Rank Team P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF . During his time with the Texas Rangers, Incaviglia's nickname was "Oops," primarily because of the way he patrolled the outfield. More dishonesty parading as insight. Devers was credited with minus-13 defensive runs saved, basically neck-and-neck with the Phillies' Alec Bohm for the worst third baseman in the majors. Orioles are anywhere near the all-time worst. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. "We think Mark is a lot better than he's shown statistically. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Even a few Hall of Famers. So let's take a look at his undoing. Maybe that's why the Hall of Famer was so poor at fielding the ball. Unfortunately, as a fielder he could boot a ball a country mile as well. Previously, Baseball-Reference used Sean Smith's Total Zone Rating for all seasons. His overall defense has suffered as well. Teams: Texas Rangers (1973), Chicago Cubs (1974-76), San Francisco Giants (1977-79), Pittsburgh Pirates (1979-85), Los Angeles Dodgers (1985-87), Detroit Tigers (1987), Stats: 4,941 chances, 1,694 putouts, 3,025 assists, 222 errors. The A's managed to figure Long into the equation by moving him to left field, and it ended up being more about the naked eye than sabermetrics. He was an All-American forward at Ohio State selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the fifth round of the 1958 NBA draft. There are, of course, 30 teams. By just about every measurement available, either through STATS Inc., Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs or Baseball Reference, there is no documentation anywhere that supports the fact that first baseman Mo Vaughn was anything close to a good fielder. McLouth was pretty much below average playing in the outfield his entire career. The Phillies will need to evaluate whether they already have the right personnel. Join our linker program. Teams: Cleveland Indians (1993-2000), Boston Red Sox (2001-08), Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-10), Chicago White Sox (2010), Tampa Bay Rays (2011), Stats: 3,410 chances, 3,206 putouts, 129 assists, 75 errors. You know what the Rangers thought of that Gold Glove? It wasn't until Dunn made the move to the American League with the Chicago White Sox in 2011 that a team was truly able to take the glove off his hand and just let him be the designated hitter he was always meant to be and mercifully let all of us stop watching the horrors he inflicted on this great game trying to make even the most basic of plays in the field. Gary Sheffield, 3B, 1993 Padres/Marlins (minus-31). All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Stuart did rack up 228 home runs during his career, leading the American League in RBI for the 1963 season, but the man who would also be called Stonefingers and The Man with the Iron Glove" made his mark as the poorest defensive fielding first baseman in major league history. Despite winning. Yet theres a chance that doesnt happen, and, even if it does, there are defensive improvements worth thinking about. The A's tried to make Picciolo the man at shortstop for his first two seasons, and he coughed up balls at an alarming rate, with 21 errors in 1977, his first season, and 17 errors in 1979, his second season, as a full-time shortstop. 6. No matter where he played, Samuel was a liability on the field. Team Defensive Runs Saved. No teams pitchers have been worse, while the catchers have also combined to be a problem. Luzinski's misplay of a line drive to left field in the 1977 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers triggered what Phillies' fans call "Black Friday.". While his fielding improved over the course of his career, you can point directly to his early struggles in the outfield as one of the reasons the Oakland A's traded him after three seasons and an average of approximately -20 total zone runs allowed in that span. In all fairness, Adam Dunn could've made this list at several different positions, we just picked left field because that's where he had the most starts. Teams: Chicago White Sox (1990-2005), Oakland Athletics (2006, 2008), Toronto Blue Jays (2007-08), Stats: 8,487 chances, 7,910 putouts, 497 assists, 80 errors. Part of Manny Ramirez's appeal was somehow his struggles in the field. Ryan was simply abysmal as a fielder, once committing 30 errors in four seasons while with the California Angels. The power that Kingman generated with his body hindered him greatly in the field. Defensively, sabermetricians use such terms as dWAR, UZR, Rtot (Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Average) along with many others. As part of the trade package in December 2010 that sent Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers, Betancourt was