Phillies ten worst individual season pitching performances

The Phillies have had some bad seasons in recent years, but how about some bad pitching seasons?

The Phillies recently made a trade with the Mets for Jason Vargas in attempts to bolster a floundering starting rotation.  As poor as the pitching has been, none of the starters make the list for single-season futility on the mound.

Looking back through the statistics over the past 40 years, here are the top ten worst individual season starting pitching performances for the Phillies.

*Note that all pitchers had to have thrown at least 100 innings in the season to qualify.

10:  Brett Myers (2004)

Brett Myers had some solid seasons during his eight-years with the Phillies, including a stint as closer in 2007 and part of the rotation for the 2008 World Series Champions.  Unfortunately, his 2004 campaign makes this list for futility at number ten.

On a positive, Myers recorded 11 wins. That’s about where the positives end. He also lost 11 with an ERA of 5.52. In 176 innings, Myers allowed 196 hits and 31 home runs with a relatively mediocre strikeout-to-walk ratio of 116-to-62.

Following his time in Philadelphia, Myers pitched for the Astros, White Sox, and Indians, last pitching in the Majors in 2013. He has a career record of 97-96 with 40 saves and an ERA of 4.25.

9: Mark Leiter (1997)

Leiter pitched for eight teams over a mediocre 11-year Major League career. Two of those seasons were spent in a Phillies uniform. He tied his career-best in wins in his first year with the team, however, Leiter led the league in losses and had an overall poor season.

Part of a very poor overall Phillies squad in 1997, Leiter made 31 starts and earned 10 wins.  On the flip side, he was on the losing end of 17 decisions with a high ERA of 5.67.  In 182 2/3 innings, Leiter allowed 115 earned runs, the most in the league.  Although he had a decent 148-to-64 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Leiter gave up 25 home runs and was ineffective in the majority of his starts.

In 1998, Leiter had a good season as the closer for the Phillies, saving 23 games with seven wins and an ERA of 3.55. Leiter made just two appearances with the Mariners in 1999 and didn’t pitch in the Major Leagues of Minor Leagues in 2000. Following 20 appearances with the Brewers in 2001, Leiter retired with a record of 65-73 with a 4.57 ERA.

8: Nick Pivetta (2017)

Nick Pivetta has slowly improved since his 2017 rookie season, which happens to be one of the worst single-season pitching performances by a Phillies starter, landing eighth on this list.

He made 26 starts in 2017, averaging just a little over five innings per start. In 133 innings, Pivetta allowed 144 hits and 25 home runs with an 8-10 record and extremely high ERA of 6.02. There were some positives and hopes for future development with 140 strikeouts and only 57 walks.

The following season showed some improvement as Pivetta averaged over ten strikeouts per nine innings, while reducing his walks to under three per nine innings.  Although Pivetta’s record dropped to 7-14, the ERA was significantly better at 4.77.

Unfortunately, the 2019 season has been a regression for Pivetta. His strikeout total is down under eight per nine innings, while his home run total and ERA are up.

The word “potential” and “great stuff” has always been there for Pivetta, but the time is now to live up to the hype or Pivetta will find himself on this list in the future more than once.

7: Mike Williams (1996)

Williams had a decent career as a closer after his first stint with the Phillies in which he made two All-Star appearances and 144 saves. However, he also had one of the worst seasons as a Phillies starter during his 1996 campaign.

Coming off a solid 1995 season in which Williams posted 3.29 ERA in 33 games, he entered his fifth Major League season and the only season as a full-time member of the starting rotation. Williams struggled to find his rhythm,  winning only six games versus 14 losses with a 5.44 ERA. In 167 innings, he allowed 188 hits, 101 earned runs and 25 home runs. Williams also led the league in wild pitches with 16.

Williams went on to pitch for the Royals, Pirates, and Astros before returning to the Phillies in 2003. In his final season in the Major Leagues, Williams went 0-4 with a 5.98 in 28 games.

6: Kyle Abbott (1992)

Abbott pitched in five games for the Angels as a 23-year old in 1991 compiling a 1-2 record with a 4.58 ERA. Coming over to the Phillies with Ruben Amaro Jr. in exchange for Von Hayes in December of 1991, Abbott made the team in 1992 and was part of the starting rotation.

The 1992 season turned out to be Abbott’s most worked and least productive season of a short Major League career. In 31 games, including 19 starts, Abbott had an abysmal 1-14 record with an ERA of 5.13. Hurt by the long ball, he allowed 20 home runs in 133 1/3 innings, while giving up 147 hits and striking out only 88.

Abbott remained in the Phillies organization but didn’t appear in another game with the club until 1995 when he went 2-0 with a 3.81 ERA in 18 games in relief.

5: Chad Ogea (1999)

Ogea spent his first five seasons in the Major Leagues with the Indians before being acquired by the Phillies in a trade for Jerry Spradlin on November 13, 1998.  The bad news for the Phillies was that Ogea had the worst season of his career in his only and what turned out to be his last in the big leagues.

In 36 games, including 28 starts, Ogea posted a 6-12 record with a 5.63 ERA. In 168 innings, Ogea was torched for 36 home runs, 192 hits, and 61 walks, while striking out only 77.  The season turned out to be a nightmare for Ogea, who was granted free agency on October 6, 1999.

Ogea was signed by the Tigers in November of 1999 and selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the Rule 5 draft in December. He pitched in the Indians and Yankees minor league systems over the next two seasons but never pitched in the Major Leagues again.

4: Carlton Loewer (1998)

Loewer was selected in the first round by the Phillies in the 1994 draft and never lived up to expectations.  After three-plus seasons in the minor leagues, Loewer made his debut with the Phillies on June 14, 1998.

Although Loewer was only a game under .500 at 7-8 for the Phillies in 1998, his other numbers were quite poor. He allowed 154 hits and 18 home runs in only 122 2/3 innings while striking out a mere 58 batters.

Sadly, things never improved for Loewer. The following season, he posted a 2-6 record with a 5.12 ERA.  Loewer was out of the Phillies organization by 2000 and appeared in only seven more Major League games, all with the San Diego Padres.

Loewer retired with a record of 10-18 with a 6.12 ERA in 48 games.

3: Adam Eaton (2007)

Eaton was a first-round selection by the Phillies in the 1996 draft but was traded along with Carlton Loewer and Steve Montgomery to the Padres for Andy Ashby in 1999. After six mediocre seasons with the Padres and one with the Rangers, Eaton retired to Philadelphia via free agency in November of 2006.

Thrown into the starting rotation for the 2007 season, Eaton had the worst full season of his career. In 30 starts, had a deceivingly average 10-10 record but a very high ERA of 6.29. In 161 2/3 innings, he allowed 192 hits, 71 walks, and 30 home runs while striking out only 97. To top it off, Eaton also hit 11 batters.

He had nearly as poor results in 2008, posting a 5.80 ERA for the Phillies in 21 games. Eaton was released by the Phillies in February of 2009 and finished his Major League career in 2009 pitching for both the Orioles and the Rockies with very little success.