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On a Clear Day They Could See Seventh Place: Baseball's Worst Teams
To err is human. To really screw up requires team effort. Everyone cheers the clubs that win pennants, but what about the doormats who made their triumphs possible? It’s time to give baseball’s lousiest teams their due.
Here they The 1904 Washington Senators, whose only good player, a thirty-five-year-old star hitter, took a dive (fatally, into Niagara Falls); the 1935 Boston Braves, who set the National League standard for losing percentage despite featuring three Hall of Famers—including Yankee exile Babe Ruth; the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Garagiola’s cellar-dwelling team that was so bad, he quipped, “they wouldn’t put our pictures on bubble gum cards”; and the 1962 New York Mets, maybe not the worst team ever but definitely the funniest in modern baseball history.
You’ll get the stats, the scores, the scandals, and the secrets in this no-holds-barred account. When the survivors of these diamond trainwrecks include such legends as Marv Throneberry, Ralph Kiner, Cal Ripken Jr., Roger Craig, and Joe Garagiola, you can be sure that the book (unlike its subjects) is a winner.
Here they The 1904 Washington Senators, whose only good player, a thirty-five-year-old star hitter, took a dive (fatally, into Niagara Falls); the 1935 Boston Braves, who set the National League standard for losing percentage despite featuring three Hall of Famers—including Yankee exile Babe Ruth; the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates, Joe Garagiola’s cellar-dwelling team that was so bad, he quipped, “they wouldn’t put our pictures on bubble gum cards”; and the 1962 New York Mets, maybe not the worst team ever but definitely the funniest in modern baseball history.
You’ll get the stats, the scores, the scandals, and the secrets in this no-holds-barred account. When the survivors of these diamond trainwrecks include such legends as Marv Throneberry, Ralph Kiner, Cal Ripken Jr., Roger Craig, and Joe Garagiola, you can be sure that the book (unlike its subjects) is a winner.
312 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 1991
About the author
George Robinson
1 bookLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 15, 2022
Pretty entertaining look at some of the worst teams in the history of baseball, in the sense of having futile seasons where winning is almost as rare as Halley's comet or me buying a winning lottery ticket. Many of the teams profiled here are legendary for their woefulness, but I was unaware of the story of the 1942 Phillies and the 1952 Pirates, to name two. A fun read that answers the question "what's the worst that can happen" with "how much time you got?"
July 26, 2021
This is a very well-written, very fun book about the worst teams in baseball history. There's really a lot to like here. Robinson and Salzberg do an excellent job at balancing statistics with stories, about allowing the seasons in question to develop naturally, and give just enough anecdotes to keep the story going without overwhelming the reader. This is a good example of excellent baseball journalism, and should be in the hands of anybody who has a serious interest in baseball history.
The formula here is easy to follow. When they wrote this book in 1991, Robinson and Salzberg decided to choose a team for each already-completed decade in 20th century baseball history. For good measure, they also included the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, a messy conglomeration of cast-offs, has-beens and never-could-bes that was more an object lesson in the evils of syndicate ownership than anything resembling a "team." The final team in this book is the 1988 Baltimore Orioles; this means that fans of the woeful 1998 Florida Marlins will have to look elsewhere.
Speaking of which, this book really could stand an update or two. It has been 30 years now since it was first released, and we certainly have a few teams to add to the list. In addition to those woeful 1998 Marlins, the infamously bad 43-119 2003 Detroit Tigers would surely make a worthy addition to these ranks. The 2010s are a bit trickier, since the 47-115 2018 Baltimore Orioles and the 47-114 2019 Detroit Tigers both have a good argument for inclusion. I'd prefer the 2018 Orioles, in part because I had the "privilege" of watching them blow a late-September game against the Houston Astros, losing 2-1 in the most mediocre way imaginable. Oh, the memories.
I do have a problem with the inclusion of the 1979 Blue Jays, though. The authors rely heavily on a book published by Alison Gordon - so much so that the reader would probably be better off just buying Gordon's book. All other teams in this book are a combination of long-faded veterans and inept young players. The 1979 Blue Jays, however, actually had some very good players, notably Dave Stieb, who would soon be recognized as one of the best pitchers in the American League. The Blue Jays lost a lot of games, yes, but they were never an awful team, as is made obvious through the chapter. In fact, their attendance nearly hit 1,500,000 - certainly a sign that the owners at least broke even!
