worst individual road batting average?

[TranaGreg]

former catcher turned analyst Greg Zaun on JP Arencibia:

The one that jumps out at Zaun is the catcher’s .147 road batting average, which he called the worst number in major league history.

can anyone validate this? I spent some time at Baseball Reference but couldn't come up with the right query.

[Controller Jacobs]

I say no way that's the lowest, but it may take some time to find it.

By the way, Dunn batted .149 at home in 2011

[TranaGreg]

I say no way that's the lowest, but it may take some time to find it.

I thought the same.

By the way, Dunn batted .149 at home in 2011

wow.

[Judge Jude]

Ray Oyler hit .135 overall for the 1968 WS champion Tigers as SS, but that was .154 on the road (and .106 at home)

[wannabegriffey]

Ray Oyler hit .135 overall for the 1968 WS champion Tigers as SS, but that was .154 on the road (and .106 at home)

His glove must have been at least double as good as ozzie !!

[Judge Jude]

Oyler bio here:

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ab9b01f9

spoiler alert: he died of a heart attack at age 42

I have this card from when I was a kid - he sure LOOKED like a slugger

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vintagecardprices.com/pics/1830/164828.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vintagecardprices.com/card-profile/164828/1968-Topps-Ray-Oyler-399-Baseball-Card-Value-Prices.htm&h=386&w=276&sz=30&tbnid=CYQFqLsfh_gxyM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=64&zoom=1&usg=__bB4AjOwE6-pawGNZrNp0TiGB2Vg=&docid=u-Nx48jb1nLVqM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=WbSDUoHABPXj4AOZoYCwCw&ved=0CFkQ9QEwCQ

[Don Quixote]

His glove must have been at least double as good as ozzie !!

Oyler was a GREAT defensive shortstop. Some people were aghast when Tigers manager Mayo Smith benched him for the 1968 World Series, putting CF Mickey Stanley at SS in order to get the rest of his talented outfielders (Al Kaline, Willie Horton, and Jim Northrup) in the lineup simultaneously (this being the pre-DH days). It was a really ballsy move that paid off as the Tigers won the Series.

Can you imagine the sh**storm that would erupt if a manager did something like that now?

But yeah, Oyler couldn't hit a lick. I remember seeing him on "Game of the Week" and thinking, "He's as bad as I am".

[Don Quixote]

former catcher turned analyst Greg Zaun on JP Arencibia:



can anyone validate this? I spent some time at Baseball Reference but couldn't come up with the right query.

I'm lousy with baseball-reference.com, so I went through Zaun's career by year--

That .149 was his road mark in 2002. His home/away splits aren't that major--.256 career at home, .247 on the road, .252 overall. He hit for a better average on the road than at home in 7 of his 16 seasons. He hit below .200 twice on the road (2002 and .185 in 2008) and once at home (.153 in 1998). His high road average was .293 in 1997, and he hit over .300 at home twice (.311 in 1197 and .373 in 2001).

I looked at Ray Oyler's career and year-by-year numbers, but even he never hit that badly on the road in any year. He did hit .106 at home in 1968, though.