He’s the Worst Hitter Ever!

Bill Bergen

You’re watching the game. He whiffs. You blurt out “He’s the worst hitter ever!”

He’s not.

Bill Bergen was.

From Wikipedia:

Bergen’s claim to fame is his complete inability to hit. The question of who was the worst hitter of all time is obviously a subjective one, but what is known is that no one played as long as Bill Bergen and hit so poorly. Bergen had 3,028 at-bats in his career, and in that time he compiled a batting average of .170, the all-time record low for players who compiled more than 2,500 at-bats. Davy Force is second-to-last with a career average of .211. Bergen’s career on-base percentage was .194 — he is the only player with at least 500 at-bats with an OBP under .200. He had only two home runs. In 1909, Bergen hit .139, the lowest average ever for a player who qualified for the batting title. That season, he set another record for futility by going 46 at-bats in a row without a base hit, the longest streak ever by a position player (pitcher Bob Buhl went 88 at-bats without a hit). From 1904 to 1911, Dodger pitchers as a group outhit Bergen, .169 to .162.

Bergen was able to play 11 seasons with an OPS+ of 21 because he was an incredibly skilled defensive catcher. He held many fielding records in his day (which ranged from 1901 to 1911). He threw out six baserunners in a game once—that record still stands.

I wouldn’t call Bergen “infamous” for being the worst hitter ever. I reserve the phrase “infamous” for people like his brother, Marty Bergen. Marty was also a catcher, but he could actually a bit (72 OPS+). However, he was a very disturbed drunk. In 1900, he killed his family with an axe and committed suicide.

I’d rather be remembered as a .170 hitter.