Why not write about the 1979 Oakland A's instead? The A's had Rickey Henderson, yes, and a pitching staff that Billy Martin would turn around in 1980. However, the A's lost only one less game than the Blue Jays, were run by an owner who was actively trying to abandon the city, and barely attracted 300,000 fans all year long. Famously, the A's started the 1978 season with a local college station serving as its radio play-by-play station - a signal that could barely be heard only 10 miles away from the ballpark. Certainly this team would have made a more interesting entry than the Blue Jays.
All nitpicking aside, this book really is a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend it.
The formula here is easy to follow. When they wrote this book in 1991, Robinson and Salzberg decided to choose a team for each already-completed decade in 20th century baseball history. For good measure, they also included the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, a messy conglomeration of cast-offs, has-beens and never-could-bes that was more an object lesson in the evils of syndicate ownership than anything resembling a "team." The final team in this book is the 1988 Baltimore Orioles; this means that fans of the woeful 1998 Florida Marlins will have to look elsewhere.
Speaking of which, this book really could stand an update or two. It has been 30 years now since it was first released, and we certainly have a few teams to add to the list. In addition to those woeful 1998 Marlins, the infamously bad 43-119 2003 Detroit Tigers would surely make a worthy addition to these ranks. The 2010s are a bit trickier, since the 47-115 2018 Baltimore Orioles and the 47-114 2019 Detroit Tigers both have a good argument for inclusion. I'd prefer the 2018 Orioles, in part because I had the "privilege" of watching them blow a late-September game against the Houston Astros, losing 2-1 in the most mediocre way imaginable. Oh, the memories.
I do have a problem with the inclusion of the 1979 Blue Jays, though. The authors rely heavily on a book published by Alison Gordon - so much so that the reader would probably be better off just buying Gordon's book. All other teams in this book are a combination of long-faded veterans and inept young players. The 1979 Blue Jays, however, actually had some very good players, notably Dave Stieb, who would soon be recognized as one of the best pitchers in the American League. The Blue Jays lost a lot of games, yes, but they were never an awful team, as is made obvious through the chapter. In fact, their attendance nearly hit 1,500,000 - certainly a sign that the owners at least broke even!
Why not write about the 1979 Oakland A's instead? The A's had Rickey Henderson, yes, and a pitching staff that Billy Martin would turn around in 1980. However, the A's lost only one less game than the Blue Jays, were run by an owner who was actively trying to abandon the city, and barely attracted 300,000 fans all year long. Famously, the A's started the 1978 season with a local college station serving as its radio play-by-play station - a signal that could barely be heard only 10 miles away from the ballpark. Certainly this team would have made a more interesting entry than the Blue Jays.
All nitpicking aside, this book really is a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend it.
September 27, 2023
An entertaining look at the worst losers in baseball. You don't often read about bad teams so this was interesting, reading some stories I wasn't familiar with. It took the worst team every decade, from the 1899 Cleveland Spiders to the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. With other notables, the 62 Mets, the 52 Pirates and the sad last look of the great Bane Ruth with the 35 Braves.
Highly recommended, very entertaining and well written. Organized well and short enough sections to where you are not overwhelmed with just terrible stats.
Highly recommended, very entertaining and well written. Organized well and short enough sections to where you are not overwhelmed with just terrible stats.
October 5, 2021
The book is cleverly written, fun to read. It’s serious about the baseball of each particular decade, but mocking in terms of how anemic the pitiful teams performed. A very good book to read a 20-25 page chapter and then pick it up later to read about the next team.
May 15, 2015
I enjoyed this book very much. Well researched, a topic that typically doesn't get much attention otherwise. Selections were based on the "worst" of each decade from the 1890s to the 1980. Some great stories included throughout, whether about Pinky Whitney, Marv Throneberry or Marc Lemongello. As a Tiger fan, sad to think that an update to this book would include two Tiger teams from the 1990s and 2000s.
May 3, 2016
read some time in 1996
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews