Worst W-L ratio while leading Majors in ERA as a starter

[nolanryan5714]

3 parts to this question:

1 - Who was it, and on what team?

2 - What year was it?

3 - What were the specs?

[Trivia Guy]

This would have been my guess anyway, but your ID is a big hint...........

1 - Who was it, and on what team? Nolan Ryan, Houston Astros

2 - What year was it? 1987

3 - What were the specs? 8-16, with a 2.76 ERA



3 parts to this question:


1 - Who was it, and on what team?

2 - What year was it?

3 - What were the specs?

[RuthMayBond]

Henry Boyle, 1886?

[nolanryan5714]

Yeah, forgot to specify era. I tend to do that....so, I don't know about your answer, RMB.

You got it, Trivia Guy.

[nolanryan5714]

This would have been my guess anyway, but your ID is a big hint...........

I knew that, my friend. I just thought it would be a cool piece of info for others to know about. After all, that was a ridiculously bad winning percentage (edit - actually, LOSING percentage!), and shouldn't be forgotten. Total irony that year for Nolan.

P.S. - He also led the Majors in strikeouts that year, with 270. At the time, it was the highest K/IP ratio in history, at 11.48. Not bad for an old man!

[dgarza]

Henry Boyle, 1886?
His was not as bad as Ryan's %
Ted Breitenstein could possibly be the only pitcher to lead the league in ERA, have a losing record, and lose 20+ games.

[KCGHOST]

The biggest hard luck guy ever might have been reliefer Darold Knowles of the 1970 Washington Senators. In 119 IP's he had a record of 2-14 with an ERA 1.68 below the league average. Ryan's ERA was "only" 1.32 below league average.

Knowle, of course, was not a starter, did not lead the league in ERA.