also included in the deal, with the two teams essentially swapping shortstops, the Royals receiving Alcides Escobar. He was bad wherever teams tried to put him, and that's most evident when you look at his eye-popping 330 career errors. "Range factor" isn't a terribly advanced metric it's basically "plays made per game (or per 9 innings)", not difficult to understand but subject to some systematic errors. The really strange thing about Bill Madlock's career is teams didn't try to fit him into an easier position to play, like right field. He made his lone All-Star appearance in 2016 and parlayed that into a six-year, $83 million extension in 2017. But Santana hasnt quite been that effective at the plate, while Hoskins, in the field, has been a massive liability. In 2009, he did make a high number of good fielding plays (48), according to Baseball Info Solutions, although that was countered by 33 misplays. 1. Thus, players of earlier eras who were noted for the defensive skillssuch as third baseman Brooks Robinson and shortstop Ozzie Smithwere not evaluated in this manner. This is just about range. Farewell to a Mariners legend. In 2010, his ratio of good fielding plays to misplays fell to 26-28, which combined with poor range gave him minus-37 defensive runs saved. At the time, the Phillies told themselves Santana was too good of a deal to pass up. It's time to unveil the 2022 MLB All-Underrated Team. Browning was a raging alcoholic who regularly played games drunk. He had poor range -- 1.77 plays per nine innings compared to the 2.00 MLB average -- and also tossed in 13 errors. During the eight-year career of utility-man Curt Blefary, he was given the nickname "Clank" by former teammate Frank Robinson, who claimed that the nickname represented the imaginary sound that the ball made when it banged against Blefarys glove. It may be no wonder why Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland has a conundrum concerning where to play Ryan Raburnhe simply doesn't play well defensively anywhere. Jose Lima was one of the more entertaining players in the major leagues throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. As for his range, BIS graded him particularly weak going to his right. However, at the major league level, while Jolley could hit a bit, he was clearly one of the most challenged players in the history of the game. He had to do most of that playing for the Cleveland Indians. Cap Anson played in the dead ball era, where errors were out of control, but theres still no way to get around his 976 errors. (My recollection of Kirby, as well: He played a deep center field, which allowed him to make those famous leaping catches at the wall; he also may have played deeper as a way to play the high bounces off the Metrodome turf. UZR includes errors as part of its calculation, too. Fastballs were Ryan's forte; ground balls weren't. Dante Bichette, LF, 1999 Rockies (minus-34). Bichette was second in the National League in errors committed by an outfielder in 1998 and 1999, and oftentimes could be seen flailing in the corner as a ball caromed off a wall and between his legs. UZR had Kemp at minus-26 runs that year, the worst total it has ever given a center fielder going back to 2002, so by all accounts Kemp was awful. Hell, he doesnt even have 2018s worst DRS! 3. Teams: Philadelphia Phillies (1983-89), New York Mets (1989), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-92), Kansas City Royals (1992, 1995), Cincinnati Reds (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994-95), Toronto Blue Jays (1996-98), Stats: 7,048 chances, 3,572 putouts, 3,288 assists, 188 errors. Jeff made Lookout Landing a thing, but he does not still write there about the Mariners. Throughout major league history, some players have built their entire careers on hitting, despite some, ahem, major defensive deficiencies. It wasn't his worst, either. And his career fielding percentage of .964 is atrocious. Such was the case with the "Steve Sax Syndrome" after the Los Angeles Dodgers' second baseman inexplicably couldn't throw to first base properly from 1983 to 1988. Lets not forget hes 21 years old. Teams tried to play Meyer for extended periods of time at left field, first base and third base, where he accumulated a whopping -57 total zone runs allowed for his career. Details are actually sketchy regarding Browning's defensive prowess, but several accounts claim that Browning played defense standing on one leg to prevent opposing players from running into him. Knoblauch makes the list for throwing problems that dogged his career starting in 1998, where he inexplicably came down with one of the more famous cases of the "yips" or "Steve Sax Syndrome" in baseball history. Hall of Famer Warren Spahn is tied with another player on our list, Hippo