Mariners rotation seems to focus around Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo. George Kirby, however, is doing things almost no other pitcher is able to do – pitch effectively and strike batters out while walking almost nobody. He averaged less than a single walk per game last year, walking just 19 batters all season long while striking out 172. No one else in modern MLB history has started their career with back-to-back seasons with an ERA under 3.5 and a walk rate under 5%. He might have the best command in the game and although he will have a rough start from time to time, no one is better at avoiding free passes and he still has a more than solid strikeout rate.

#13 Tanner Bibee: SP – Cleveland Guardians

Up next is a player who may only be underrated because he came out of nowhere in 2023 to go 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA, instantly becoming a key member of the Cleveland Guardians rotation. Bibee was drafted in the 5th round out of CSU Fullerton in 2021 and dominated the minor leagues in 2022. After 3 stellar Triple-A starts in 2023, the Guardians brought him up and he quickly proved he belonged. However, there wasn’t much hype for him as a Rookie of the Year possibility, although when it came time for the voting, he ended up finishing in 2nd place behind Gunnar Henderson. Bibee doesn’t get a lot of attention pitching in Cleveland, but he could be well on his way to become a huge superstar if he continues to pitch as well as he did last year.

#12 Cal Raleigh: C – Seattle Mariners

One of only 13 players in the American League to smash 30 home runs last season after smashing 27 in 2022, switch-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh doesn’t get much attention as an elite power hitter in Major League Baseball. He is also behind the dish for the majority of innings, catching the impressive Seattle Mariners pitching staff and doing a fantastic job at it. He doesn’t bring a high batting average, but can work a walk and managed an on-base-percentage over .300 despite a .232 average last year. When you add the solid defensive work, calling a great game every night and 30 home run power together, you get a catcher most teams would love to have, despite the fact his production often goes overlooked.

#11 Tarik Skuball: SP – Detroit Tigers

Tigers lefty Tarik Skuball has quietly gotten better every season since his debut in 2020 and last season, his ERA dropped to under 3 with an elite 11.4 strikeout per 9 ratio. He has had some elbow issues and two surgeries, but when he’s healthy, he’s been dominant and so far in 2024, Skuball is 2-0 after 3 starts with 2.08 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17 innings. He still doesn’t get much attention as one of the top pitchers in the American League, but that could be changing very soon. For a player not picked until the 9th round, he has exceeded every expectations the Tigers ever had for him and if he stays healthy this year, he could easily be in the conversation for the Cy Young as he helps this extremely young and talented Tigers team rise up as a serious contender moving forward.

#10 Yainer Diaz: C – Houston Astros

Another amazing player surrounded by huge superstars in their lineup is catcher Yainer Diaz, who was tied for 3rd among catchers in all of baseball with 23 home runs. He also hit .282 with an .846 OPS, offensive production nearly any team would take at the catching position. He is also an elite blocker and has a strong and accurate arm, and is among the best in baseball at controlling the running game and throwing out would-be stealers. He has done all that after just one full season in the bigs and so far in 2024, he is hitting over .300 with 3 bombs already as of April 14th. Look for Yainer Diaz to rise up as one of the best catchers in the game in the coming months and years.

#9 Brandon Nimmo: CF – New York Mets

A 9 year veteran and 5-tool talent who has never made an All Star Team or been considered a huge star in the game is Mets centerfielder Brandon Nimmo. He is generally considered a good but not great player, but the Mets seemed to think he was worth an 8-year $162 million contract. The reason is that he brings consistent all-around production to the ballpark every night, resulting in a positive WAR every season. He is able to make dazzling plays in the outfield, get on base with consistency and at times bring some power, as he did last year with 24 home runs. He knows how to work a walk and has an extremely impressive .380 career on-base-percentage and .827 OPS. Despite all that, he is constantly undervalued in fantasy projections and All-Star and award voting.

#8 Nolan Jones: OF/1B – Colorado Rockies

When I did my Colorado Rockies preview earlier this year, I myself was blown away to see that Nolan Jones nearly hit .300 in 2023 with 20 home runs and a .931 OPS. And those 20 bombs came in just 367 at bats. Before you credit Coors Field, he had completely even splits with his bombs, hitting 10 at home and 10 on the road and actually had an even higher OPS of .935 on the road. Playing with the not very good Colorado Rockies definitely doesn’t help his exposure and he finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind another somewhat underrated player, James Outman. But Jones in my opinion had a better season than Outman, with a much higher average, OPS, and home run per at ratio.

#7 William Contreras: C – Milwaukee Brewers

William Contreras has somewhat quietly been one of the best hitting catchers in the game and he has recently made huge strides to improve his skills behind the dish, becoming one of the better defensive catchers as well. He made his first big mark on the league in 2022 when he crushed 20 home runs with Atlanta with a .278 average. Last year with the Brew Crew, he bumped that average to .289 and still crushed 17 big flies with a career high 78 RBIs. He got extremely hot towards the end of the season, resulting in .314 average and .878 OPS for the second half. Contreras did get some credit from the award voters by finishing 11th, higher than Bryce Harper, for the MVP.

#6 Chris Martin: RP – Boston Red Sox

A player with an incredible journey to a decade long MLB career is Chris Martin, who was originally drafted all the way back in 2004 by the Tigers and again in ‘05 by the Rockies. He suffered a shoulder injury before signing and ended up in the independent leagues before retiring from the game. Martin made a comeback in 2011, entering into the Red Sox minor league system and slowly worked his way up the big leagues, making his debut in 2014 with the team that drafted him, the Rockies. He now has a 9 year career along with a 2-year detour in Japan and is coming off 2 elite seasons with a 1.46 ERA with the Dodgers in 2022 and an absolutely sick 1.05 ERA last year with Boston in 55 appearances. He has a solid 3.42 career ERA with 316 career strikeouts in 308 innings. Despite all this, he’s never made an All Star Team and gets very little credit as recently being one of the best relievers in baseball.

#5 Chas McCormick: OF - Houston Astros

It’s tough to stand out when you’re in a lineup with guys like Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jose Abreu and Alex Bregman, but Chas McCormick has quietly been one of the most productive players for the Astros despite all the other big names. He is probably used to being underrated by now after he was drafted in the 21st round of the 2017 draft, a round that doesn’t even exist anymore, out of Division 2 Millersville. McCormick has become the only player picked from that round to become a productive big leaguer, and has arguably become the best offensive player in that entire draft. He hit a couple key postseason home runs during the Astros 2022 World Series run and last year crushed 22 home runs with an .842 OPS. His 2023 WAR was higher than Randy Arozarena, Matt Chapman and his teammate, Jeremy Pena. McCormick is also one of the best defenders in the game and made just one error all season long last year.

