Oakland Athletics: 30 Worst Players in Franchise History

Marv Throneberry

Marv Throneberry played for the Kansas City Athletics from 1960 to 1961, but his biggest claim to fame is being part of the ’62 Mets team that lost the most games in modern baseball history. After making his debut with the New York Yankees in 1955, the Athletics received him as part of a six-player deal for slugger Roger Maris following the 1959 season.

With the Athletics, Throneberry hit .246/.323/.432, and managed to not be worst than league-average in terms of defense. That doesn’t mean he was good – but he didn’t necessarily cost the team runs every time he took the field. It was his offense that was truly bad, making him a liability in the lineup.

Throneberry is best known for being a terrible first baseman for that terrible Mets team, failing at base running, hitting and even defending. That said, fans still loved him as kind of a “cult favorite” kind of player – much more than can be said for the majority of names on this list – or the majority of names on that Mets team.

Next: The Worst A's Players in History: Tony LaRussa