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Check out the other 2023 Gallardo Awards here.

The M-SABR Gallardo Awards, originally conceived by alumni Cam Cain and Sahil Shah, are given to some of the worst performing players in their respective categories each season.

This is the third article in this year’s series, honoring the worst hitters in the American League in 2023. Contrary to its much more coveted brother – the Silver Slugger -, the Aluminum Slugger Award is given to those who struggled the most at the plate. We also give out the Mario Mendoza Award which compliments MLB’s Hank Aaron Award. Without further ado, let’s check out the players who pitchers can’t help but appreciate when they come to the plate.

Note – each player should be a guy playing a position regularly. It’d be easy to select platoon guys who just happen to have some games at the position of interest. We’re not looking for the worst player to play second base but for the worst hitting second baseman.

C – Martín Maldonado, HOU

We’re starting it off with a bang. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the rare occurrence of a DOUBLE Gallardo winner. Not only will Maldonado be receiving an Aluminum Slugger but he also received an Iron Pyrite Glove Award. His performance as one of the worst hitters and defenders begs the question: why did Houston keep playing him? And the even better question, why did he get signed as a free agent? That’s right, the White Sox are catching strays. 

Not so fun fact — Maldonado has posted an above average OPS+ just once in his 13-year career with 101 in 2019. This year, he posted 66. The dude just cannot hit. He had a whopping -30 batting run value which landed him in the bottom percentile.

Other notable struggles for Maldonado include a .267 xWOBA, .187 xBA, 34.2 K%, and 34.1 whiff%. All of this amounted to a whopping -1.2 fWAR. As of writing this, Fangraphs doesn’t predict he’ll improve much, if at all next season, so maybe we’ll have the chance to write about him again in a year.

1B – José Abreu, HOU

First base is a tough position to be a bad hitter at. It’s a spot you can hide your subpar fielder with a big stick when the DH spot is taken. But not every first baseman displays hitting prowess every year. This season, veteran José Abreu found himself at the bottom of the barrel in this category. His 86 wRC+ was the worst of his career and the first time Abreu had a below-average value in the stat. 

Besides his 36.3 chase%, Abreu’s year at the plate wasn’t horrendous in relation to the entire MLB, just the worst at his position. Despite posting an average 41.6% hard hit rate (53rd percentile), this number was a 10% decrease for Abreu from previous years of plus hitting, further proving just how good you have to hit to play first. 

2B – Michael Massey, KCR

In his first full year in the bigs, Massey struggled to hit well. He had a -12 batting run value according to Baseball Savant largely due to his shockingly low 5.2 walk%. He had a whopping -7 run value against four seamers which he saw on one-third of pitches. His 32.3 chase% also contributed to a lackluster offensive performance. 

Surprisingly, Massey has a high 38 sweet-spot%. He’s hitting fly balls and line drives higher than league average and ground balls far below league average. His barrel rate, however, is on the wrong side of average. So, to Michael Massey I say, let’s see you get in the gym and turn these hits into bombs.

SS – Javier Báez, DET and Tim Anderson, CHW

Co-Mendoza Award Winners

We’ve never had co-winners of the Gallardo Awards, but there’s a first time for everything (see the NL Iron Pyrite Glove Awards for a shared award between a pair of Dodgers). Javier Báez and Tim Anderson put together such incredibly poor seasons that we had to celebrate both of them. The pair had 61 and 60 wRC+, respectively, which were the two worst performances for any American League player with at least 350 plate appearances.

Starting with Báez, his horrendous plate discipline was on full display. We’ve all seen the videos of Báez swinging at pitches headed towards the first base dugout. He had a whopping 44 whiff% and subsequent 4.4 walk%. It’s one thing to struggle against pitches out of the zone, but Baez doesn’t just struggle, he falls for it every time.

Most notable was his performance against sweepers in which he had an xBA of just .175, whiff% of 55.4, and K% of 36.8. Except it wasn’t just breaking balls where he found trouble. Baez’s worst two pitches to face were four-seam fastballs and sinkers in which he had -8 and -9 run values against, respectively. His eye has always hindered his play even in seasons as a plus hitter, so there may be hope for a Báez resurgence. But on the bright side, he can’t have a year worse than this….. RIGHT?

Anderson struggled in a different type of way; he simply could not hit for power. While also failing to draw free bases (5 walk%), Anderson’s biggest issue was his slugging. His xSLG of .335 was in the bottom 5th percentile of MLB hitters. He hit just two home runs last season in part to a trend of low average exit velocity.

