The Spot Starters

All-Bum Squad

I got this idea for a post a couple of days ago when I saw that former Jacque Jones was looking for work with a big league team.  Now that Jones has signed with the Minnesota Twins, I have to plow ahead.  As many Tiger fans know, Jones was brought on to play left field for the Tigers in 2008.  Things did not work out.  Jones was flat terrible and was gone before the calendar turned to June.

Listed below is the all bum team of the last 20 years.  I’ve looked at Tigers stats from 1990-2009 and put together a team that would rival the 2003 Tigers.  Enjoy.

C: Brandon Inge (2001):  Believe it or not, this is actually when I sort of liked Inge.  He was a scrappy young catcher who l loved watching behind at the plate.  At the plate it was another story.  In 202 plate appearnaces, Inge clubbed 11 extra base hits (all doubles).  He hit a paltry .180 and posted an OPS+ of only 24.

1B: Eddie Williams (1996):  Williams was brought on to add a little pop to the Tigers lineup prior to the 1996 season.  He responed with a .200 batting average (OPS+ 45) and 6 homers in an injury-plagued season.

2B: Jody Reed (1997):  Reed was a scrappy little doubles hitter early on his days with Boston.  He was pretty clearly washed up by the time he joined the Tigers in 1997.  He played in only 52 games for the Tigers and hit a robust .196 (OPS+ 32).  He didn’t make anyone forget Lou Whitaker.

3B: Chris Truby (2002):  I’ve noted Truby’s failures on this site before as he truly had one of the weakest offensive seasons I’ve ever seen.  He hit .199 in almost 300 plate appearances with 71 strikeouts and only five walks.  Five walks!

SS:Deivi Cruz (1997):  Cruz wouldn’t draw a walk if you dared him.  He also got more playing time than anyone on this list.  In 1997, Cruz got 467 plate appearances and drew 14 walks all season.  His OBP was a depressing .263.  How in the world does someone that bad get that much playing time!

OF: Kenny Williams (1990): The current White Sox GM had arguably the worst offensive season of anyone on this list.  He was so bad that he played in only 57 games.  However, in that time he did plenty of damage putting up this line: .133/.170/.157.  That’s worse than most pitchers.  What a mess.

OF: Danny Bautista (1995):  Bautista put together a fine career in the NL after leaving the Tigers, but boy, he just couldn’t get it going in Detroit.  In 1995, Bautista got 289 plate appearances and had on OBP of only .237.  He did swing hard and managed to hit seven home runs while striking out way too much.

OF:  Gene Kingsale (2003): Gene Kingsale is awesome because he’s from Aruba.  However, he was a total mess as a member of the 2003 Tigers, the worst team in AL history.  Kingsale got some starts back in 2003 and responded with a .208 average and a single home run.