Vaughn, as the only two pitchers to have led the league in errors five different seasons. Johnnie LeMaster seemed to sum up Giants fans' feelings toward him and his fielding when he took the field at Candlestick Park during a July game in 1979 with "BOO" on the back of his jersey instead of his name. Except for catchers, Plus/Minus represents the majority of a player's DRS. Teams: Rockford Forest Citys (1871), Philadelphia Athletics (187275), Chicago White Stockings/Colts (187697), Stats: 25,160 chances, 22,572 putouts, 1,612 assists, 976 errors. Teams: Baltimore Orioles (196568), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (197071), Oakland Athletics (197172), San Diego Padres (1972), Stats: 3,461 chances, 3,142 putouts, 261 assists, 58 errors. Kirby Puckett, CF, 1993 Twins (minus-29 runs), This one seems a little odd considering Puckett had won a Gold Glove the previous season. Despite a career filled with plenty of offense, Bichette's career WAR was 2.0, a telling sign of his defensive deficiencies. Theres no reason for them to have a bias. Let's get "Bobby Bonilla Day" out of the way at the jump. Burnett was worth -13 defensive runs saved for the Pirates. The avowed racist (he refused to take the field when Blacks were on the other roster) committed more than 50 or more errors in a single season four times, with a career-high 58 errors in 1884. Here are the ten worst team DRS marks from the leaderboards: There are three teams in there from this season alone. No, we cant measure defense precisely. Look at the defensive wins against replacement. So the two kind of balance each other out. which combined with poor range gave him minus-37 defensive runs saved. Cmon man. If you've ever loved baseball, at any level, you know the guy when you see him. Andujar probably needs to be moved to a different corner, because he is an absolute butcher at third. Dan Meyer's name has been thrown about as being one of the most overrated and worst baseball players of all time. With 13 All-Star selections, 555 home runs and a .312 lifetime batting average, it's easy to see why outfielder Manny Ramirez clearly has numbers that should qualify him for Hall of Fame status. Butch Hobson was a former quarterback for the University of Alabama and legendary coach Bear Bryant, but Hobson had some legendary struggles fielding a baseball. So the numbers certainly indicate that Dahlen was not necessarily bad in any way, but he does have the dubious record nonetheless. Dunn recently confirmed his retirement and I'll miss a guy who had a unique career in major league history. However, the Brewers saw just how bad Sheffield was there, and moved him to third base. Flynn makes the list not for being stunningly bad but for being stunningly below average at three different infield positions shortstop, second base and third base. Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers (197888), St. Louis Cardinals (198892), Stats: 7,265 chances, 6,007 putouts, 1,093 assists, 165 errors. His career fielding percentage of .895 is comically low, but for most of his career, he was probably just surprised anyone was able to actually connect with one of his pitches. The Phillies havent done enough hitting, and so theyll go into the offseason looking to make a major splash. The DH is a wonderful thing, isn't it? In his first few seasons with the Yankees, Gary Sanchez was as bad at blocking pitches behind the plate as almost anyone in the modern history of baseball. The team has acknowledged it time and time again. Frank Howard could've had a lengthy career as an NBA power forward. However, defensively, Bichette was easily one of the most challenged of players. Its true that this season isnt yet over. Probably not. They moved him to third base the following season. The above numbers represented Samuel's career primarily at second base, although he played six different positions during his career. Jeter has been one of the worst defensive shortstops over the last decade by most statistical measures. Smith had great speed and would often get a great jump on the ball, only to bobble it several times once he actually got there. Make a guess now (Note: Baseball-Reference uses fielding runs below average, which can be drawn from two different sources depending on the year. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. He also was among the league leaders in passed balls and errors committed by a catcher on a regular basis. Here, then, is a list of 40 of the worst defensive players in MLB history. And yet Phillies non-pitchers have a combined wRC+ of just 98, which is two points below average. Theyd be exceptionally slim if the Phillies had a good defense, and, well, they dont. What's strange is the lowest of his per position totals was at third base, where it was -12. So spare me. michael klaper fasting; rising sign calculator Menu Toggle. Braun fielded just .895, making 26 errors in 112 games, and made .57 fewer plays per nine innings than the average third baseman. Ryan Braun, 3B, 2007 Brewers (minus-32). Lasorda asked what else he was thinking. