Onto the row of hate…
Day #6 results
“Fans are divided, bad player.” A hard-fought race here, before almost the last player to be nominated swept up on the inside to take the victory. But let’s review the other candidates who turned Sedona Red.
chwalter got the ball rolling with Mark Grace’s favorite relief pitcher, Mike Fetters. He had a fine MLB career – 16 years, with an ERA+ of 116. But for the D-backs, he was not good, posting a 6.65 ERA (ERA+ 69) and being well below replacement level. But his presence on the mound was always entertaining, his place cemented by Grace’s impression of him when called upon to pitch mop-up during a blowout. Fetters last considerably longer as a bullpen coach, lasting six years before getting fired last October. His ability to survive some of the worst relief corps in franchise history certainly soured fans on him, and he couldn’t puff out his cheeks to escape that.
Next up was Diamondbacks, and here’s his case for Willie Bloomquist, who played 225 games here, and was basically replacement level (0.1 bWAR). “An ultra agressive, hormonal favorite of Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson and lots of ASU stans, Willie was an objectively bad, and even stupid, Dback. He was “bad” in a peculiar way, in that he was below average at everything. Which adds up quickly if, for some reason, you still play regularly… Because you’re veteran leader, Willie Bloomquist, who makes things happen on the baseball field – and because, well, you go hunting with Gibby in camo each offseason and he likes the cut of your jib.”
But the winner is piratedan7’s suggestion of Eric Byrnes. Though there’s no division here in SnakePit Towers. He is the single reason why Mrs. SnakePit believes players should not get long contracts, and came #8 on our list of worst ever deals, being released while still owed $11 million, cycling his way out of work in Seattle, then heading off to a post-career run of beer league softball and – probably inevitably – the Savannah Bananas. On the other hand, Eric also came #38 on our All-Time D-backs ranking in 2018, where Matt said, “Byrnes will be remembered for his die-hard style of play, his 2007 MVP caliber season, having the Best Sports Hair in Phoenix, his sweet conversion Van, and also his D-backs TV show.”
Difficult to argue with that as a case for “fans are divided”! Eric makes his way onto the grid below.
Helpful links:
- Arizona position players by career bWAA
- Arizona pitchers by career bWAA
- Arizona position players by career bWAA ascending
- Arizona pitchers by career bWAA ascending
Day #7: Hated by fans, good player
We now reach the bottom row, and to quote Emperor Palpatine, “Let the hate flow through you!” This might be a challenge though, since we are dealing with players who are disliked, despite being good with the Diamondbacks. Fans tend to have selective vision as far as this kind of thing goes: the most obvious example is perhaps the blinkers worn by Giants’ supporters in regard to Barry Bonds. As long as you’re productive, you’ll be loved – or, at least, tolerated. So I’m curious to see what candidates get nominated here.
In case you need a reminder, this is how it works.
- Go to the comments section.
- If your choice is already mentioned there, give it a “rec”.
- If your choice is NOT mentioned, leave their name as a new comment, and make your case for them.
- One nomination per comment
- Duplicate nominations will get deleted.
- Whoever gets the most recs wins the square. I’ll used my executive power to decide any ties.