Here’s a recent Terrible card. It’s 2013 Danny Espinosa of the Washington Nationals and to my interests, also of the Illowa APBA League’s Green Rock Bombers. I faced him this past weekend when playing the IAL’s commissioner Mike Bunch.
For the Nats, Danny Espinosa hit just .158 in 2013. He also walked only 4 times while striking out 47 times in 158 at-bats.
| G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 44 | 167 | 158 | 11 | 25 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 47 | .158 | .193 | .272 |
Espinosa has power numbers 0-0-0 which for a middle infielder, isn’t too bad. But after that, he only gets two 8s and one 9 instead of the common 8-8-8-9-9 combination. He also has just one 14 (plus one 42) to eight 13s.
In recent years, APBA has been moving the error number on certain cards, especially those with lower batting averages. Espinosa’s 2013 card is one example. He gets a 53-13 and instead his error number 18 was moved. He has a 15-18. While in some cases that works (an 18 gets a runner on base while a 15-9 would be an out against a C pitcher), it still stands out as a stigma.
Ugly numbers: 25-36, 51-13, 15-18
Through 30 games of the IAL season, Espinosa is batting spot on at .158 in 76 at-bats for the Bombers. Mike doesn’t have to put up with Espinosa’s bat all year, by the way. He has Howie Kendrick as his regular secondbaseman. Interestingly, the Bombers also have rookie Kolten Wong at second base too. Wong batted an even lower .153 in 2013.
