The Worst Pitchers With Long Careers

[John1941]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

Jose Deleon pitiched 13 seasons and 1,900 innings. Not quite as much as some of the others mentioned.

Went 86-119 and twice lost 19 games in a season. Respectable career ERA of 3.76 and 102 ERA+.

Went 7-19 for the Cardinals in 1990. I remember people saying "you have to be a pretty good pitcher to lose 19 games". Huh?

Getting no run support doesn't make you a bad pitcher.

And pitchers who lose 20 games are frequently the best pitcher on a bad team - they lose so many because they pitch so much for a team with terrible offense. Take Hall of Famer Red Ruffing - he lost 25 and 22 games for the Red Sox in 1928 and 1929 before being traded to the Yankees. Paul Derringer lost 27 and 21 games in 1933 and 1934 while being an above average pitcher - he went on to win 20 games four times.

Some twenty win losers are guys like Jack Nabors going 1-20 for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1916; but I think if you studied it, more 20 game losers would be good pitchers than bad.