Greatest fluke seasons

[Peter_Spaeth]

Norm cash hit .361 in 1961 his next highest average was .289. Tommy Davis had 153 RBI in 1962 his next best total was 89. Other examples?

[Mikehealer]

I don't remember the year, but Brady Anderson hitting 50 HR's was certainly a fluke. I don't think he hit 30 in any other year.

[Jlighter]

Recently we have had Ubaldo Jimenez in 2010, although this might have been steroid aided.

19-8, 1.15-WHIP, 2.88-ERA, 214 SO.

2011

10-13, 1.40-WHIP, 4.68-ERA, 180 SO

2012

9-17, 1.61-WHIP, 5.40-ERA, 143 SO.

[z28jd]

Earl Webb hitting 67 doubles in 1931. He only had 155 career doubles.

Joe Charboneau ROY in 1980, out of majors by 1982

[freakhappy]

McGwire and Bonds 70 homer seasons...I heard they were hitting the weights extra heavy those years

[z28jd]

Maris hitting 61 or Hack Wilson setting the RBI record would have to be the greatest fluke seasons. Wilson at least showed that potential in another season, but 191 RBI's is a fluke, especially when you walk 104 times!

[novakjr]

As Mike said, Brady Anderson's 1996 stands out to me. Although steroids were probably the main cause. I just can't imagine steroids alone, taking a guy with a previous career high of 21, and suddenly make him hit 50, and then never again top 24 afterwards. There had to have been an insane amount of luck as well..

Now this next one isn't really a fluke season...But rather a lucky MVP Award. And that's Bagwell's NL MVP in '94. He had broken his hand, which would've forced him to sit a significant amount of time.. That more than likely would've put him out of the running. Especially with Matt Williams still on pace to tie Maris' single season HR record.. But then the strike happened a few days later.. I guess there's still a chance that Baggy could've won it anyways though..

[kmac32]

The 2011 Cardinals winning the World Series.

[bbcard1]

Let me throw this at you....Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. Had it not been stopped by two great plays Kenny Keltner would have stretched to more than seventy games...but despite a career that puts him in the upper pantheon of the greatest players of all-time, he never again hit in more than 23 consecutive games.

[Scott T]

Davey Johnson hitting 43 HRs for the 1973 Braves after coming over from the Orioles, where he hit 5 in 1972 (I know it was the "Launching Pad", but...)

[howard38]

.

[quinnsryche]

Originally Posted by Mikehealer

I don't remember the year, but Brady Anderson hitting 50 HR's was certainly a fluke. I don't think he hit 30 in any other year.

That's not a fluke, that's PEDs!

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

Let me throw this at you....Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. Had it not been stopped by two great plays Kenny Keltner would have stretched to more than seventy games...but despite a career that puts him in the upper pantheon of the greatest players of all-time, he never again hit in more than 23 consecutive games.

Can't forget the 61 gamer he had with the Seals though.

Jim Gentile's 46 HR season always stands out to me, though many like Brady Anderson's 50 beat it. How about 57 HRs from Luis Gonzalez! I wonder how much his chewed gum is worth now?? Seem to remember someone thought it was worth over $50K in 2001.

[frankbmd]

1959 Elroy Leon Face , Pittsburgh Pirates

18-1 from the bull pen in 57 games and 93 innings. (104-95 career record)

Unlike current practice, Murtaugh liked to use his bull pen ace in losing games.

At least for one year, it worked.

[brob28]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Earl Webb hitting 67 doubles in 1931. He only had 155 career doubles.

Joe Charboneau ROY in 1980, out of majors by 1982

+1 Charboneau was my first thought, another would be Ron Kittle.

[sycks22]

Dontrelle Willis 2005

22-10 2.63 ERA 5 SO 7 CG

72-69 career over 4.00 ERA

[Jay Wolt]

Like Brady Anderson, Luis Gonzalez 2001 season had to be a fluke.
He hit .325 w/ 57 home runs & 142 RBI, no other season of his came close to any of those marks.


edited for spelling

[mrvster]

Does this count as a "fluke"

[barrysloate]

Steve Stone going 25-8 and winning the Cy Young Award. The next season he was 5-8.

