The Texas Rangers selected pitcher Rick Helling in the first round of the 1992 amateur draft, projecting him to be a future ace. Not the next Nolan Ryan, but a solid, consistent winner. And that’s what they got when Helling reached the majors in 1994. He won three of his first six starts.
The sixth appearance was the most impressive, a 7-0 shutout of the Minnesota Twins on May 6. Helling was primed for his next start against the Angels on the 11th. “Before the game, in the bullpen, (pitching coach) Claude Osteen said I looked the best I had all season,” he recalled. “But in the game, I threw the worst I have in my life.”
California batted around in the first inning, pounding two homers, two triples, a double, and two singles. Helling somehow survived, so manager Kevin Kennedy sent him back out for the second. The Angels greeted him with a single and two more homers. His day was over.
Helling eventually fulfilled his promise, notching 20 wins for the Rangers in 1998. But his outing on May 11, 1994, remains the worst individual performance by any starting pitcher in the Modern Era, which dates from 1961 to the present.
I made that determination by sorting every start in the era through this descending ladder of statistics:
Highest BPO allowed. I counted all the bases that the pitcher allowed through hits, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and sacrifices, then I divided that total by the number of outs that he obtained. Consider this comparison: The typical pitcher so far in 2022 has yielded .640 bases per out (BPO), but several of the rates that qualified for the following list were more than 10 times worse.
Most bases allowed. This is the raw count of bases that was noted in the step above.
Most bases allowed through hits. This is the stat typically known as total bases (TB), the bases reached through singles, doubles, triples, and homers.
If pitchers were tied after the first step, I went to the second to break the deadlock, and then to the third, if necessary. One tie on the following list — for 10th place — could not be broken.
Helling’s 1994 disaster ranks as the Modern Era’s worst pitching performance because of his outrageously high BPO of 9.000. One other starter matched that horrendous figure: Kansas City’s Brian Bannister against the Yankees in 2008. But Bannister allowed 22 bases through hits — five fewer than Helling — which pushed him down to second place on my list.
The following breakdown focuses on the 11 worst jobs by starting pitchers since 1961. Each summary includes the pitcher’s BPO for the game, as well as his totals of bases allowed and outs obtained. Other stats include innings pitched, earned runs and hits surrendered, and counts of doubles, triples, homers, and walks. If you click on the provided link, you can see the relevant box score on Baseball Reference.
None of these pitchers lasted more than an inning and a third. All of them gave up at least seven earned runs, seven hits, and 21 bases.
That’s terrible in anybody’s book.
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1. Rick Helling
Date: May 11, 1994
Team: Rangers (vs. Angels)
BPO allowed: 9.000
Bases allowed: 27 (27 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 9 ER, 10 H, 1 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Angels 13, Rangers 1
Box score: Click here
2. Brian Bannister
Date: August 17, 2008
Team: Royals (vs. Yankees)
BPO allowed: 9.000
Bases allowed: 27 (22 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 10 ER, 10 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 3 BB
Final score: Yankees 15, Royals 6
Box score: Click here
3. Jeremy Guthrie
Date: May 25, 2015
Team: Royals (vs. Yankees)
BPO allowed: 8.667
Bases allowed: 26 (22 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 11 ER, 9 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 3 BB
Final score: Yankees 14, Royals 1
Box score: Click here
4. Bronson Arroyo
Date: June 24, 2008
Team: Reds (vs. Blue Jays)
BPO allowed: 8.333
Bases allowed: 25 (23 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 10 ER, 11 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 1 BB
Final score: Blue Jays 14, Reds 1
Box score: Click here
5. Mike Fiers
Date: September 9, 2019
Team: Athletics (vs. Astros)
BPO allowed: 8.000
Bases allowed: 24 (24 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 9 ER, 9 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Astros 15, Athletics 0
Box score: Click here
6. Jim McGlothlin
Date: June 10, 1973
Team: Reds (vs. Cubs)
BPO allowed: 7.333
Bases allowed: 22 (22 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Cubs 9, Reds 7
Box score: Click here
7. Ross Detwiler
Date: July 19, 2021
Team: Marlins (vs. Nationals)
BPO allowed: 7.333
Bases allowed: 22 (21 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 8 ER, 7 H, 0 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Nationals 18, Marlins 1
Box score: Click here
8. Jorge Lopez
Date: September 20, 2018
Team: Royals (vs. Tigers)
BPO allowed: 7.000
Bases allowed: 21 (20 through hits)
Outs obtained: 3
Other stats: 1.0 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Tigers 11, Royals 8
Box score: Click here
9. Luis Mendoza
Date: July 7, 2008
Team: Rangers (vs. Angels)
BPO allowed: 6.000
Bases allowed: 24 (20 through hits)
Outs obtained: 4
Other stats: 1.1 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 2 BB
Final score: Angels 9, Rangers 6
Box score: Click here
10. (tie) Anthony Young
Date: April 15, 1994
Team: Cubs (vs. Braves)
BPO allowed: 5.500
Bases allowed: 22 (21 through hits)
Outs obtained: 4
Other stats: 1.1 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 1 BB
Final score: Braves 19, Cubs 5
Box score: Click here
10. (tie) Steven Wright
Date: April 12, 2017
Team: Red Sox (vs. Orioles)
BPO allowed: 5.500
Bases allowed: 22 (21 through hits)
Outs obtained: 4
Other stats: 1.1 IP, 8 ER, 8 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 0 BB
Final score: Orioles 12, Red Sox 5
Box score: Click here