#4 Isaac Paredes: IF – Tampa Bay Rays

As a player who had been around the league a few years without doing much damage, it’s no surprise that some one like Isaac Paredes could fly under the radar last season while crushing 31 home runs with 98 RBIs. He was another hidden gem on the Rays roster that helped them in nearly 100 games. He keeps his strikeouts down and has a solid walk rate, resulting in a .352 on-base-percentage in 2023. The Rays appear to have completely won the trade that sent Austin Meadows to Detroit for Paredes. Meadows hit just .250 without a homer last season. Paredes has stats that should make him a household name, but he doesn’t seem to get near that type of attention.

#3 Andres Gimenez: IF – Cleveland Guardians

Another well-kept secret for the Guardians is infielder Andres Gimenez, whose name doesn’t jump off the page as a huge superstar. He was a light-hitting utility guy with the Mets until he ended up with the Guardians in 2021. By 2022, he was in the everyday lineup and quietly had a phenomenal season, hitting .297 with 69 RBIs while showing some sudden pop with 17 bombs. He knew how to get on base, leading the league in hit by pitches, finishing the year with a .371 on-base-percentage. He was 7th in WAR in all of baseball. The only players better were Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Sandy Alcantara, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. Gimenez is also one of the best defenders in the game and won back-to-back Gold Gloves. He’s off to a hot start in 2024 with a .326 average and .896 OPS as of mid-April.

#2 Ha Seong Kim: 2B – San Diego Padres

It’s no surprise a player like Ha-Seong Kim, who just came over from South Korea in 2021, is completely underrated, playing alongside guys like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Boegarts and until recently, Juan Soto. However, the numbers don’t lie and Ha-Seong Kim adds an incredible amount of value to his team as an elite defender at multiple positions - he is one of the best players in baseball in defensive runs saved, but he can also rake. Kim had a .351 on-base-percentage last season with 17 bombs, 23 doubles and 38 stolen bases. He was incredibly 13th in all of baseball in WAR, better than Juan Soto, Tatis Jr., Corbin Caroll, Julio Rodriguez and many other big-name superstars. In defensive WAR, he was 12th in all of MLB. In other words, Ha-Seong Kim should one of the biggest stars in the game, but I don’t think his name carries the type of weight his actual performance does.

#1 Yandy Diaz: 1B/3B – Tampa Bay Rays

Coming as my most underrated player in all of MLB is the amazing Yandy Diaz, who I feel has been overshadowed recently by Wander Franco – a situation that will obviously no longer exist. For several years, Yandy Diaz has quietly raked at the plate and played solid defense, with a strong and accurate arm. He may not be one of the greatest defensive players, but he makes the routine plays and some spectacular ones as well. Offensively, Diaz is one of the best in baseball and just led the league with an incredible .330 batting average in 2023. He also hit 22 home runs with a .410 on-base-percentage and he had an elite OPS of .932, 7th best in all of baseball and higher than Juan Soto. Every player with a higher OPS is certainly considered a bonafide MLB superstar – Shohei Ohtani, Corey Seager, Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. Diaz is not completely ignored and most fans know he is a solid player, but many would find it ridiculous to put him in the same company as guys like Freddie Freeman and Juan Soto, but statistically, he really is that valuable and to me, the most underrated player in the game.

TOP 15 MLB DRAFT BUSTS Of The 1980's!! - CAN'T MISS Prospects FALL Completely FLAT!!

Welcome to another edition of Humm Baby Busts and today we enter into the decade of the 1980’s, possibly the best decade ever for draft picks with names like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and Roger Clemens among many other superstars. However, there were also many major busts, many whom were taken ahead of some of the legends I just mentioned. Many of these high picks taken in the top 10 never even made the big leagues. So, let’s get into it today with the Top 15 MLB Draft Busts of the 1980’s.

Ty Griffin

#15 Ty Griffin – 1988, 9th Overall – Chicago Cubs

The 1988 MLB Draft was full of massive talent and the Chicago Cubs made the tough decision to pass on Robin Ventura, who was taken 1 spot later by the White Sox. The Cubs instead went with a switch-hitting second baseman out of Georgia Tech named Ty Griffin, with plans to move him to third base due to already having Ryne Sandberg at 2nd. Griffin, a 5-tool talent, had stolen 50 bases in a season, just being caught 4 times and had big power potential as well. He hit .322 for his college career with 22 homers and 127 total steals. After the move third base, he struggled, making 23 errors in 1989 with Double-A Charlotte and also hit poorly with a .231 average, and just 3 home runs. In 1990 his average dropped to just .209 and he had injury problems with bursitis in his throwing shoulder. Griffin was never able to really produce at a high level in the minors, although his speed still resulted in 94 career minor league steals. From 1993 to 1997 he played in the Independent Leagues aside from one year, 1995, in which he played in Double-A with the Cardinals organization, hitting .274 with 11 homers and 12 steals. Griffin never made it the big leagues, but has no regrets about his playing career and went on to be the head coach at Tampa Catholic High School for 10 years.

Drew Hall

#14 Drew Hall – 1984, 3rd Overall – Chicago Cubs

After losing 91 games in 1983, the Cubs had a chance to enhance their farm system with the 3rd overall pick in the 1984 MLB Draft. They passed over names like Jay Bell, Mark McGwire and Tom Glavine to select a left-handed pitcher named Drew Hall out of Moorhead State. He had just gone 9-1 with a 2.18 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 70 innings and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Unfortunately, his numbers fell drastically in the minor leagues, although he was serviceable. Hall went 10-7 in 1985 with a 4.67 ERA. He struck out 8.6 batters per nine but also walked 5.3 The following year in Double-A, he went 8-11 with a 3.58 ERA, good enough to be promoted to the big leagues. He started 4 games for the Cubs and went 1-2, giving up 12 runs and 10 walks in 23 innings. Hall was sent to the bullpen for the following year and struggled in the role until the Cubs traded him to the Rangers in a famous trade that sent Mitch Williams to Chicago. He was a serviceable relief pitcher for the Rangers in 1989 then the Expos in 1990 before spending the next four seasons in Triple-A before retiring. Hall had a career 5.21 ERA with a -1.2 WAR, but because he made the big leagues and had some moderate success as a reliever, he doesn’t come in too high on the list.