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. The last third baseman to put up equally putrid numbers was Ryan Braun in 2007 (-32 in comparable innings). Im older than him, and I can barely catch the TV remote when my roommate tosses it to me (from a couple of feet away mind you lol). It's never good to make a list like this early in your career, but Jorge Polanco has done just enough in six seasons to make the cut. The chances of the Phillies making up that ground are exceptionally slim. Teams: Minnesota Twins (199197), New York Yankees (19982001), Kansas City Royals (2002), Stats: 6,821 chances, 2,852 putouts, 3,844 assists, 125 errors. "You are going to see Mark start out at third base in the spring. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. There are two easy ways to explain Nolan Ryan's low number of chances over 27 seasons in the majors he's the MLB career leader in both walks and strikeouts. Teams: Louisville Eclipse/Colonels (1882-89, 1892-93), Cleveland Infants (1890), Pittsburgh Pirates (1891), Cincinnati Reds (1891-1892), St. Louis Browns (1894), Brooklyn Grooms (1894), Stats: 3,439 chances, 2,490 putouts, 535 assists, 414 errors. Was he really that bad? Infield Defense by Runs Saved Per 1000 Innings. In fact, in the early 1990s, many would argue that the Pittsburgh Pirates outfield of Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bonilla was one of the best in baseball at the time. Doug Mead is a Featured Columnist with Bleacher Report. It was a league custom. Hobson went on to manage the Red Sox from 1992 to 1994. Aside from his horrible play on the basepaths, where he stole just 52 bases in 123 attempts, or at the plate, where he hit just one home run in 3,754 at-bats, Kuiper was also bad in the field. Jolley committed 44 errors in just four seasons, and was once credited with three errors on the same play, having the ball actually go through his legs twice on the same batted ball. Kingman wasn't much better at first base, where his slow footwork often left him entangled on the bag in awkward positions and routine grounders were a complete adventure. It's a good thing they don't look at defense. It's true that this. His errors doubled to 26 in 1999, and in 2000, his continued struggles ultimately forced his move to left field. Chris Gomez, SS, 1997 Padres (minus-33). Teams: Detroit Tigers (197476), Seattle Mariners (197781), Oakland Athletics (198285), Stats: 5,259 chances, 4,562 putouts, 608 assists, 89 errors. Which is bad. worst defensive runs saved all timefee concession letter due to covid 19. world record of blood donation by single person. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Phillies gambled on a suboptimal alignment. However, despite anyone's opinion regarding the use of analytics to measure a player's defensive worth, just about everyone on this particular list were and are just classically bad fielders, and while many of them were assets with the bat, they also were a complete liability on the field. It is no surprise that this Top 10 list consists of many AL and NL All-Stars. Glenallen Hill's defensive struggles were infamous. A third defensive metric that I'll mention in the piece below is ultimate zone rating, available at FanGraphs. San Diego Padres (2011), Los Angeles Angels (2013), Stats: 1,816 chances, 1,695 putouts, 87 assists, 34 errors. In his 11-year career, seven with the Cincinnati Reds, Taubensee was literally brutal behind the plate. Manny's "amazing" catch of a Johnny Damon relay is absolutely priceless. Barrett's career became known much more for his scraps: two fights with pitcher Roy Oswalt in 2004, a legendary brawl with White Sox catcher A.J. Theres broad consensus that errors are not a reasonable method of measuring a players complete defensive contribution and DRS and UZR (for any of their failings) are superior methods of measuring overall defensive contribution, particularly when reviewed together. My next thought was 'I hope they don't hit it to Sax. Soriano's Rtot in nine years at second base was -78, so his transition to the outfield has actually helped, although you would no doubt find many Chicago Cubs fans who would dispute that notion. Outfielder Smead Jolley was easily one of the great minor league players of all time, hitting 336 home runs with a lifetime .367 batting average during his 16-year career at the lower level. [fn]John Dewan, The Fielding Bible, Volume II (Skokie, Ill.: ACTA Sports, 2009), 11-4. Just like Jason Giambi, the question needs to be