Most HRs, career BA below the Mendoza line

[timothyk68]

I've been searching for the answer to this with no leads. :atthepc This seems like the place to find the answer. So, can anyone tell me who has the most career HRs with a career BA below .200?

Thanks All!

[Utter Chaos]

That would be Frank Fernandez (1967-1972) who had 39 homers and batted .199.

Here are your top 10:
Frank Fernandez 1967-1972 39 HR .199
Warren Spahn 1942-1965 35 HR .194
Earl Wilson 1959-1970 35 HR .195
Don Drysdale 1956-1969 29 HR .186
Mike Ryan 1964-1974 28 HR .193
J.R. Phillips 1993-1999 23 HR .188
Jack Harshman 1948-1960 21 HR .179
Milt Pappas 1957-1973 20 HR .123
Kevin Roberson 1993-1996 20 HR .197
Tim Spehr 1991-1999 19 HR .198

[timothyk68]

Thank you very much, Utter Chaos! You are da man! :clapping

[JohnGelnarFan]

This is nice work! I remember how excited I was when the Senators aquired Frank Fernandez from Oakland in 1971. He had hit 15 homers for the A's in 1970 as a platoon player. I knew he couldn't hit for average but we didn't have many guys,other than Howard,that had real longball potential. He came over with Don Mincher and Paul Lindblad for Mike Epstein and Darold Knowles. We got TWO power hitters for Epstein,who had dropped from 30 in 1969 to 20 in 1970. Hated to lose Knowles(27 saves,2.04 ERA despite a 2-14 record in 70') but Lindblad was good. What a great trade!!.....Well,Don Mincher ended up second on the Senators with 10 homers,After hitting 27 with the A's in 1970. Fernandez went right into the cleanup spot when he arrived. He ended up playing in 18 games and hit a crisp .100 (3-30) with 0 extra base hits and 4 RBI's. Playing for the Senators had that affect on a lot of guys but we loved them anyway! :)

Thanks for bringing back fond memories!




That would be Frank Fernandez (1967-1972) who had 39 homers and batted .199.

Here are your top 10:
Frank Fernandez 1967-1972 39 HR .199
Warren Spahn 1942-1965 35 HR .194
Earl Wilson 1959-1970 35 HR .195
Don Drysdale 1956-1969 29 HR .186
Mike Ryan 1964-1974 28 HR .193
J.R. Phillips 1993-1999 23 HR .188
Jack Harshman 1948-1960 21 HR .179
Milt Pappas 1957-1973 20 HR .123
Kevin Roberson 1993-1996 20 HR .197
Tim Spehr 1991-1999 19 HR .198

[soberdennis]

This is nice work! I remember how excited I was when the Senators aquired Frank Fernandez from Oakland in 1971. He had hit 15 homers for the A's in 1970 as a platoon player. I knew he couldn't hit for average but we didn't have many guys,other than Howard,that had real longball potential. He came over with Don Mincher and Paul Lindblad for Mike Epstein and Darold Knowles. We got TWO power hitters for Epstein,who had dropped from 30 in 1969 to 20 in 1970. Hated to lose Knowles(27 saves,2.04 ERA despite a 2-14 record in 70') but Lindblad was good. What a great trade!!.....Well,Don Mincher ended up second on the Senators with 10 homers,After hitting 27 with the A's in 1970. Fernandez went right into the cleanup spot when he arrived. He ended up playing in 18 games and hit a crisp .100 (3-30) with 0 extra base hits and 4 RBI's. Playing for the Senators had that affect on a lot of guys but we loved them anyway! :)

Thanks for bringing back fond memories!
Speaking of Memories. I remember Frank Fernandez as half the two-headed monster the Yanks used between Elston Howard and Thurman Munson at catcher in 1968 and 1969. The other was Jake Gibbs, who I think was a better quarterback.(all-american at Mississippi)
I think monster was an appropriate description of this creature.

[BaseballHistoryNut]

I apologize for the (sort of) sidetrack, but I have to reminisce briefly about 1983. That was before Steroid Ball, before the return of "old-fashioned" parks with short porches, etc., and thirty-some HR's was frequently enough to lead one's league.

