Does Nishioka deserve consideration at this point? Who are some other nominees? Terry Felton is probably right up there.

Bret Boone's stint was pretty epic..especially since Gardy used him in the #3 hole.

Having been a baseball and Twins fan for just three years, it's tough for me to say just yet, but here are my nominations of the years that I've watched:

 

Matt Tolbert- Although decent defensively, never had an OBP above .322. I guess considering the expectations and salary, though, it's not like he should have produced a whole lot, unlike Nishioka.

 

Jim Hoey- Pitched 24 innings last year and had an almost 1:1 BB/K ratio. Aside from the horrendous 10+ ERA that he posted at the beginning of last season, the real kicker is his WHIP of almost 2.00. Once again, though, salary and expectation probably prevents him from being considered the worst, although awful.

 

Drew Butera- While a lot is often made of his defensive abilities and his (apparent) ability to fix a terrible starting pitcher, Drew has never posted an OBP of .275 or better and holds a career .185/.229/.270, which is just so dreadful it's almost not worth talking about. Makes me wish that there could be a designated hitter for the catcher instead of the pitcher sometimes.

 

All this being said, however, I don't think any Twin has ever disappointed me like Nishioka has. All the money that it took to bring a Japanese batting champion to the United States has amounted in absolutely nothing but headaches and misery.

I've followed the Twins for a long time. Here's some other names: Willie Norwood, Larry Milbourne, Tommy Herr, Terry Ryan's veteran of the year--Livan Hernandez, Ramon Ortiz, Sidney Ponson, Jason Marquis--Ron Davis, Dave Stevens, Steve Howe, Scott Stahoviak, Rich Becker, and Terry Felton.

Warren Morris? I'm not sure what happened to him ,but the Twins released him right away. Matt Kinney, Scott Aldred, Chris Latham.. seems like this could be a mean thread and player "bashing".. gotta respect anyone that makes it to the majors though.

rondell white. He had a nice 2nd half in '06. Unfortunately, this caused the Twins to resign him in'07 and he was awful.

Well, Dick and Bert just expressed their thoughts that Nishi isn't good in the Bigs. Just saying, there aren't many players that earn their seal of disapproval.

didn't Becker fall out of favor? wasn't bad with the Twins though, was better than Chad Allen >.> guess i'm a 94' and up fan.. Loved the Pat Meares era..

Terry Felton is probably right up there.

In his 0-13 season, Terry Felton pitched better than Blackburn has the last 2 seasons

No one compared to Scot Aldred

If you look at some of the people who managed at the different levels of the Twins organization and played for the Twins, almost all of them are contenders ... Phil Roof, Tom Nieto, Sal Butera etc. Esp. Phil Roof (who had an OPS around 500-600 and stuck for 6-7 seasons)

scott klingenback..

I'd be hard-pressed to name a worse player than Nishioka. There have been some bad offensive middle infielders, like Houston Jiminez, but he and others were at least solid defensively. Most of the names above at least had something positive. Like Rich Becker actually took a bunch of walks (and struck out a bunch)...

The legendary Ron Davis.

I'm sorry, but are you guys forgetting the big man with glass aka Ron Davis!

It's Nishi if for nothing else that alot of those names were making league min or damn near close to it. Nishi has cost the Twins 15 million for some of the worst baseball I've ever seen.

Although on second thought, Tommy Herr deserves consideration as well.

There are plenty of worse players than Ron Davis, but they are not showcased in high leverage situations and they come and go quickly. If you give points for longevity and the depth of misery caused it has to be RD. He deserves a special place. I'm not an RD hater. Even at the time, I really felt bad for him. He gave it his all every time out but he should not have been closer and there he was for four and one half years. The Twins only contended one of those years, 1984, and RD was a major reason why they did not win the division that year. The RD era is the closest I ever came to understanding what it is like to be a Cubs fan. I will never understand the Twins' commitment to Ron Davis. It was eerie.

So many choices. What made Terry Felton bad was not just his record but the amount of time "Freeze" took between pitches. I think I one time saw Herbie consume three dome dogs, a brat and some Nachos one inning with a man on third. What made that remarkable is Kent was playing first and had to walk up those stairs to the concourse at the dome and then back down. He took so long between pitches Tim McCarver ran out of things to say on broadcasts. But I would go Nishi. Willie Norwood was a awful fielder but had some skill offensively. Klingenback was bad, but it got us rid of Scotty Erickson so a plus for him there. (Scott was not as good as he thought he was during that period. Which was proven in Baltimore. Very Valencia of him.) Adam Johnson comes to mind, 1st rounder that flamed. Matt Moses and BJ Garbe didn't make it to the Majors so they don't count. Houston Jiminez could field but not hit. No Nishi is the perfect storm of hype, money and lack of skill on both sides of the ball.

Although on second thought, Tommy Herr deserves consideration as well.

 

It is without a doubt, Tommy Herr! We gave up Tom Brunanski for him! Ron Davis as a closer is right up there.

Butch Huskey? he was hyped upon signing as a free agent and completely tanked.

On Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest Otis Nixon could scale the baggy of the Dome so he's the best virtual twin

Scott Klingenbeck (Mostly because I have his game worn jersey!)

If this was a foot race Nishioka would be leaving Mike Lamb in the dust.

There are plenty of worse players than Ron Davis, but they are not showcased in high leverage situations and they come and go quickly. If you give points for longevity and the depth of misery caused it has to be RD. He deserves a special place. I'm not an RD hater. Even at the time, I really felt bad for him. He gave it his all every time out but he should not have been closer and there he was for four and one half years. The Twins only contended one of those years, 1984, and RD was a major reason why they did not win the division that year. The RD era is the closest I ever came to understanding what it is like to be a Cubs fan. I will never understand the Twins' commitment to Ron Davis. It was eerie.

There is RD and then there is everyone else. By the end of that era, Twins fans were walking around like we were in prison camp. We were just waiting for RD to offer us the wrench, the stick or the belt.

 

Nishi is the perfect storm of hype, money and lack of skill on both sides of the ball.

What a perfect way to word it.

 

I don't think I can add anything else to the discussion.

I'm only 28 so I don't remember watching all of the names on the list, but wouldn't an appropriate question be is he the worst Major League Baseball player ever? Factoring out guys who just played 1 or 2 major league games, and limiting it to position players, I find it hard to believe there has ever been someone as bad as him. He is literally the worst infielder I have ever seen, and rivals Butera as the worst offensive player to come through here in 20 years.

Edited August 8, 201214 yr by alarp33

Rich Becker and Scott Stahoviak were alright I'd say Todd Walker and Valencia were worse.

Reserving the "special place" for Ron Davis... Nishi is completely over-matched and out of his element. It is hard to even imagine the events that led to him appearing in a major league uniform. And now he is getting a second chance? This experiment must end.