[EvilKing00]

what about the thought process in reverse. Adam dunn just, 1 season ago not even comming close to his normal 40 or so HR, that hes pretty steady with. Where he hit only 11, then the following year, he was right back to 41

[atx840]

Johnny, your arms are as cut as your cards.

[mrvster]

Thanks my BRO

That was last year, i'm a little outta shape this year

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by mrvster

Thanks my BRO

That was last year, i'm a little outta shape this year

I think we need to test you for fishing PED's Johnny. I notice you caught bigger first last season than any year before

[mrvster]

ok ok.......

[Mikehealer]

Johnny this is no fluke, but my 5 year old caught this a couple of weeks ago.

[Blunder19]

Arods 2009 playoff performance... vs every other playoff performance he's ever had.. that guy cant swing the bat in the playoffs.

[travrosty]

i dont think an entire season can be a fluke, give me the biggest fluke decade for any player. flukes are one day, one week maybe, something like that, a hot streak for a little while, not an entire season. you dont hit 191 rbi's in a season and its a fluke.

[WillowGrove]

But how 'bout that Gary Gaetti season of 5 HR's nestled between many seasons of 20+ HRs? And to make it even flukier, he played in all 162 games.

[mrvster]

Mike!
That's a Huge Largemouth!!
Like 5-6 pounder......The kid has the HEALER gene in him

[D. Bergin]

I see a general trend. Player has an unusual season before 1986........it's a "fluke". Player has an unusual season after 1986, it is proof positive he was on PED's.

Just sayin'.


How bout Kevin Mitchell going from scrappy little utility player to best hitter in baseball in 1989?

Had one more good year, and though nearly always efficient at the plate after that, never had close to another full season under his belt.

[packs]

Bob Welch going 27 - 6 in 1990.

Esteban Loaiza going 21 - 9 and leading the league in strike outs in 2003.

[Sean]

Greatest fluke season for a pitcher: Aolpho Luque. He went 27-8 in 1923 on a mediocre Cincinnati team. Over the rest of his career he was a below .500 pitcher (167-171).

[D. Bergin]

Mike Norris 1980

22-9 2.53 ERA

One of many promising early 80's Oakland A's pitchers Billy Martin successfully built up, and then promptly ruined.

[ctownboy]

mrvster,

Looking at the picture with the big fish, you kind of look like Robert DeNiro saying, "Hey, you talkin' to me?" or "What you lookin' at?".

David

[r2678]

Tito Francona lifetime .272 hitter batting .363 in 1959 in 399 at bats.

[WillowGrove]

LOVE that Francona year. Absolutely - what a fluke. The 1961 season had a few anomalies that are typically attributed to expansion but Tito's 1963 season is flukey.

Who else? hmmmmm. Giants pitcher Ron Bryant in 1973 won I believe 22 games and I can swear he didn't do anything before or since.

[RCMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by travrosty

i dont think an entire season can be a fluke, give me the biggest fluke decade for any player. flukes are one day, one week maybe, something like that, a hot streak for a little while, not an entire season. you dont hit 191 rbi's in a season and its a fluke.

I agree with this statement, with the exception being the 1986 Mets.

..............

By the way, Bob Welch has a great career winning percentage and had many 17 + W seasons.

[z28jd]

John Cassidy hit .378 in 1877, never hit higher than .277 in any of his other ten seasons, .246 career hitter

[itjclarke]

Gotta love Ned Williamson's 1884 season with 27 homeruns. He ended up with 64 homeruns, never reaching double figures during any of his other 12 seasons.

I guess a 186 foot LF fence and an 1884 rule change making balls hit over the fence HRs instead of ground rule doubles had a hand in this, but his is still pretty ridiculous stat line to look at.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by travrosty

i dont think an entire season can be a fluke, give me the biggest fluke decade for any player. flukes are one day, one week maybe, something like that, a hot streak for a little while, not an entire season. you dont hit 191 rbi's in a season and its a fluke.

OK, by this criteria, how about Shane Spencer at the end of 1998 for the Yanks.