Mike Schmidt was not tearing the NL up that year, and, uncommonly, Dave Kingman was neither benched nor pouting that year, so he led the NL in HR's. And, as usual, his batting average was atrocious. In the final week of the season, a lot of people were wondering whether Kong would become the first person to (1) win a HR crown and (2) bat under .200.

He didn't. He won the crown with 37 HR's, but he kept his hitting up in the final week for a good, solid, respectable .204 average.

It's been 20 years now since he played. Students of the game know that he averaged almost 1 HR every 15 AB's without steroids, and was #5 all time in HR/AB when he retired, but hit for a very low average and had a dreadful OBP for such a great HR hitter. All of that is true, but I'm telling you younger ones, he was a one-of-a-kind player whom you had to watch to believe. Atrocious beyond belief in the field, both at LF and 1B, with a career OBP of .302, and good for "only" one thing.

But MAN, was he good for that. He hit the same number of grand slams as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. In his final season, he hit three walk-off HR's and 35 total HR's. Pitchers may rationally have realized they were supposed to love his terrible OBP and huge propensity for strikeouts, but you KNOW he had to terrify them.

BHN

[BaseballHistoryNut]

Thank you very much, Utter Chaos! You are da man! :clapping

No kidding!!! :clapping :clapping :clapping

[soberdennis]

I apologize for the (sort of) sidetrack, but I have to reminisce briefly about 1983. That was before Steroid Ball, before the return of "old-fashioned" parks with short porches, etc., and thirty-some HR's was frequently enough to lead one's league.

Mike Schmidt was not tearing the NL up that year, and, uncommonly, Dave Kingman was neither benched nor pouting that year, so he led the NL in HR's. And, as usual, his batting average was atrocious. In the final week of the season, a lot of people were wondering whether Kong would become the first person to (1) win a HR crown and (2) bat under .200.

He didn't. He won the crown with 37 HR's, but he kept his hitting up in the final week for a good, solid, respectable .204 average.

It's been 20 years now since he played. Students of the game know that he averaged almost 1 HR every 15 AB's without steroids, and was #5 all time in HR/AB when he retired, but hit for a very low average and had a dreadful OBP for such a great HR hitter. All of that is true, but I'm telling you younger ones, he was a one-of-a-kind player whom you had to watch to believe. Atrocious beyond belief in the field, both at LF and 1B, with a career OBP of .302, and good for "only" one thing.

But MAN, was he good for that. He hit the same number of grand slams as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. In his final season, he hit three walk-off HR's and 35 total HR's. Pitchers may rationally have realized they were supposed to love his terrible OBP and huge propensity for strikeouts, but you KNOW he had to terrify them.

BHN
I'll never forget the homer he hit his first game as a Cub in Wrigley. It was a monster `that broke a window in the apartment building.

[JohnGelnarFan]

Kingman must have been a big Frank Fernandez fan growing up. "A good,solid,respectable .204"! That's funny! :laugh





I apologize for the (sort of) sidetrack, but I have to reminisce briefly about 1983. That was before Steroid Ball, before the return of "old-fashioned" parks with short porches, etc., and thirty-some HR's was frequently enough to lead one's league.

Mike Schmidt was not tearing the NL up that year, and, uncommonly, Dave Kingman was neither benched nor pouting that year, so he led the NL in HR's. And, as usual, his batting average was atrocious. In the final week of the season, a lot of people were wondering whether Kong would become the first person to (1) win a HR crown and (2) bat under .200.

He didn't. He won the crown with 37 HR's, but he kept his hitting up in the final week for a good, solid, respectable .204 average.

It's been 20 years now since he played. Students of the game know that he averaged almost 1 HR every 15 AB's without steroids, and was #5 all time in HR/AB when he retired, but hit for a very low average and had a dreadful OBP for such a great HR hitter. All of that is true, but I'm telling you younger ones, he was a one-of-a-kind player whom you had to watch to believe. Atrocious beyond belief in the field, both at LF and 1B, with a career OBP of .302, and good for "only" one thing.

But MAN, was he good for that. He hit the same number of grand slams as Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. In his final season, he hit three walk-off HR's and 35 total HR's. Pitchers may rationally have realized they were supposed to love his terrible OBP and huge propensity for strikeouts, but you KNOW he had to terrify them.

BHN