The Dickeys: Amazin' Avenue 2011 Mets Awards, Worst Hitter

by Chris McShane on Oct 20, 2011 3:00 PM EDT

Aa_award_medium

The Mets scored a good number of runs on the season, but some hitters were certainly less productive than others. A whopping ten players received votes on our end for this unwanted award, but there as a distinct split in the standings between the upper and lower tiers.

The nominees for the Dickey for Worst Hitter are:

Jason Bay: If last year was just plain bad, this year was awful. Bay managed a whopping twelve home runs, double his total from a season ago, but every number of his triple-slasher was lower than last year. Although he was nowhere near the elite left field bats of Ryan Braun and Matt Holliday, Bay did manage to finish in the middle of the pack in wRC+ among qualified players at his position.

Willie Harris: Although Harris got on base at a respectable clip, his average was quite low and his power dipped well below his career .349 slugging percentage. He finished with a .301 wOBA, which might not sound all that bad, but his league- and park-adjusted wRC+ was 90, which is not good. Somehow, he managed to play in 126 games.

Chin-Lung Hu: We normally strive for large samples of data here, but in twenty-three plate appearances, Hu racked up a .050/.091/.050 slash line, .083 wOBA, and -60 wRC+. He wasn't expected to hit much, but he didn't hit at all.

Ronny Paulino: His overall stats on the season look particularly bad since he stopped destroying left-handed pitching. Instead, he was merely above-average against lefties while still struggling mightily against pitchers of the right-handed variety. It didn't help that he saw more plate appearances against righties than lefties, either. Catchers really suck at hitting.

And now, the Dickey for Worst Hitter goes to...

It's a tie, folks - Jason Bay and Willie Harris!

Bay is thinking long and hard about winning the award, while Harris decided to replace his bat with an oversized version of the trophy. Ronny Paulino was kind enough to make a cameo in the Harris photo in honor of his tied-for-third finish. Chin-lung Hu was nowhere to be found.

Here is how everyone voted:

	1st	2nd	3rd
Bill	Josh Thole	Justin Turner	Angel Pagan
Chris	Mike Nickeas	Ronny Paulino	Jason Pridie
Eno	Chin-Lung Hu	Willie Harris	Jason Bay
Eric	Willie Harris	Ronny Paulino	Jason Bay
James	Chin-Lung Hu	Jason Bay	Ronny Paulino
Matthew A.	Willie Harris	Jason Bay	David Wright
Matthew C.	Jason Bay	Chin-Lung Hu	Josh Thole
Rob	Ronny Paulino	Jason Pridie	Willie Harris

And here is the final vote tally:

Player	Points
Jason Bay	9
Willie Harris	9
Ronny Paulino	8
Chin-Lung Hu	8
Josh Thole	4
Jason Pridie	3
Mike Nickeas	3
Justin Turner	2
Angel Pagan	1
David Wright	1

In case you missed any of the previous awards, they were as follows:

Best Starting Pitcher: R.A. Dickey
Worst Starting Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey
Best Relief Pitcher: Francisco Rodriguez
Worst Relief Pitcher: D.J. Carrasco
Best Rookie: Lucas Duda

And now it's your turn to vote. We'll sum up the community awards in a post at the conclusion of The Dickeys.

Poll

Who was the Mets' worst hitter this year?

Jason Bay

109 votes

Willie Harris

33 votes

Chin-lung Hu

86 votes

Mike Nickeas

4 votes

Angel Pagan

1 votes

Ronny Paulino

10 votes

Jason Pridie

3 votes

Josh Thole

3 votes

Justin Turner

1 votes

David Wright

11 votes

Other (write-in in the comments)

4 votes

265 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 51 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Going with Willie Harris

Hu had the worst stats, but his sample is too small that you have to ignore it.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
3rd Place- 2011 AAOP Contest

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Oct 20, 2011 3:02 PM EDT reply actions

I was going down this road as well with Hu

but honestly, I think even if he played the whole season his stats would have wound up just as bad. He’s just not a major league hitter, even one who would be somewhere at the bottom. He probably would be the absolute bottom.

My vote went to Hu.

by MetsFan4Decades on Oct 20, 2011 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

This.