asked if Canseco's admitted, consistent steroid use throughout his career contributed to his fielding woes, with the added bulk hurting his range. Sheffield couldn't seem to get right wherever teams put him in the field. Instead, the Phillies will play out the string, while the Braves get themselves set for the playoffs. Since 2002, the site uses defensive runs saved; prior to that, it uses total zone. Torres has always been considered a plus defender, he just needs some seasoning (hes also new to 2B). Now imagine if Stairs would've been able to field? Sanchez made 15 errors behind the plate in 2019. Which isn't totally fair because he was a decent hitter most of the time and had a .253 batting average. Smith was often in the right place at the right time. Throughout his career, Encarnacion has managed to make the most basic of fielding plays turn into an adventure, leaving fans breathlessly anticipating what will happen when the ball is hit his way. For example, if your pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts, every fielder is at a disadvantag. Throwing out only 23 percent of would-be basestealers during his career, Taubensee also was way below the curve in passed balls, wild pitches and many other defensive metrics used for the catching position. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Over the whole season, the Phillies pitching staff ranks third in expected wOBA on contact. And yet, Phillies pitchers have ranked 26th in baseball in actual wOBA allowed, while Braves pitchers have ranked third. | Glossary", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Defensive_Runs_Saved&oldid=1106620581, Articles needing additional references from June 2022, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 25 August 2022, at 15:02. Groom was a pretty solid left-handed pitcher who carved out a career in middle relief. cafe under the spire newcastle; worst defensive runs saved all time. 32 friggin upvotes. Youll recall they were the team that, in spring training, experimented with swapping left and right fielders based on the handedness of the hitter. And even just at FanGraphs, theres also UZR. Check. It would be years before Sax finally figured out his mechanical issues, but the damage had already been done. The 43 errors he committed that season for the Red Sox were the most since 1949 and hasn't been matched since, and his fielding percentage of .866 is the lowest in the modern era of baseball. Well, that was an adventure as well, so with Sheffield's trade to the Florida Marlins from the San Diego Padres, he was moved to right field. Teams: Oakland Athletics (197782, 1985), Milwaukee Brewers (198283), California Angels (1984), Stats: 2,440 chances, 952 putouts, 1,417 assists, 71 errors. For 13 seasons, Pete Browning toiled in the old American Association and National League, playing five positions overall and none of them with any skill whatsoever. And if his unremarkable hitting wasn't enough, his defensive stats certainly don't suggest that LeMaster was being kept around for his defensive prowess, either. "Range factor" isn't a terribly advanced metric it's basically "plays made per game (or per 9 innings)", not difficult to understand but subject to some systematic errors. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic. There are just zeroes. Do youdo you not read fangraphs? Simply put, Knoblauch could no longer throw successfully to first base. Anyway, Young had come up as a second baseman and moved to shortstop in 2004 and in 2005 he made 4.41 plays per nine innings versus the MLB average of 4.60 (his fielding percentage was about league average). And teams have done a really good job at that. Gary Sheffield very well could be the most underrated hitter of all time. Only Piazza's incredible offensive numbers make up for itPiazza has the seventh-best WAR among catchers all-time, despite the fact he has the second-worst dWAR of all time. story about something funny we saw him do as he stumbled and bumbled his way through major league outfields. Usually, teams realize these defenders are significantly costing the team runs, and the offending player is moved to another position or benched altogether. I offer up the attached video for analysis. Theres not nearly enough evidence to say the Phillies have absolutely had the worst team defense in a very long time. Jason Giambi was the 2000 American League Most Valuable Player while with the Oakland Athletics, then cashed in with a seven-year, $120 million contract with the Yankees in 2001. The division was already more or less decided, but an unlikely Phillies sweep couldve at least brought it down to the wire. The Cubs moved Soriano to the outfield after he signed an eight-year, $136 million contract, but that did little to curb his defensive struggles. Gomez's