Terry Blocker

#13 Terry Blocker – 1981, 4th Overall – New York Mets

In 1981 with their 4th overall pick, the Mets went with a talented college outfielder named Terry Blocker. He had just completed a phenomenal year at Tennessee State, hitting .402 with 11 home runs, 11 triples and 34 steals in 35 attempts. In 119 college attempts, he was caught stealing just 3 times. He entered Low A in 1981 and was instantly electric, hitting .341 with 14 steals and 7 home runs in 36 games. The next year in Double-A, Blocker regressed some, hitting just .260 with 5 homers in 438 at bats, but he did steal 40 bases. His batting average improved over the next couple seasons, although his power never developed. Blocker was promoted to the big leagues in 1985 but went 1 for 15. The Mets never promoted him again despite a couple more solid seasons in Triple-A. He was traded to the Braves for Kevin Brown and got an extended shot in the bigs with 210 plate appearances, but hit just .212 with a .533 OPS and 1 single stolen base. 1989 was Blocker’s final pro season, and he hit .226 for Atlanta, but spent most of the year in the minors. Even his speed was gone at this point, as he stole just 4 bases all season long, but was caught 5 times.

In 1995, Blocker attended Spring Training as a replacement player with the Braves and made headlines after helping police track down the murderer of his teammate, David Shotkoski, who was shot by a man named Neal Evans during a robbery attempt in West Palm Beach. Blocker scoured through the worst parts of town, gathering information and ultimately discovering the name of the killer. Police made the arrest and offered reward money to Blocker, but he refused it, telling them to give the money to Shotkoski’s wife.

Mike King

#12 Mike King – 1980, 4th Overall – Oakland Athletics

In 1980 with their 4th overall pick, the Oakland A’s tried to save some bonus money and drafted a talented pitcher out of a Division II school called Morningside University in Sioux City, Iowa. His name was Mike King. King dominated batters in his conference, winning the division’s Most Valuable Pitcher award, but he had never faced top level competition. He certainly deserved to be drafted after striking out 93 batters in 56 innings with a .47 ERA, but taking him 4th overall was a huge risk.

The A’s paid King only $35,000, the lowest bonus in the Top 25. Then, they made the baffling decision to throw him straight in Triple-A, where he would face seasoned hitters, many with big league experience. He went 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA, walking 31 batters in just 20 innings. The next year he was traded to the Cubs, who sent him to Single-A, where he should’ve been in the first place. With his confidence likely already busted, King went 1-3 with a 5.53 ERA in 11 starts, walking 41 batters in 49 innings. He was promoted to Double-A but was even worse with a 7.76 ERA. He ended up in the Yankees organization but never could completely solve his control issues. He was also not blowing too many hitters away, striking out just 5.4 batters per 9 throughout his minor league career. Ultimately, although King was a bust, I can’t put him too high on this list because he should’ve never been taken 4th overall and certainly should not have started his minor league career in Triple-A.

Donald Harris

#11 Donald Harris – 1989, 5th Overall – Texas Rangers

With the 5th pick of the 1989 Draft, the Texas Rangers went with a raw but toolesy Texas Tech outfielder, Donald Harris, ahead of potential picks like Frank Thomas and Mo Vaughn. Harris was a multi-sport athlete who was also an All-Southwest Conference Safety for the Texas Tech. As a baseball player, he hit .322 with 10 homers, and a .938 OPS. He also had tremendous speed, although likely due to a coaching decision, he didn’t steal a lot of bases. He also missed a lot of baseball due to his football obligations. After a solid stint in rookie ball in 1989, Harris was sent to Single-A in 1990, but struggled, hitting just .184. In Double-A in 1992, he hit just .227 with a low .278 on-base percentage and 11 home runs. He stole 9 bases but was caught 8 times. Despite these stats, the Rangers promoted Harris and he had successful call-up, going 3 for 8 with a home run. But this small sample size was deceiving and in 1992, he hit .182 with 15 strikeouts in 33 at bats. They gave him one last look in 1993, but Harris hit .197 and retired after two more seasons in the minors. After retiring from baseball, he continues to stay around baseball, attending various camps and youth leagues, where he serves as a mentor and motivational speaker.

Stan Hilton

#10 Stan Hilton – 1983, 5th Overall – Oakland Athletics

1983 was a somewhat slow draft, but it did produce one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history, Roger Clemens at #19. The A’s passed on Clemens and took a different right handed arm at #5 with Baylor University pitcher Stan Hilton. Hilton was among college baseball’s leaders in ERA and strikeouts, but his talent did not translate too well to the pros. In 1984 in High A with Modesto, he went 3-4 with a 4.95 ERA, only striking out 36 batters in over 56 innings. He was eventually promoted to Double-A in 1986, but in 19 starts, he had a 6.52 ERA, giving up 136 hits in 89 innings. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians and made it to Triple-A but did not show much improvement there and retired from baseball after the 1989 season, never having made it to the big leagues. He went on to become a professional pitching coach, coaching in the minor leagues as well as the independent leagues.

Willie Ansley

#9 Willie Ansley – 1988, 7th Overall – Houston Astros

From around 1985 to 1988, one of the most exciting and electric High School athletes in the country was named Willie Ansley and he dominated multiple sports at Plainview High School in Texas. His speed and agility were top notch and he had his choice of paths to take as graduation neared. His favorite sport was basketball, but he felt his best was football. He had a scholarship offer to play football for the Oklahoma Sooners and had committed to do so after meeting with head coach Barry Switzer. Then, the Houston Astros selected him 7th overall to play professional baseball after he hit .479 with 8 homers and 40 RBIs. For a $180,000 bonus, Ansley signed with the Astros and entered the minor league system as an outfielder. After a slow start in Single-A, Ansley got hot and after 103 games had a .309 average and .846 OPS and 53 steals. He was promoted to Double-A, but his numbers dropped there. His average dropped to .255 in 1990 then .232 in ‘91. He was not showing much power. He was finally promoted to Triple-A in 1993 and had a decent season, hitting .262 with 5 home runs and .390 on-base-percentage. It wasn’t enough to get him a big league promotion. During the minor league playoffs, he tore a ligament in his thumb and the Astros released him after the season. Ansley played some in the Mexican and Independent leagues before retiring and entering into coaching at Lamar High School, where he coached a young Anthony Rendon.