Though I do wonder why Emaus wasn’t an option.

by Curtis3331 on Oct 21, 2011 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Hu was probably the worst hitter in MLB last year

While the sample was small, he was amazingly bad

by ackbar7 on Oct 20, 2011 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

you could say he was Hu-rendous?

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Oct 20, 2011 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 5 recs

I'll rec that.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 20, 2011 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll cut him some slack.

After all, he’s only Hu-man.

www.haikuboy.com

by murdertron3000 on Oct 20, 2011 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs

His stats were

Hu-miliating

__________________________________________________________________
Really good kid.A very good player.Not a superstar. #BlameWilponz. Never Forget

by ScottfromPeekskill on Oct 21, 2011 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs

It must take a great amount of Hu-bris

to be that bad and still have the confidence to take at bats against major league pitchers.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 21, 2011 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Why all the Nick Evans hate?

He’s really not that bad.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 22, 2011 5:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Who?

"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"

by feslenraster on Oct 22, 2011 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, he gets the Dickey in book.

I think it's fine.

by NetsMets4Life on Oct 20, 2011 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

*my book.

I think it's fine.

by NetsMets4Life on Oct 20, 2011 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

If we gave Hu 600 PA, he would still hit below .100 wOBA.

He couldn’t hit even in the GCL.

In lobby for: Jaime Cevallos, Zack Lutz, orange unis and Rickroll as the 7th inning song.
The Unwritten Rules of AA

by Michkin on Oct 20, 2011 3:14 PM EDT reply actions

Hu are you talking about?

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 20, 2011 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh the joy of watching some of his match-ups against guys like Kershaw or Wilson.

Truth is, the pitcher didn’t even need to be good at all

In lobby for: Jaime Cevallos, Zack Lutz, orange unis and Rickroll as the 7th inning song.
The Unwritten Rules of AA

by Michkin on Oct 20, 2011 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Ronnie Paulino was tied for third

There were two players ahead of him.

What Would Matt Szczur Do?
Fact on Villanova Sports

by Hoyadestroya85 on Oct 20, 2011 3:52 PM EDT reply actions

Fixed.

Even though this is the least significant error I’ve ever made in writing for Amazin’ Avenue.

by Chris McShane on Oct 20, 2011 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Bobby Bo

Bobby Bonilla. We’re still paying him and he didn’t hit at all.

by elliot on Oct 20, 2011 3:54 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Hu had 1 hit (a single) in 20 ABs

and added a (1) walk in the other three plate appearances.

Just gross.

Now, kids, being eaten by a crocodile is just like going to sleep; in giant blender.

by meigs1414 on Oct 20, 2011 3:56 PM EDT reply actions

.333 OBP

in those 3 other appearances!

Time to update this: 2009 Did Not Happen. Neither did 2010. Or 2011. Sports suck.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2011 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Paulino

worst wRC+ of hitters on the team w/ at least 100 PAs.

by secret defense on Oct 20, 2011 4:08 PM EDT reply actions

How quickly we forget...

Brad Emaus, Opening Day Second Baseman.

.162/.262/.162 42PA

by Gorfax on Oct 20, 2011 4:20 PM EDT reply actions

yea, I can't believe he didn't even get a mention

he was my first thought when I saw the post.

Time to update this: 2009 Did Not Happen. Neither did 2010. Or 2011. Sports suck.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2011 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions

me too

although in retrospect it seems baffling that turner or murph wasn’t our opening day 2nd baseman. murph can’t play the best D at 2nd but his hitting makes up for that.

by ILikeIke#29 on Oct 20, 2011 7:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd be surprised

if Emaus performed much worse than Turner had he gotten the time. I’m most surprised they even bothered with Emaus if they were only going to give him few weeks to impress. It doesn’t matter though.

Kicking knowledge in the face.

by BlackOps on Oct 20, 2011 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Hey!

I voted other just to put him in here.

I argued with people in ST about him and they stuck with him. I did not believe he was going to keep better hitters out of the line up.

I called it! look it up! some people owe me money!