range factor was actually higher than the MLB average, 4.63 to 4.58, and his fielding percentage was fine, so I'm not quite sure why he rates so poorly. As an outfielder, Bobby Bonilla was passable, and his offense generally took precedence for any deficiencies. He also was among the league leaders. Let's first give Buddy Groom credit for being really, really determined. He won 12 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1957-68, tying Roberto Clemente for the most by an outfielder. Stuart was in the on-deck circle when teammate Bill Mazeroski hit the game-winning home run for the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. There are a lot of times the Gold Glove has been handed out over the years, and we look back in confusion. Im certain thats a part of it. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. FIELDING BIBLE EXCERPTS Jeter vs. Everett (by Bill James) Molina is to Pudge as . While we're comparing the two players, we'll also watch out for any reasons to doubt the data we're using. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. Had it not been for two truly awful seasons in 2008 and 2009, Brad Hawpe probably would've been able to avoid this lineup. Third baseman Bill Madlock was certainly a great hitter during his 15-year career, capturing four National League batting titles and ending with a .305 career average. 41 victor street, boronia heights; what happened to clifford olson son; frank lloyd wright house for sale; most nba draft picks by college in one year; worst defensive runs saved all time Hawpe managed to survive getting the axe over this stretch by posting his best seasons at the plate. For a while, the Phillies made it work, but ultimately, they just didnt get enough in return for the sacrifice. We all have at least one great "Oh, Manny!" Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. On the other hand, the Braves arrived a year or so ahead of time. Gold Glove Awards: 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), Stats: 4,823 chances, 4,710 putouts, 65 assists, 48 errors. Meanwhile I NEVER hear ANY ringing endorsements for DRS or UZR. And then, there were the guys who were born with hands of stone. Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates (1992-99), San Diego Padres (2000), Seattle Mariners (2000-01), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003), Stats: 1,810 chances, 1,700 putouts, 54 assists, 56 errors. How do you measure an Outfield Arm Runs Saved? Vaughn's best year was in 1918, when he won the Triple Crown, which was also coincidentally the year he posted a career-high .967 fielding percentage. Anyone who uses his noggin to aid in a home run definitely deserves a spot on this list. It isnt perfect, and no one would tell you its perfect, but we can just get right to the point. Also note that there is some variation in DRS as presented on baseball reference sitesfor example, Baseball-Reference.com credits Adrin Beltr with a DRS figure of 201 for his career,[8] while FanGraphs credits him with 200. Spahn's defensive struggles seemed to be mostly early in his career, with a few blips as it went on. Known as much for his flamboyant style on the mound and his singing (he was into merengue), Lima also was an awful fielder. What's impressive is that he's actually gotten better on defense over his career, and his real struggles in the field were mostly over his first six seasons. All rights reserved. Sorry, the RF variance is not enough to claim 1) Devers is better (certainly not offensively) and 2) Andujar has the worst DRS Evah, as you suggest. Mike Piazza isn't the only Hall of Famer on this list, and his defensive liabilities only make us wonder how he would've stood up among the all-time greatest players (not just catchers) had he been able to throw out more than 23 percent of baserunners. Which kind of overshadows the fact that he's been shoehorned into all three outfield spots, first base and third base throughout his career trying to find the right fit to mask his shortcomings fielding the ball. He's the guy you definitely don't want the ball hit to when your team is pitching. They talk about batting average and RBI, too, which are easy to discuss in the casual context of a game broadcast, but they are obviously not a good measure of a players full contribution to the game (even their full contribution to the offense). Let's look at his range factors per nine innings: In raw numbers, Kemp played nine fewer innings in 2010, but made 37 fewer putouts. Sheesh! He played 15 seasons for seven different teams that tried to make him an everyday player at six different positions. Call it noise if you want. But I probably won't miss his defense. It's a shame the rule wasn't in place earlier; the DH position was truly made for Howard.