Anderson also had pitch specific issues as he managed a -18 run value against sliders, the worst in baseball by a margin of 5.2. After the White Sox declined his option at the end of last year, Anderson still remains a free agent. It will be interesting to see who is willing to take a fly on the once impressive hitter.

3B – Maikel García, KCR

Similar to first base, you don’t see as many atrocious hitters as regulars at third. Maikel García unfortunately falls victim to this trend. He really didn’t have an awful rookie campaign. He was below average with a wRC+ of 84 but has some promising aspects to his game. He has a good average exit velocity at 91.8 but fails to translate that power into successful outcomes with only a 3.9 barrel%. This likely explains his low .393 xSLG and only four home runs.

His eye at the plate hurts his game, too, with a walk and strikeout rates worse than league average. I feel a little bad dragging García through the mud here with what very well could be the growing pains of his promotion to the big stage. But unfortunately, there’s just no one else to do it to.

OF – Kyle Isbel, KCR

First, I’ll say this is just a general outfield category. Doing a positional breakdown for guys doesn’t make a whole lot of sense here. First on our list is Kyle Isbel. Last year, the Tigers walked away with the most players on the list for the AL. Keeping it in the Central, the Royals lead this year with three winners. All positions we highlight here but catcher, first base, and one outfielder are from the AL Central.

Isbel had a -8 batting run value and saw playing time due to his elite defense (11 OAA). Unfortunately, that won’t get you far here. He walked just 5.4% of the time, barrels only 5.5% of balls, and had a .375 xSLG. 

But let’s end Isbel’s section on a good note. In 2022, he had an unfathomable -15 run value and a .173 avearge against four-seam fastballs. Well, whatever he did between 2022 and 2023 must have worked because he raised that average to a whopping .308 and a positive one run value. Good job, Kyle! 

OF – Oswaldo Cabrera, NYY

Oswaldo Cabrera is tied with previously-mentioned Tim Anderson for the third worst wRC+ (60) amongst all American League players with at least 300 plate appearances. He just couldn’t do anything with the bat. He made horrible contact which resulted in a .211 xBA and .309 SLG.

There’s honestly just not a lot to say here. If there’s a hitting statistic, chances are Cabrera is performance poorly in it. The only metrics he wasn’t below average in were whiff rate, chase rate, and strikeout rate. He hit line drives only 16% of the time which was 8.9% below league average. 

OF – Myles Straw, CLE

I love the idea of a pure hitter — a guy who just slaps the ball around and gets on base. He’s never hitting flashy home runs or pimping balls but he just always seems to tough out a base hit. Now, take that concept and flip it on its head, and you get Myles Straw. This dude might be one of the worst pure hitters we’ve ever seen.

Before I slander him, I’ll give him credit where it’s due. Year in and year out, Straw commands the outfield and exhibits immaculate plate discipline. But god forbid he has to swing at pitches. 

Here’s some common hitting stats followed by Straw’s percentile finishes in them: 

Batting Run Value: -30; 1st percentile

xwOBA: .272; 4th percentile

xSLG: .300; 1st percentile

Barrel%: 0.5; 1st percentile

Hard-Hit%: 23.3; 2nd percentile

I was tempted to give him the Mendoza Award, but it feels like kicking someone when they’re down. Baez and Anderson can take it because they’re supposed to be superstars. But this guy just goes up to the plate because he has to. Straw has just six home runs since debuting with Houston, and four of them came in the same year. 

DH – Miguel Cabrera, DET

Miguel Cabrera finished out his retirement campaign playing first base. However, for every other moment of the season, he was a designated hitter. The generational big man will see his face immortalized in Cooperstown soon enough, but for now, we’re celebrating his not-so-great season.

Miggy accumulated -0.8 fWAR as a DH this year with a wRC+ of 88. His playing time felt more like a nod to his career than anything else as the Tigers worked through a weird transition season. 

A shell of his former self, Cabrera just can’t muscle the ball like he used to with an xSLG of just .363 and measly 4.2 barrel%. Struggling to get the ball in the air also hindered Miggy as anything even remotely fieldable was likely going to result in him being thrown out. His 2023 sprint speed was 23 ft/s, good for 564th in MLB. But hey, enjoy retirement big guy. I hear you’re in the best shape of your life.

Categories: 2023 Gallardo Awards, Articles, Season Analysis

Tags: 2023 Gallardo Awards