__________________________________________________________________
Really good kid.A very good player.Not a superstar. #BlameWilponz. Never Forget

by ScottfromPeekskill on Oct 21, 2011 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions

I gotta go with Beltran on this one

Bobby Baseball - The future of Amazin' Avenue.

by Bobby Baseball on Oct 20, 2011 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Now that I think about it, you're right!

He hit .000/.000/.000 in August and September for the Mets! #BlameBeltran

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 20, 2011 9:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I think what's impressive...

…is that we didn’t really have any atrocious hitters this season. I mean, if 10% worse than AVERAGE is your worst guy, that’s pretty much okay. Compare these guys to the Michael Martinezes and Pete Orrs on most teams’ benches, and we did pretty well for ourselves.

by djletz on Oct 20, 2011 4:29 PM EDT reply actions

We had an everyday team of barely above replacement bench players:(

Undefeated is the new "Winning".
Duh, undefeated....

by The real Julio from Paterson on Oct 20, 2011 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

All the way Bay....

Not only cause he sucked but because he is here at least 2 more years on an albatross of a contract. Honorable mention to Thole and Pagan as I expected more from both.

Undefeated is the new "Winning".
Duh, undefeated....

by The real Julio from Paterson on Oct 20, 2011 4:29 PM EDT reply actions

Except that this wasn't a poll about 'most disappoint'; it was a poll about 'worst'.

by Curtis3331 on Oct 21, 2011 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions

II know he didn't get a lot of at bats

but I went with Hu. He was the worst hitter I’ve seen in the 20+ years that I’ve been watching Baseball.

by graves9 on Oct 20, 2011 4:36 PM EDT reply actions

He's like someones little brother that was the last guy picked in neighborhood games....

Undefeated is the new "Winning".
Duh, undefeated....

by The real Julio from Paterson on Oct 20, 2011 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

this willie harris hate needs to end.

.350 OBP for a bench player is excellent. Who cares what his BA was?

by Mike Clemente on Oct 20, 2011 4:41 PM EDT reply actions

Word

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet

by Syler on Oct 20, 2011 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

this

I don’t understand it at all. Plus, it kept him from killing us as a National

Time to update this: 2009 Did Not Happen. Neither did 2010. Or 2011. Sports suck.

by cjmulrain on Oct 20, 2011 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Eric, explain yourself!

by Mike Clemente on Oct 20, 2011 8:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

Hit off the bench and had a fairly good defensive glove.

I just don’t want to ever…ever see him at 2b or in the outfield regularly.

__________________________________________________________________
Really good kid.A very good player.Not a superstar. #BlameWilponz. Never Forget

by ScottfromPeekskill on Oct 21, 2011 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Paulino had a .312 OBP

Harris had a .351 OBP. Why is this a debate? Paulino was the worst hitter on the Mets, easily.

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet

by Syler on Oct 20, 2011 5:23 PM EDT reply actions

wait...Dubs got a vote in the main ballot?

No me gusta.

Rey-sign Rey-ass
Logic Your Sense Makes None.

by JoeBighead on Oct 20, 2011 7:09 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, how the hell does Artus pick Wright over Paulino, Hu, or Turner?

There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ

The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet

by Syler on Oct 20, 2011 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Triad

by graves9 on Oct 20, 2011 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Bayonne must be hacking into AmazinAve...

by LGNYM on Oct 21, 2011 1:15 AM EDT up reply actions

I would pay $1.50 for a compilation of Hu's at-bats this season, for comedy purposes

by James Kannengieser on Oct 20, 2011 9:27 PM EDT reply actions

I'll admit I voted for Harris because he was worthless as a pinch hitter but

I’ve just found something that’s completely changed my vote…have a look:

Mike Pelfrey: .109/.169/.145, .315 OPS
R.A. Dickey: .136/.150/.136, .286 OPS
Dillon Gee: .109/.160/.109, .269 OPS
Jon Niese: .061/.132/.102, .234 OPS
Chris Capuano: .071/.071/.107, .179 OPS
Chin-Lung Hu: .050/.091/.050, .141 OPS

Hu was outhit by the Mets entire starting rotation. If that doesn’t get him the award, I don’t know what will. When Mike Pelfrey hits better than a guy who’s job it is to hit the baseball, that’s really sad.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 20, 2011 9:34 PM EDT reply actions