Monty Fariss

#8 Monty Fariss – 1988, 6th Overall – Texas Rangers

From 1986 to 1988, one of the brightest and hottest college hitters in the country played at Oklahoma State and his name was Monty Fariss. In 1988, the year he was drafted, Fariss was absolutely unstoppable, hitting .397 with 30 home runs and 114 RBIs in just 69 games. In 242 at bats, he struck out just 38 times. Fariss set a school record with a hit in 25 consecutive games and he had an incredible 1.368 OPS. Fariss looked like an absolute lock to be a future MLB superstar. The hype was real as he entered rookie ball and hit .396 with 4 home runs. The Rangers bumped him all the way up do Double-A, but that’s where Fariss ran into problems. In 49 games with the Tulsa Drillers, he hit just .224 with 3 homers in 17 games. In his first full season in Double-A in ‘89, Fariss had a decent .272 average but hit a mere 5 home runs in 497 at bats. In 1991, after a couple solid seasons in Triple-A, the Rangers promoted Fariss, but their expectations had fallen drastically after he showed very little power in the minors. He hit .258 with a home run in 38 at bats. The following season, after hitting just .217, the Rangers let Fariss go. He caught on with the Florida Marlins and hit .173 for them in their inaugural season. After two more seasons in the minors, Fariss was out of baseball with a career .217 average and -.2 WAR. Fariss moved back to Oklahoma and started a batting cage business. He was elected to the Oklahoma State Cowboys Baseball Hall of Fame.

Kurt Brown

#7 Kurt Brown – 1985, 5th Overall – Chicago White Sox

1985 was one of the strongest and most famous drafts of all time, producing talents like Will Clark, Barry Larkin, B.J. Surhoff, Bobby Witt, Rafael Palmeiro, Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds. One pick before the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Bonds out of Arizona State, the White Sox had a chance to do the same. Instead, they went with an 18-year old High School catcher named Kurt Brown, leading White Sox fans to play the “what if” game for years to come. Brown, who turned down a football scholarship to play at Long Beach State, was a pure hitter with a fantastic arm, but struggled out of the gate in the minors, hitting .205 with just 3 homers in rookie ball. He improved the next year, but not by much, hitting .234 in A-Ball. His progress was extremely slow as he played just well enough to hang around, but never showed big league talent. He didn’t play a full season in Double-A until 1990, when he hit .269 with 4 home runs. That same year, Barry Bonds won the MVP award and a Gold Glove with Pittsburgh. Brown played one last season in Triple-A in 1986 before retiring from baseball. He returned to school to earn his degree and entered into the finance world. He became the Vice President of First Montana Bank in 2020.

Jeff Jackson

#6 Jeff Jackson – 1989, 4th Overall – Philadelphia Phillies

In 1989, the Philadelphia Phillies had the rare opportunity to have the 4th overall pick in the MLB draft and there was a ton of talent to choose from including the powerful Frank Thomas out of Auburn, Chuck Knoblauch from Texas A&M and Seton Hall’s Mo Vaughn. The Phillies instead went with a High School kid who had just hit over .500 his Senior Year and had tremendous potential, Jeff Jackson. He had won the Gatorade Player of the Year award and was considered a premiere 5-tool talent. However, he was just 17 years and old and had immediate trouble against the professional pitching he faced in the minors. After a rough stint in Rookie Ball, he played his first full season in Low A in 1990 and hit just .198 with 3 home runs. He stole 12 bases but was caught 11 times. A lower draft pick would’ve already been released, but Jackson was promoted to A Ball in 1991 and continued to struggle, hitting .225 with just 5 homers. He reportedly felt some culture shock and isolation during his first couple years in the minors and was pressured heavily by the press, with one journalist calling him “Clueless Jeff Jackson.” The Phillies hung onto Jackson all the way through the 1994 season in which he hit just .177 in Double-A. Realizing he was not going to meet expectations, he was finally released and caught on with the White Sox organization for a season before entering into the independent leagues. He hit much better there and was given one more shot in affiliated ball with the Pirates in 1998. He hit .278 with a couple homers with their High A team, but that would be his final season of professional baseball. Jackson has since started a Sports & Entertainment Agency and written a book called “The Gift & The Curse: The Jeff Jackson Story.”

Bill Bene

#5 Bill Bene – 1988, 5th Overall – Los Angeles Dodgers

Back in the 1980’s, baseball cards of draft picks usually weren’t a thing. However, this Bill Bene card was fairly hot for a short while. Bene was taken 5th overall in the 1988 Draft by the Dodgers, the same team that also drafted Mike Piazza that year – with 1,390th pick. They also took Erik Karros with 140th. Luckily, those two worked out. The same cannot be said for Bill Bene, who had a lively arm that the Dodgers loved. Scouts saw his stuff and thought that he could be an elite arm, but needed some professional coaching to improve his control, which was absolutely terrible in college. It was a huge gamble to take him so high – and the Dodgers lost the bet. Bene went 5-0 in his professional season, but he must’ve gotten some solid run support, because he walked 45 batters in 65 innings and gave up 33 runs for an ERA of 4.55. The next year, in A-ball, the numbers started to become ridiculous and video-gamish in a bad way. In 27 innings, he struck out a decent 24 batters.. but walked 56. His ERA ballooned up to 12.64. In 1990 at Vero Beach, things really got out of hand as he walked 96 batters in 56 innings. The run support finally ended for Bene too, as he went 1-10 with an ERA of 6.99. If Bene wasn’t the 5th overall pick, he would’ve been released a long time ago at this point. Instead, he came back year after year, sometimes showing slight improvements in his control but never being able to consistently command the zone whatsoever. In 1994, still in the Dodgers organization, he walked 49 batters in 50 innings with a 6.04 ERA, strictly coming out of the bullpen at this point. Mercifully, the Dodgers released him. The Reds took a chance on him the next year with their Double-A team, but he walked 9 batters in 4 innings to end the experiment. He missed the ‘96 season and made a comeback attempt with the Angels in 1997, but the control just wasn’t there. Even at this point, he struck out 70 batters in 68 innings, but walked 66, going 0-4 with a 6.68 ERA. He was finally out of baseball, but continued to get busted even later in life, as he was arrested and sentenced to 6 months in jail in 2012 for operating a counterfeit karaoke business without paying taxes. Once a bust, always a bust.