Late call-up, career minor leaguer. No major league experience and finished the season 27 games, 10 HR's, 27 RBI's, .373 BA, 1.321 OPS, Beat up on the Rangers in his first playoff series.

Middling career after that. Probably only stayed in the major leagues the following six years, based on his reputation from that late season call-up.

[deebro041]

Phil Plantier 1993 SD, 34 hrs, 100 rbi's.

[MMarvelli]

Bob 'Hurricane' Hazle is remembered for his 1957 performance. He was called up from Wichita and did not play until the Braves' 100th game.
In less than three weeks he batted .473 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI in 14 games. That earned him the nickname "Hurricane." The original hurricane Hazel had struck the coast of Hazle's home state, South Carolina, in 1954.
The first-place Braves swept the second-place Cardinals on August 9–11, which went a long way towards sealing the National League pennant for Milwaukee; the first two games of the series were blowouts, and Hazle had seven hits and five RBI. He batted a torrid .556 in his first dozen games. For the season, Hazle batted .403 in only 41 games, with 7 home runs and 27 RBI. On the next-to-last day of the season, Hazle broke up a no-hit bid by Cincinnati's Johnny Klippstein with a two-out, eighth inning single.
The following year he played only 63 games (112 at-bats) for the Braves and Tigers and was finished.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

Gotta love Ned Williamson's 1884 season with 27 homeruns. He ended up with 64 homeruns, never reaching double figures during any of his other 12 seasons.

I guess a 186 foot LF fence and an 1884 rule change making balls hit over the fence HRs instead of ground rule doubles had a hand in this, but his is still pretty ridiculous stat line to look at.

I just want to add that of Williamson's 27 home runs, 26 were hit at home, only 1 on the road.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by WillowGrove

LOVE that Francona year. Absolutely - what a fluke. The 1961 season had a few anomalies that are typically attributed to expansion but Tito's 1963 season is flukey.

Who else? hmmmmm. Giants pitcher Ron Bryant in 1973 won I believe 22 games and I can swear he didn't do anything before or since.

I'm pretty sure Bryant won 24 games (it was in 1973). He fractured his hip in spring the next year when he fell off a water slide, and was never the same after that.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Sean

I just want to add that of Williamson's 27 home runs, 26 were hit at home, only 1 on the road.

Dante Bichette and Vinny Castilla had nuthin on that guy.

[pclpads]

Originally Posted by travrosty

i dont think an entire season can be a fluke, give me the biggest fluke decade for any player. flukes are one day, one week maybe, something like that, a hot streak for a little while, not an entire season. you dont hit 191 rbi's in a season and its a fluke.

Johnny Vander Meer - journeyman pitcher, not close to being a HOFer, 119-121 record. But, back-to-back no-hitters in '38. Vander Meer! Not Hubbel. Not Grove. Not Gomez. Not Feller. And, hasn't been done since!

[pepis]

Kevin Mass was a huge fluke for the yankees and an equal fluke to collectors
after becoming the 1st $20 rookie card in his current year of issue.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by pclpads

Johnny Vander Meer - journeyman pitcher, not close to being a HOFer, 119-121 record. But, back-to-back no-hitters in '38. Vander Meer! Not Hubbel. Not Grove. Not Gomez. Not Feller. And, hasn't been done since!

Can't imagine that one ever being repeated

[Bored5000]

I have to go with Steve Carlton's 27-win season for a Phillies team that went 59-97 in 1972. Obviously, Carlton was a Hall of Fame pitcher entering the prime of his career. But it still seems really "flukey" that the team averaged more than seven tenths of a run higher in Carlton's 41 starts that season than in the other 115 games Carlton did not pitch.

The increased emphasis on SABRmetrics in recent years means that pitching wins aren't quite the be all and end all that they may have been in the past, but any modern pitcher winning 46 percent of his team's games in a given season is pretty flukey, IMO.

Carlton's win percentage that year was .730; the win percentage for the rest of the staff that year was .279.

[mrvster]

LOL!....I wish I had his moola....Id have a Wagner