Who is the worst pitcher in Red Sox history?

[Northern Star]

Starter or reliever. Or one of each.

[Emp9]

Do you mean a pitcher who at some point in time that was considered good or was good and then became terrible? Like, over-rated or over-hyped and didn't contribute what-so-ever at any time? Every team must have a 'long list of suck' that could be stretched out for miles. Do you mean only the ones that have had poor performances along with substantial consequences?

[mvp 78]

John Wasdin

[Bellhorn04]

John Wasdin

 

Way Back!

[S5Dewey]

Way Back!

 

LOL. I can still remember a member of the radio broadcast team (maybe Stiggy?) with the disclaimer that 'This broadcast team is in no way responsible for the unfortunate moniker hung on John Wasdin. Wasdin is a fine pitcher...blah, blah, blah'

[SoxHop]

Gagne.......

 

I was so excited when we got him. And even now thinking about it, I can't rememeber one good outing he had......

[oldtimer]

Gagne.......

 

I was so excited when we got him. And even now thinking about it, I can't rememeber one good outing he had......

 

I'll secod that.He was supposed to be a setup man for Papelbaum. He had good velocity but it was the straightest fastball I have ever seen and he liked to throw it down the middle. I think he was the most disappointing when one remembers the hype he was given coming in.

[Northern Star]

Couldn't remember the name and had to look it up....

 

Allen Webster. Deer in the headlights + meatballs right down the middle.

[Jasonbay44]

Noe Ramirez has gotta be up there.

[Dojji]

Noe Ramirez has gotta be up there.

 

No one who's stunk up the joint in the last 5 years is likely to be the Worst Pitcher Ever in a team with as long a history as ours. Put the melodrama down and try to show a grasp of history.

 

I'm not gonna make a claim here. I don't know the history of the franchise that well before the late 80's or so when I started following the team in earnest. I'm sure there's some bad joke of a starter in the 50's that's worse than anything we know now.

 

Daisuke Matsuzaka could make a claim for himself being one of the worst ever. To be the worst ever you have to be repeatedly trusted to fill a role, and then try to fill it and fail spectacularly each time, that's Daisuke's career after about 2008 or so. Even Buchholz had a few flashes of competence, Daisuke was completely unreliable.

[Bellhorn04]

Matsuzaka was damaged in the second World Baseball Classic, I'm pretty sure of that. I think the Japanese team abused him and stuck us with the bill.

[Emp9]

In my mind, Dice-K doesn't come close to consideration. Overhyped? Certainly. But he had 2 excellent seasons and a very quality 3rd season, and helped with a championship.

 

Worst? Gagne is up there for me. Bobby Jenks as well. I was pretty excited to get both of them at the time and it turned out to be just a shitshow.

[sk7326]

I don't know who is "worst" ... but Matt Clement is probably the worst "watch" ... Dice-K (though he was good) was also agonizing to watch

[moonslav59]

Since 2000...

 

Starter: Brad Penny

 

Reliever: Ramiro Mendoza

[Jack Flap]

Gagne.......

 

I was so excited when we got him. And even now thinking about it, I can't rememeber one good outing he had......

 

Gagne's reputation/expectations juxtaposed with how terribly he actually pitched has to put him on the list, for sure.

[Bellhorn04]

Since 2000...

 

Starter: Brad Penny

 

Reliever: Ramiro Mendoza

 

Penny was bad that year but Smoltz was even worse.

 

Penny was almost mediocre, with an ERA+ of 83.

[Spudboy]

I don't know who is "worst" ... but Matt Clement is probably the worst "watch" ... Dice-K (though he was good) was also agonizing to watch

 

Wasn't Clement really good in his first 10-12 games before fielding a combacker with his forehead?

 

Or do I have the wrong guy?

[sk7326]

Wasn't Clement really good in his first 10-12 games before fielding a combacker with his forehead?

 

Or do I have the wrong guy?

 

He was ... but he was a ghastly watch at times ... like Matsuzaka. Not finding the strike zone, working slowly. Dice-K's 2008 was the worst "good" pitcher I ever saw.

[Spudboy]

I really don't know how to answer this. First of all, most of the s*** pitchers that have played for the Sox during my 50+ years of fandom have been purged from my memory, thankfully!

 

Next, what really constitutes the worst pitcher? A guy who pitches 60 innings one year and is gone? Or a starter that brings futility for 7-8 years?

 

Of course there are many variants in between.

 

Dice-K drove me f***ing nuts!!!! I offered to bash his ankles with a bat at one point.

 

However, I thought it was kind of cool that he tried to hang on with Tito in Cleveland so I harbor far less ill will towards him now.

 

The Sox have had their share of suck pitching over the years. Fortunately I don't remember most of them!

[Spudboy]

He was ... but he was a ghastly watch at times ... like Matsuzaka. Not finding the strike zone, working slowly. Dice-K's 2008 was the worst "good" pitcher I ever saw.

 

Ghastly is not an adjective I see or hear used to describe a ball player's performance very often.

 

Well said.

[Jack Flap]

Wasn't Clement really good in his first 10-12 games before fielding a combacker with his forehead?

 

Or do I have the wrong guy?

 

That's the one. It feels s***** to pick on Clement since he was a solid pitcher before getting smacked in the head, but I suspect there are few season lines in Sox history worse than his 2006 season (6.61 ERA, 1.76 WHIP in 65.1 IP).

[Jasonbay44]

See when I think of worst I was trying to think of guys who always sucked. I don't really want to include Dice-K or Clement as they did have good stretches and as frustrating as Dice-K was to watch, he was pretty dominant in 2008, even with his nibbling, working out of trouble ********

[gojohn99]

I had to look this up, I couldn't remember his name - Matt Young. He lost a no hitter in which he allowed 7 walks.

[jad]

Dice-K? Please. Without him, there's one less WS for the RS. Can't remember the guy who came up years ago, and said he didn't know whether he should warm up or ask for autographs. He came in in relief, walked the first three batters he faced, and ... can't remember after that.

[Station 13]

Clay Buchholz or Drew Pomeranz Edited May 23, 2017 by Station 13

[cp176]

Oh to be young again - Tracy Stallard gets my vote. Now without looking him up, what can you tell me about him. I'll never forget his "moment" in Red Sox history. Some of the guys mentioned in this thread would have been near aces on any number of the teams I had to watch while growing up.

[Emp9]

Clay Buchholz or Drew Pomeranz

 

Buchholz isn't close to the worst, at all really. Pom on the other hand seems to be a future candidate if he doesn't turn things around. There's still time for him yet.

[Thunder]

In my lifetime:

 

Starter: Julian Tavares

 

Reliever: Eric Gagne (Daniel Bard is a close second)

[mvp 78]

Steve Avery came in to be a big part of the rotation and just took a flaming dump on two seasons.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/averyst01.shtml

[mvp 78]

Chris Nabholz was s*****. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1009431&position=P