Mark Merchant

#4 Mark Merchant – 1987, 2nd Overall – Pittsburgh Pirates

In 1987, the Pirates had the 2nd overall pick just after the Mariners, who used their 1st overall pick to take future Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr. With the 2nd pick, the Pirates went with another High School outfielder by the name of Mark Merchant. He was a speedy 5-tool talent who stole 48 bases in 49 attempts his Senior Year and hit .419 with 5 home runs. The Pirates hoped he would develop even more power in the minor leagues. In his first year in rookie, Merchant hit .265 with 3 homers and 33 steals in 50 games, a decent start. Then, halfway through the next season, he separated his shoulder diving for a ball, ending his season. He was only hitting .242 at the time with a couple home runs and the Pirates traded him to the Mariners, who now had both Griffey Jr. and Merchant, the top 2 picks of the ‘87 draft. However, Merchant didn’t do much better in the Mariners organization, putting up below average numbers for several years in the minors, while also battling multiple injuries. After hitting .244 with a .685 OPS in Double-A in 1992, the M’s released him. Merchant considered retirement but instead signed with the Reds and showed some signs of why he was originally drafted second overall. He hit .301 with 17 home runs in Double-A in 1993, earning a promotion to Triple-A. But he never made it to the big leagues. Merchant ended up in the Independent leagues and spent some time in the White Sox and Royals organizations, playing all the way through the 1998 season. “To be able to still have good success in Double-A, when I couldn’t run or throw like I used to, says a lot,” Merchant said. “I gave it everything I had. I played those last seven years with one arm and one leg.” After retirement, Merchant earned his real estate license and started his own business near Denver, Colorado.

Augie Schmidt

#3 Augie Schmidt – 1982, 2nd Overall – Toronto Blue Jays

During the late 70’s, a High School player named Augie Schmidt was already making headlines and was drafted by the Orioles in the 9th round of the ‘79 draft. Instead of signing with the O’s, Schmidt went to play college ball at the University of New Orleans and his draft stock only skyrocketed from there after he hit .352 with an OPS over 1.000 while playing elite defense at shortstop. In 1981 in over 200 at bats, he struck out just 16 times while walking 52. He had an advanced knowledge of the strike zone and was one of the finest pure hitters in the draft. In 1982, the Blue Jays took him 2nd overall. He hit well through the low levels of the minors, but once Schmidt hit Triple-A in 1984, on the verge of the big leagues, he hit a snag. In 46 games with Syracuse, he hit just .201 with a .280 on-base-percentage, but he did battle some injuries including a fractured wrist. He still put the ball in play, but without much authority. He didn’t hit a single home run despite crushing 14 his final season in college. “The aluminum bat helped me an awful lot,” he admitted.

The Blue Jays decided to move on from Schmidt and traded him to the Giants. With the Giants Double-A and Triple-A teams, he improved his average to .273 but still hit zero home runs. The Giants released him and he caught on with Twins for his final pro season in 1986 when Schmidt hit just .226 in A-Ball. After his career, he entered coaching and went on to become the head coach at Carthage College, where he has led the team to multiple division titles and championship runs.

Garry Harris

#2 Garry Harris – 1980, 2nd Overall – Toronto Blue Jays

The 1980 Draft had some phenomenal 5-tool talents available including Billy Beane, Darryl Strawberry, Kelly Gruber, and the player the Blue Jays took second overall, Garry Harris. While Billy Beane can also be considered a bust, at least he made it to the big leagues and wasn’t picked until #23. Harris was taken 2nd and had just hit .426 his Senior Year in High School with 16 steals in 16 attempts. Unfortunately, he was very raw and unproven against top level talent. The Blue Jays quickly found out he would likely not be their future shortstop as they had hoped. He made 54 errors in rookie ball, worse than any other player in the minor leagues. He hit .272 but with very little power to speak of. The next season in A ball, over a full season, Harris hit .253 with 15 homers, still struggling defensively. His average dropped again the next year to .235 then .224 in Double-A in 1983. Harris played poor defense, struck out too much, did not show much power and could not hit for a high average. His on-base-percentage was just .266. The Blue Jays released him after 1983 but in a creative move, they picked up Kelly Gruber from Cleveland in the Rule 5 Draft, which gave them another shortstop from the 1980 draft. Gruber worked out with the Jays and ended up becoming a staple in the Toronto lineup all the way through 1992, the year they won their first World Series. So, while Harris was a bust, the 1980 first round turned out okay for Toronto. As for Garry Harris, he went on to work for the city of San Diego for 25 years before retiring and becoming a do-it-yourself car mechanic. He spent most of his time with his family until passing away in 2022.

Shawn Abner

#1 Shawn Abner – 1984, 1st Overall – New York Mets

Coming in as my #1 Draft Bust of the 80’s is Shawn Abner. It was the 1984 Draft and the Mets were looking to build the best outfield in baseball. They already had Darryl Strawberry and Billy Beane was getting ready to get promoted. They identified Shawn Abner as an “all-around, can’t miss prospect.” So, the Mets took him as the #1 overall pick, ahead of USC star Mark McGwire. He hit for decent average in the minors but his power was lacking. In 1986 with the Double-A Jackson Mets, he hit .266 with 14 homers and a .739 OPS. The Mets decided to include him in a blockbuster 8-man deal that sent Kevin Mitchell to the Padres for Kevin McReynolds. With the Las Vegas Stars Triple-A team in ‘87, he hit .300 with 11 home runs and the Pads decided to give him a shot in the big leagues. Unfortunately, he was not very good at all, hitting .181 in 1988 and .187 in 1989. He didn’t even offer any power to offset the low batting averages. He was let go by the Padres and spent some time with the Angels and White Sox before spending the entire 1994 season in the minors with the Royals organization. He then crossed the picket line and joined the replacement players in 1995 Spring Training. He never played in the big leagues again. In 2020, he was sentenced to 4.5 to 23 months in prison for animal cruelty after leaving his dog at home for over a month, resulting in the dog passing away. Apparently, he didn’t ask any one to care for the dog while he was gone. Just for that terrible act and due to the fact that he was a #1 overall pick who had a -1.3 career WAR, I’m going to put Abner as my #1 bust of the 1980’s.

And that does it for today’s video on the biggest draft busts of the 1980’s; I hope you enjoyed it; I appreciate all the support! Look forward to more draft busts videos in the future as well as other interesting documentaries and countdowns as well. Have a wonderful day; hit that thumbs up and subscribe button; leave a comment down below and we’ll talk to you in the next one.

2024 MLB POWER RANKING - 30 TEAMS Quick Evaluations & My FULL Tier Power Ranking

30. Chicago White Sox

The White Sox do have Garret Crochet, a first round pick with an electric arm, moving into the rotation but he – some one who has never started an MLB game – will be their opening day starter. Apart from him, it’s full of reclamation projects and washed up pitchers trying to hang on. The lineup has a few exciting names like Luis Robert but none of them were able to save this team from 101 losses last year and this time, they have even worse hitters surrounding them. I don’t see how this team competes this year unfortunately.

29. Colorado Rockies

As usual, the lineup is not terrible with guys like Nolan Jones, Kris Bryant and Brendan Rodgers, but the pitching staff is absolutely terrible. Kyle Freeland gets lit up with regularity and he is the Rockies Ace now that their best two starters, Senzatela and Marquez. I don’t think Cal Quantrill will pitch very well in Denver and the bullpen doesn’t look like anything special either. The Rockies should score plenty of runs, but opposing teams will score even more.

28. Washington Nationals

The Nationals signed several players with problems who I don’t have a ton of confidence in like Joey Gallo and Nick Senzel to add to a lineup that wasn’t that great anyway. Their youngsters who have been promoted haven’t really shown much at the big league level, CJ Abrams will need a breakout year. The pitching staff right now looks very shaky aside from a new decent names, but they do have a strong farm system which might be give them a boost at some point this year, but the Nationals just don’t have the MLB talent to compete in 2024 as far as I can tell.

27. Los Angeles Angels

Obviously, the loss of Ohtani hurts big time and the Angels didn’t do much at all to replace him, just adding some utility players. They have Anthony Rendon, but he hates baseball and honestly, when you’re in your mid-30’s, it’s the love of the game that keeps you going at that point. I’ll be shocked if he plays in more than 50 games. Mike Trout’s still there and the lineup is so-so but the pitching staff to me looks questionable at best; the rotation wasn’t that great when they had Ohtani and now it’s that much worse. I like the Ron Washington hire and hopefully he can make a difference but I don’t expect much from this team.

26. Oakland Athletics

This is a young team coming off a horrific season, but I do think they have a chance to be much better this year, despite all the drama and lack of effort by the front office to put together a winning team. JJ Bleday looks ready to have a breakout season, Brent Rooker has 30+ home run power and they just signed J.D. Davis, who I think is going to have a great year. The rotation and pitching staff looks a lot more iffy with guys like Ross Stripling and Alex Wood, but the bullpen has some decent arms like Mason Miller, who can also start, and there are lots of up-and-coming options who can also contribute so all told, I think the A’s are going to be better than people think; not saying they’re going to be a playoff team or even a good team, but I don’t think they’ll be the worst team in baseball.

25. Miami Marlins

At #25 I’m going to put the Miami Marlins, who did make the playoffs last year but did nothing to capitalize on that this offseason. Sandy Alcantara is out for the season but the rotation is very young and could be decent this year with guys like Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers, AJ Puk, Jesus Luzardo – all guys with big potential, but unless 2 or 3 of those guys have big breakout seasons, I don’t know if the offense will be strong enough. Obviously they still have Luis Arraez, who’s great. Tim Anderson will need a big bounce back year and so will veterans like Josh Bell. The bullpen is very young and unpredictable; there’s some electric arms but also a lot of unproven guys so overall, the team has talent but I don’t think there’s enough proven MLB players in their prime to make this a winning team in 2024.

24. Kansas City Royals

The Royals are coming off a rough season, but they did a lot to improve; the entire bullpen has been shaken up and the rotation looks a lot better with Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. Look for Bobby Witt Jr. to have a massive season; he might be in MVP talks this year. Adam Frazier and Hunter Renfroe add some more stability to the lineup as well and they have lot of exciting youngsters like Nelson Velasquez and others as well. So, overall, they’re still not great, but I see the Royals being a much better team this year and I got them ranked all the way up at #24.

23. Pittsburgh Pirates

Next up is the Pirates, who have been heading the right direction lately and their roster is starting to come together. They have a ton of young talent; names like Henry Davis and O’Neil Cruz for example. Ke’Bryan Hayes should be ready for a big year, and they brought back the veteran former MVP Andrew McCutchen, who provides leadership and can still play. The Pirates brought in Aroldis Chapman, and I think he will be huge for that bullpen. The rotation is okay with Mitch Keller and now Marco Gonzales; Paul Skenes is on the way although I’m not sure if he’ll make his debut this year or not, but the Pirates have a lot of talent; a solid mix of veterans and youngsters, but still not quite enough to put them much higher than this.

22. Boston Red Sox

At #21, the highest I could put them, is the Boston Red Sox. They still have some star names in the lineup like Rafael Devers and Trevor Story, although Story hasn’t played much the last couple years, he’s looking healthy and productive now. Triston Casas should be even better in 2024 after a great rookie season. They signed Tyler O’Neil, an exciting guy with big power potential. The offense has a lot of upside but the pitching staff is going to be the issue. Lucas Giolito is hurt and not sure when he’ll be back and the current rotation is decent at best, Bryan Bello is solid, but there’s no real aces there. The bullpen has some recognizable names but guys like Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin are up there in years so we’ll see how it goes; I like the lineup and the offense but I’m not sure the pitching staff is deep enough to bring this team back out of the basement.

21. Milwaukee Brewers

I didn’t expect put the Brewers this low but the pitching staff, which not long ago was their strength, really looks suspect. Even Devin Williams was recently injured and he’s out for a while. Woodruff is injured. And right now the rotation has guys like Jakob Junis and Joe Ross. They traded their best starter, parting ways with Corbin Burnes. The bullpen has some decent options but there’s no way it’s strong enough to make up for that rotation. I love the young talent in the lineup like Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick and of course they still have some guys like Yelich and Rhys Hoskins now, but I don’t see enough to rank them any higher than this.

