Top 10 all-time worst seasons by Brewers position players
While the Brewers' offense can be incredibly frustrating at times, they have nothing on the worst seasons in Brewers history.
Things are going pretty well right now for the Milwaukee Brewers all things considered. Despite having some very game competition from the Reds and Cubs, Milwaukee currently holds a 1.5 game lead in the National League Central as of 8/8 despite going 4-6 in their last 10 games.
Things could be going a lot smoother if some of the Brewers' key offensive pieces were having better seasons. Willy Adames is the obvious name here, but it isn't like anyone other than Christian Yelich and William Contreras is lighting the world on fire in 2023. However, not even Rowdy Tellez's miserable season ranks among the worst seasons we have seen from Brewers hitter...at least not yet.
Here are the 10 all-time worst seasons by Brewers position players
During the course of Brewers franchise history, there have been a lot of seasons that fans wish they could forget. In a lot of those cases, those were players that didn't even play enough to warrant wasting brain cells on. There is also a certain subjective element to a lot of these debates as a player can put up a decent stat line and still get fans to hate them for key mistakes and bad performances in important spots.
To try and eliminate some of the more nebulous parts of this debate, this list is going to be strictly based on WAR from the fine folks over at Baseball-Reference. Both B-Ref and Fangraphs are great resources, but B-Ref is just a bit easier to research this sort of thing. The list is also going to be limited to those who played enough to qualify for the batting title to give a better picture of everyday guys that actually played most of a season.
Let's take a look at the 10 worst seasons of all time by Brewers position players.
10. Jeffery Hammonds - 2002: -0.5 WAR
When the Brewers signed Hammonds to a three year deal for north of $21 million, the hope was that he could put his history of injuries behind him and continue his offensive breakout from the previous season. Unfortunately, that did not happen as he missed significant time during his three seasons in Milwaukee. The one season where he did play most of the season, he posted a .729 OPS with bad defense, earning him the #10 spot on this list.
9. Prince Fielder - 2006: -0.7 WAR
You won't find much slander about Prince Fielder here as he was legitimately awesome for Milwaukee from 2007-2011 where he was a perennial MVP candidate while hitting bombs on the regular. However, his first full season in the big leagues was decidedly less awesome. Prince hadn't quite hit his full stride at the plate yet and with his defensive limitations, his overall production in 2006 despite a .271/.347/.483 line only totaled -0.7 rWAR. Still love you, Prince.
8. Orlando Arcia - 2019: -0.7 WAR
It can't be fun to see Orlando Arcia's name on this list considering how well he is playing for the Braves right now, but they did have some reason for skepticism with him. Case in point is his 2019 season where he slashed .223/.283/.350 in 546 plate appearances. Despite his pedigree as one of the best prospects in baseball beforehand, the Brewers decided to trade Arcia to Atlanta in 2021 and it certainly looks like he has figured things out much to the chagrin of Brewers fans.
7. Casey McGehee - 2011: -0.7 WAR
During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Casey McGehee was a consistent offensive threat for the Brewers who hit for average and some power. Unfortunately, McGehee fell off a cliff in 2011 with a .223/.280/.346 slash line and he never really fully got back to his former glory outside of a relatively nice season for the Marlins in 2014. With his power declining and his defense also cratering, the Brewers decided to trade him to the Pirates after this rather forgettable 2011 season.
6. Cecil Cooper - 1986: -0.8 WAR
The 1986 season for the Brewers was not the best as they finished 77-84 and a big reason for that was the decline of the normally very reliable Cecil Cooper. From 1979-1985, Cooper made five All-Star teams and finished in the top 5 of the MVP voting three times. However, 1986 was the beginning of the end as he posted just a .682 OPS compared to the .835 OPS he averaged during his prime. He was released the following season and went on to work in player development and managed the Houston Astros for a little over two seasons.
5. Marquis Grissom - 2000: -0.8 WAR
Marquis Grissom was a very valuable player for the Expos and Braves in the 1990's. However, by the time the 2000 season rolled around, he was clearly in decline as his trademark speed was all but gone his final year with the Brewers. The end result was the fifth worst season by a qualified Brewers hitter ever as he posted a .244/.288/.351 line in 146 games. As it turns out, a sub-.300 OBP is quite bad and the metrics agree.
4. Royce Clayton - 2003: -1.3 WAR
Coming in at #4 on this list is Royce Clayton's 2003 season. Royce's career was all over the place and his offensive success was largely dictated by whether or not he randomly decided to hit above .260 in a given year or not. His defensive ability at shortstop resulted in him stringing together a 17 year career in the big leagues, but he sure put up his fair share of stinker seasons at the plate.
The worst season of Clayton's career by far was 2003 with Milwaukee. When a guy slashes .228/.301/.333 with 11 homers and doesn't put up his usual decent defensive performance, it is pretty rough. However, that season didn't stop Royce from finding gainful employment for another four seasons as he bounced around the league.
3. Tim Johnson - 1973: -1.4 WAR
Younger Brewers fans will probably not remember Tim Johnson and older Brewers fans probably wish they could. Johnson's best season in the big leagues came with the Brewers in 1976 where he managed to put up 1.4 rWAR in 306 plate appearances.
However, his rookie season was a bit of a disaster. Johnson was Milwaukee's everyday shortstop and after posting a .213/.259/.243 in 510 plate appearances, Milwaukee decided they needed to make a change at short after just one season. Fortunately for Milwaukee, they had just picked a young shortstop by the name of Robin Yount in the 1973 draft. At 18 years old, Yount would take Johnson's job at short and, well, the rest was history.
2. Von Joshua - 1977: -2.4 WAR
Von Joshua's claim to fame as a baseball player was his 1975 season with the Giants where he slashed .318/.359/.448. A lack of power limited him to just 2.2 rWAR that season, but it was still a fine year and likely helped convince Milwaukee to bring him into the fold during the 1976 season.
However, things went sideways for Joshua in 1977 in a big way. Joshua's .261/.286/.384 was pretty rough especially given his complete unwillingness to draw a walk. When combined with some less than flattering defensive numbers out in center field and you have the second worst season by a Brewers position player by WAR of all time.
1. Ted Simmons - 1984: -2.6 WAR
It is pretty hard to actually play enough to accumulate -2.6 rWAR, but Ted Simmons pulled it off in 1984 to claim the top spot. Simmons 21 year career in baseball was largely excellent. He made nine All-Star teams from 1971 to 1983 while averaging an .815 OPS with the Cardinals and Milwaukee. There wasn't much cause to think that Simmons was about to decline has hit .308 with 13 homers in 153 games during the 1983 season.
However, the 1984 season was the worst season of Simmons career by a mile as he slashed .221/.269/.300 with just four homers and some seriously declining defense. Simmons would rebound and put up three more productive seasons before Father Time finally caught up with him. He retired in 1988 and has since spent time as a front office executive and scout ever since. Overall, an outstanding career in baseball but one with the unfortunate blemish of putting up the worst season by WAR in Brewers history.