Mike Myers, 1997 Detroit Tigers

While Frank Williams showed that one could pitch 85+ games without losing, Myers proved the rather less-inspiring lesson that one could pitch in 85+ games without winning. In 1997, playing on the least-bad of a string of bad Tigers teams, Myers earned his place in history by pitching in a league-leading 88 games and going 0-4 with a 1.547 WHIP. Myers, a "lefty specialist" in the mould of the dreaded Tony Fossas (whose oeuvre we've already explored) pitched for 13 seasons, spanning 883 games but only 541.2 innings. Ugh. To make matters worse, Myers was once traded for Jack Cust (who's actually, y'know, productive) and made over $10 million throughout his career. Does MLB know something about this southpaw with the career 4.29 ERA that I don't?

Record:
85+ games, 0 wins

Frank Williams, 1987 Cincinnati Reds

Frank Williams' 1987 was bad-ass. Following a series of productive seasons, Williams was traded from the Giants before the '87 season for Eddie Milner (whose career was all but over by that time). The Reds likely didn't know that Williams was about to turn in a phenomenal year that would result in the righty becoming the only player in history to pitch in 85 or more games without incurring a loss. Williams' 4-0 record, 2.30 ERA, and 105.2 IP, all in relief, showed enormous talent that, under different circumstances, could have made Williams the NL's answer to Tom Henke. It was not meant to be, however, as Williams was out of the big leagues completely by 1990. Moving to Victoria, BC to explore his aboriginal roots, Williams fell into alcohol and substance abuse, dying as a street person in January, 2009.

Record:
85+ games, 0 losses

Eddie Robinson, 1955 New York Yankees

If I had to describe journeyman slugger Eddie Robinson to someone, I'd say he's like Wally Gerber, but with power. Then I'd explain Gerber. For some reason it just seems easier that way. A multiple-time MVP candidate and All Star, Robinson played first base for 13 seasons with a variety of teams, most notably the the Indians and White Sox. So how is this Paris, Texas native, who reached 20 home runs four times and 100 runs batted in thrice, similar to Gerber? Well, he's not. Robinson's 1955 season, however, showed a truly Gerber-like antipathy for total bases, as Eddie became the only player to ever hit 15 or more home runs (he had 16) while collecting 90 or fewer total bases (finishing with 85). That is one tricky feat. Robinson plugged 16 home runs in 215 plate appearances, but was otherwise Alex Cole without the speed, gaining just one (one!!!) extra base hit that wasn't a homer. In turn, Robinson finished with a .208/.358/.491 slash line that, if a few of those home runs died on the warning track, could have looked really, really ugly.

Record:
15+ home runs, 90- total bases

Stu Flythe, 1936 Philadelphia Athletics

I had no idea what a "flythe" was until recently. Intuitively, it sounds like a bird. The speckled flythe. How would I know that it was a Durham-born NC State pitching product who lasted all of one season with a miserable Athletics team? It certainly didn't resemble a ballplayer. Flythe became the only pitcher to throw 15 or more (16) wild pitches in under forty innings (39.1), tossing pitches into the dirt, the stands, and the backstop on his way to accumulating a comical 13.04 ERA and 2.797 WHIP. On the plus side, Flythe posted batting numbers (.579 OPS) that put Hal Lanier to shame. I do apologize to the family of Mr. Flythe, but that's the only sheen I can give to this ridiculous career.

Record:
15+ wild pitches, 40- innings pitched

Art Shamsky, 1966 Cincinnati Reds

How fitting to bookend this installment of Fun With Baseball Stats with another Jewish baseball icon. Before Art Shamsky became famous for being a marginally-important member of the '69 Miracle Mets, he was a marginally-successful outfielder on the Cincinnati Reds. Certainly, if he were never traded to the Mets for Bob Johnson, Shamsky's main claim to fame might have been his status as the 'sixties version of Eddie Robinson. In '66, Shamsky outdid Robinson's penthouse-or-outhouse performance in '55, becoming the only player to hit 20 or more home runs while collecting 125 or fewer total bases. Really, Shamsky's output just looks as if Robinson's season had been allowed to continue for another month, as Shamsky spanked 21 home runs and 47 ribbies in 271 at-bats, collecting just 122 total bases on 5 doubles and 0 triples. I'm guessing that, if you told Reds Manager Don Heffner in '66 that Shamsky would become an icon three years later on the World Champion Mets, he would have replied "There's no way! I know talent and he's a bum. By the way, did you see how I scored Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson? There's no way I'll come to regret that."

Record:
20+ home runs, 125- total bases

Bill Terry, 1934 New York Giants

Continuing our exploration of historically light hitters, we come to someone who actually was a very good hitter, Hall of Fame catcher "Memphis" Bill Terry. In a career spanning over 1700 games, 2193 hits, and a lifetime batting average of .341, Terry was a splendid hitter whose accomplishments are perhaps not adequately celebrated today. All deference aside, how slow was Memphis Bill? I mean, c'mon. Reportedly a strapping 6'1 and 200 pounds, Terry didn't have to drag some Cecil Fielder-like frame around the diamond. So why is it that Terry, in 1934, became the only player to hit 165+ singles while not stealing a single base. Terry somehow managed to combine the batting average of Ichiro (.354) with the singles-hitting ability of Juan Pierre (169) and the speed of...ummmm...Billy Butler (or, really, anyone with an 'ample' frame). Now, this isn't to say Terry didn't have an excellent year (he did) or that it isn't excusable for a 35 year-old catcher to go a season without stealing a base (it is). I suppose I'm just surprised that, as Player-Manager of the 93-60 Giants, Terry never game himself the green light. "Ready Bill? Yes. Sure? Uh huh. Okay, on the count of three..."

Record:
165+ singles, 0 stolen bases

Wally Gerber, 1926 St. Louis Browns

Wally Gerber's success in Major League baseball is a mystery to me. In 1923, Gerber came fourth in AL MVP voting after having racked up 1 home run, 62 ribbies, and a .281/.342/.339 slash line. For some reason, that put him just behind Babe Ruth, Eddie Collins, and Harry Heilmann in voting, and ahead of Cleveland's Joe Sewell (109 RBI, .935 OPS) and teammate Ken Williams (29 HR, 1.062 OPS), who finished 15th. Three years after his first flirtation with the MVP, Gerber came 23rd in MVP voting in what many sensible people would call a truly awful season. It may be that I'm missing something in retrospect, but usually I don't think of a shortstop from a 62-92 team, who has 8 double, 37 runs scored, and 0 stolen bases as MVP material. The icing on the cake was that Gerber became the only player in history to collect 110+ hits (111) and fewer than 120 total bases (119). How hard is that? Well, it required Gerber to get all of 8 extra-base hits in 473 plate appearances. In what may be history's least amazing twist of fate, perennial MVP candidate Gerber was out of baseball by 1930.

Record:
110+ hits, 120- total bases