20. Cleveland Guardian

I was really excited about the Guardians last year, especially their pitching staff, but they did very little to improve in the offseason. Their pitching staff, both the rotation and bullpen still looks solid, though, but the lineup needed reinforcements. This middle of the order is not bad with Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor but there’s not a ton surrounding them to help score runs for that staff. So, the Guardians have some talent but not enough to make it in the top half of this power ranking.

19. New York Mets

The Mets are a team with a lot of good names, but they had a real slow offseason and right Senga is injured. The J.D. Martinez pickup should help the lineup quite a bit, which already has of course Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte. Francisco Alvarez will hopefully have a big season. However, I don’t think the pitching is going to hold up, with Jose Quintana and Luis Severino at the top of that rotation. The bullpen looks solid with Edwin Diaz and company, but the rotation took such a huge hit from Opening Day last year until now; I’d be surprised if the Mets even finish above .500.

18. St. Louis Cardinals

Coming in at #18 is going to be the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in line for a big bounce back season after signing Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to join Miles Mikolas fix the rotation. It’s not like they have the best rotation in the game now but it should hold up much better than last season, and they have youngsters like Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn ready to break out in 2024 and of course the amazing Goldschmit/Arenado combo, and overall a very potent lineup. I really do like their roster; the bullpen has some good options as well and I see the Cardinals being much much better in 2024.

17. Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are a team ready to break out with a ton of young talent, and I think they’ll probably be sneaking up mine and others power rankings as the season moves along. Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith, and others are going to have big years and the Tigers brought in some veteran talent like Mark Cahna and pitching help with Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. The bullpen looks solid with Jason Foley and Shelby Miller among others. Overall, this team looks really solid and I’m expecting the Tigers to compete for an AL Central Championship.

16. Cincinnati Reds

At #16 I have the Cincinnati Reds, who I think had a phenomenal offseason, adding Candelario and pitching Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez and then some bullpen help as well to add to a team that was already up and coming and looking really impressive at times in 2023 with all that young talent – Spencer Steer, Jonathan India, etc etc. Unfortuantely, Noelvi Marte, one of their most talented youngsters, got hit with a PED suspension, but I think the Reds still have more than enough to compete again in 2024 and they’re on the verge of jumping into the top half of MLB teams.

15. Minnesota Twins

Up next, just ahead of the Reds, is the Twins, who lost a lot in Sonny Gray and didn’t make a ton of moves this offseason. They still have enough talent that I’d say they’re the favorites in the central, but the Tigers are going to be right there with them in my opinion. The lineup is still solid with Buxton, Correa, Kepler, etc. and Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan anchor a rotation that doesn’t look too deep with some injury prone guys like Chris Paddack in there. The bullpen has some strong names like Duran and Griffin Jax but also doesn’t run particularly deep and overall, I think the Twins took a step back in 2024, but they still got enough talent to rank somewhere in the middle of the pack.

14. San Francisco Giants

Just in the top half of MLB for now I’m putting my favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, after adding Blake Snell to that rotation, really fortifying by putting him alongside Logan Webb and Kyle Harrison. The lineup is much improved with big power in Jorge Soler and of course, the elite defensive third baseman Matt Chapman. Giants have a solid closer in Camilo Doval and some other solid bullpen arms, and are overall a well-rounded team that should have a much better 2024 with Bob Melvin at the helm. They don’t necessarily have top superstar MVP talent all over the place but they do have a reigning Cy Young Award winner now and another former one once Robbie Ray is back. So, for now, I’m putting them here but I’m hopeful they’ll slowly crawl up this list as the season progresses.

13. San Diego Padres

I debated putting the Padres below the Giants after they lost Juan Soto and Blake Snell, but they still have massive superstar talent with Manny Machado, Tatis Jr. and Xander Boegarts along with other really solid offensive guys like Jake Cronenworth. And, with the addition of Dylan Cease, the rotation isn’t that bad – they have Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove and a solid bullpen that got a lot of additions this offseason. They’re not near as stacked as they’ve been recently but for now, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and rank them just above the Giants, especially after their strong finish in 2023 in which they surpassed my Giants, but we’ll see how things go in 2024.

12. Chicago Cubs

Next up is the Chicago Cubs, a team I was pretty high on last year, I thought they would finish above .500 and they did, despite at that time people thinking they were not very good. This year, they look even better, with Bellinger back and Shoto Imanaga in the rotation alongside Justin Steel and Jordan Wicks. The bullpen looks better with some solid additions and I do think Michael Busch, who they got from the Dodgers, is going to have a nice year as well. The lineup could be a little stronger but overall, the Cubs look like a very solid team and should have another strong season in 2024.

11. Tampa Bay Rays

At #11 I’m putting the Rays, probably the most impressive team in baseball considering that they’re almost always competitive, in the pennant race and oftentimes in the playoffs despite a lower budget and not stacking their team with top free agent superstar talent. On paper this year, they look good but I wouldn’t say great. They got Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale in the rotation and a well-rounded lineup featuring Randy Arozarena and Harold Ramirez, but it doesn’t have a ton of thump. The Rays traded Tyler Glasnow for two solid Dodger prospects, one of whom, Jonny Deluca, broke his hand and will be out for a while. And the other, Ryan Pepiot, has great stuff but he’s relatively unproven. Several of their best arms are still recovering from injuries and surgeries, though, and I don’t really see a playoff team on paper, but the Rays are professionals at proving people wrong, so don’t be surprised if they jump higher on this list for my next power ranking.

10. Philadelphia Phillies

Just cracking the Top 10 I’m going with the Phillies, who brought back Aaron Nola, a key move for them to try and make it back to the playoffs, and back to the World Series. Their lineup is stacked with big names – Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm. The rotation looks solid although they could’ve used one more starter, and the bullpen looks better than it has in the past, although that is probably their biggest concern. Overall, this team looks great but the pitching depth is the one thing to worry about and it keeps them from being even higher.

