Worst Catcher in Royals History

No debate. Next.

1. Larry Owen 1987-1988: 54
2. Chad Kreuter 1999: 60
3. Brent Mayne 1990-1995, 2001-2003: 65
4. AJ Hinch 2001-2001: 67
5. Buck Martinez 1969-1977: 69

I hated Owen. I felt like he was blocking Mike MacFarlane despite showing absolutely no ability to hit.

But I probably have to go with Mayne. He was just so inept offensively, and the Royals shoved MacFarlane out of town even though he was still fairly productive because they wanted to give Mayne a shot. Every other team in baseball used him properly – as a backup catcher. But we made him a starter not once, but twice.

The answer to this question does not become “Jason Kendall” by the end of the season. And ESPECIALLY not by the end of next season.

But Kendall is going to give him a run for his money.

Came into camp in the greatest shape of his life and was ready to start catching again.

this is pretty negative thinking… But I suppose it would be jason larue. Yikes

While these guys didn’t have enought games to make Retro’s list above, they each had 50+, and thus enough to warrant inclusion in the discussion. A comparison:

LaRue (2007): 195 PAs, .148/.240/.272/.512, 35 OPS+, 2 PB, 12 WP, 13 SB/8 CS=38%, 1 Run Above Average
Bako (2006): 167 PAs, .209/.261/.229/.489 28 OPS+, 2 PB, 22 WP, 26 SB/14 CS=35%, 1 RAA

I was going to throw Jorge Fabregas or Alberto Castillo for comparison up there, but they were both better than these two guys. Ed Hearn was a terrible acquisition but (because?) he only caught 9 games in KC, just not enough playing time to warrant the label.

These guys made the guys on Retro’s list look acceptable. LaRue was devasting and gets more negativity due to being used a little more (about 10 games more) and that horrific BA. But, in nearly every respect, Paul Bako was just a little worse. Congrats, Paul!

BTW: It may be negative and demeaning, but I LOVE this!

and yes I will go with Bako

with LaRue second

somehow greg zuan wasn’t worth keeping around even as a backup. Maybe he was blocking Sal Fasano… i just cant’ remember

At long last someone has asked the question I have been burning to answer for 36 years. I hated that guy and now I finally get to vent. (He’s probably a very nice guy but I was pretty young and really didn’t like him.)

As for the worst OPS+, how about Dennis Paepke: 36!!!

Only 80 games, but they are each seared into my memory like a scalding hot brand. (I guess I’ve always followed this team WAY too closely.) In an apparent effort to find him more at bats(?), the Royals played Paepke in the OF 18 games, where he played like a lousy defensive catcher. As a lousy defensive catcher, Paepke allowed 3 PB and 10 WP in 333 innings at that position, spanning 46 games with 35 starts. I was surprised to find that he threw out 33% of would-be basestealers.

In 210 PAs, Paepke amassed a BA-OBP-SLG line of .183-.229-.249.

My runner up also breaks the 100-game rule: Jim Campanis. He played 113 mlb games, but only 61 with the Royals, Campanis had an OPS+ of 20 with the team in 148 PAs. Defensively he was worse than Paepke – 4wp, 8pb, 25%cs in 300dIN. While they were both excruciating players to watch, Paepke gets the edge for being more obscure and therefore more enjoyable to recall and rip on.

Sal Fasano be a consideration?

How about Santiago? With JuanGone, he was the face of a dismal 2004. We signed him for his ‘roids numbers, and every time I watched him catch, I lurched at my screen as he would drop his glove during the windup. I’ve never seen a catcher with a worse target than Santiago.

We wouldn't want to pay 3M for a guy who can't throw out base stealers