9. Toronto Blue Jays

Coming up next is the Toronto Blue Jays, who have a ton of top talent returning in 2024, led by Vlad Jr, George Springer and Bo Bichette along with a good rotation with Jose Berrios and Chris Bassit, but they didn’t improve much in the offseason, losing Matt Chapman and Jordan Hicks and adding some veteran players who are I’m not sure are going to make a big impact. When I look at the Jays roster, obviously there’s a lot of good names, but there’s a lot of question marks with the pitching. I’m not too confident Alek Manoah is going to regain his form and I’m not convinced this team is going be better in 2024, although they clearly still have a ton of talent and that’s why they’re in the Top 10.

8. Seattle Mariners

Now getting into some of the top contenders, we have the Seattle Mariners, a team loaded with young talent that should be ready to explode in 2024 and send this team deep into October. They added a couple of Mitches with Garver and Haniger to make that lineup even more powerful. Julio Rodriguez is a superstar and the rotation is very solid with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo. The bullpen should be good enough if they’re not overworked and they shouldn’t be if there’s no major injuries to the rotation and overall, the M’s look really good for 2024 and this could be their year.

7. Texas Rangers

At lucky #7 I’m going with the Rangers, even though just won the World Series, coming into 2024, they’re dealing with several injures including Degrom and Max Scherzer. Corey Seager recently had surgery and should be back soon but I’m not sure when he’ll be 100%. On the other hand, this is team that had good starting rotation depth so Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning should be able to hold it down, but I’m surprised they didn’t sign any healthy starters for 2024. Tyler Mahle was signed but he’s on the IL. The offense should be amazing with Marcus Semien, Aroldis Chapman, Seager, and the youngsters Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford, who I expect to be an absolute superstar. The bullpen is solid and overall, the Rangers still look very good and should be excellent again in 2024.

6. Arizona Diamondbacks

Up next is the National Leagues champs, the Arizona Diamondbacks who brought back Gurriel Jr and signed the powerful Eugenio Suarez to play third base. The rotation is still awesome with Zac Gallen, Merril Kelly, Brandon Phadt and now Eduardo Rodriguez as well. They have amazing young talent like Corbin Carroll combined with veterans like Joc Pederson who should fit right in with this group and they also have a formidable bullpen featuring Paul Seward and Kevin Ginkel among others. Look for the D-backs to be very good again in 2024.

5. Houston Astros

This team is absolutely stacked, but injury issues are my biggest concern with Houston. Luis Garcia had Tommy John, Verlander is starting the year on the IL and he’s in his 40s, Jose Urquidy is hurt, McCullers Jr. had surgery, so the rotation is banged up for real right now. Somehow, they still have enough names to get by with guys Framber Valdez, Christian Javier and Hunter Brown. That mostly homegrown lineup is still in tact with Altuve, Tucker and Bregman along with the exciting youngsters like Jeremy Pena. Obviously Yordan Alvarez is also there. They signed Josh Hader, who will likely the be the closer. So, this is a team that’s still very much loaded with talent, but a lot of that talent is getting older and health is a big x-factor with the Astros, as it is with every team, but I think especially so with the Astros, as well as my next team…

4. New York Yankees

To start the 2024 season, I have the New York Yankees at #4 due to their incredible roster, but they’d be even higher if I wasn’t so concerned with their famous injury bug. They signed Carlos Rodon last year and he missed most of the season and wasn’t that great when he did pitch. Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge should’ve been one the best offensive duos in baseball the last few years, but they’re consistently on the IL. That said, there are so many big names on this team – Juan Soto is a Yankee. Soto, Judge, Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo, Anthony Volpe – this lineup is absoultely stacked. The rotation added Marcus Strohman; again, durability and health is the biggest issue there and with pretty every name in the rotation including Nestor Cortes, who was hurt much of last year, but they all have massive talent. The bullpen has several solid names as well, and if the Yankees stay healthy, they can easily win over 100 games, but that’s a big if.

3. Baltimore Orioles

Next, the Baltimore Orioles come in at the highest they’ve ever been on one of my power rankings, third in all of baseball, after an incredible 2023 season. This year, they’ve made important additions including Corbin Burnes, who will be the Ace. Unfortunately, Kyle Bradish was recently injured and John Means is still dealing with an injury, so that definitely hurts, but Grayson Rodriguez is back and should be primed for his breakout season after a solid rookie campaign. And if they need to I think the O’s will be able to add almost any one they want at the trade deadline with all their young talent. Their lineup is absolutely amazing and only going to get better once some of their recent draft picks make it to the big leagues like Heston Kjerstad. For now, Adley Rutschman, Gunner Henderson, Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, Colton Cowser are all going to contribute among others; I can’t name them all, but this team is loaded. Craig Kimbrell was signed for the bullpen. And overall, the O’s look extraordinary; they’re very young but extremely dangerous and I expect them to have another big season in 2024.

2. Atlanta Braves

At #2 I’m going with the star-studded Atlanta Braves, who bring back a lineup with Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Marzell Ozuna and now former top prospect Jered Kelenic, who showed a lot of massive potential last season and should be healthy and ready to show what he can do this year. They brought back Adam Duvall as well, and as for the rotation, Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton will be joined by Chris Sale, who has had his injury history but he’s still a big name with great stuff and even if he struggles or can’t stay healthy, the Braves have some depth there with Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep knocking on the door and some other young starting pitching options as well. The bullpen has names like A.J Minter, Raisel Iglesias, and now Aaron Bummer, and overall, I really see a strong, experienced group of guys here who will be favorites to win the division and possibly get back to the World Series, which of course they won in 2021.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

But to be perfectly fair, to start the year, I have the Dodgers in the #1 slot. This is a team that was already stacked when they signed the top 2 available free agents in Shohei Ohtani and Yamamoto. For now, Ohtani is going through a little something with the gambling interpreter situation but hasn’t been suspended or anything, so as of now, he’s in that lineup, which has nothing but future Hall of Famers, All Stars and rookie sensations. Betts, Ohtani and Freeman all have MVP’s on their shelves. Teoscar Hernandez was added to provide even more power. The rotation has major injury issues, but the Dodgers just replenish what they lose, adding Yamamoto, James Paxson and Tyler Glasnow. I do think their young guys like Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are going to be much better this year; they really have great stuff. Nick Frasso and Kyle Hurt are also options to start if needed. Kyle Hurt is going to be sick whether he starts or comes out of the pen; his stuff is electric. Evan Phillips, Joe Kelly and co. are also in that pen and overall, the Dodgers are as stacked as usual and, as of now, have to come in at #1 on my 2024 entry level power ranking.