Steve Blass Disease - position player equivalent?

[DavidGee24]

Watching Mallex Smith suddenly become someone who can't play baseball made me wonder if there's a position player who can also bear that moniker.

Blass was a really good pitcher for the Pirates in the late 60s/early 70s. In 1972 he had a 2.49 ERA, a bWar of 4.0 for the second straight year, and carried the Pirates to the WS title that year. The next season, at the age of 30, without any injury he just completely lost it. In 1973 his ERA in just under 100 innings was 9.74, his bWar was -minus-3.9 (and that has to be the MLB record; you not only have to be this bad but you also need to be allowed to pitch enough to accumulate this), and then in 1974 he pitched one game, did really badly, and his career was over.

This has happened to a few other good pitchers, Rick Ankiel coming to mind. But has any position player ever done what Blass did?

Chone Figgins might come as close as anybody, although after his last All-Star season with the Angels he had one so-so year with us before he totally lost it. I'm wondering if there was ever a position player who was an All-Star at a reasonably young age who without being injured completely fell apart and never recovered. I really can't think of anyone so we might have to call it Chone Figgins Disease.

[Jack Merridew]

Jeff Cirillo and Scott Spezio both fell off a cliff when they joined the Mariners, but I guess they both had at least one decent season after they left the Mariners.

[D-train]

Watching Mallex Smith suddenly become someone who can't play baseball made me wonder if there's a position player who can also bear that moniker.

Blass was a really good pitcher for the Pirates in the late 60s/early 70s. In 1972 he had a 2.49 ERA, a bWar of 4.0 for the second straight year, and carried the Pirates to the WS title that year. The next season, at the age of 30, without any injury he just completely lost it. In 1973 his ERA in just under 100 innings was 9.74, his bWar was -minus-3.9 (and that has to be the MLB record; you not only have to be this bad but you also need to be allowed to pitch enough to accumulate this), and then in 1974 he pitched one game, did really badly, and his career was over.

This has happened to a few other good pitchers, Rick Ankiel coming to mind. But has any position player ever done what Blass did?

Chone Figgins might come as close as anybody, although after his last All-Star season with the Angels he had one so-so year with us before he totally lost it. I'm wondering if there was ever a position player who was an All-Star at a reasonably young age who without being injured completely fell apart and never recovered. I really can't think of anyone so we might have to call it Chone Figgins Disease.

You know the answer to this question. Happened to my first fav Mariner

[D-train]

Thousands of examples of guys going in slumps at the plate and quite few of guys getting the yips on throws but never in my life have I seen a guy not be able to catch a baseball.

[Donn Beach]

Chuck Knoblauch, though Mackey Sasser is probably the most bizarre, a catcher that forgot how to throw back to the pitcher

[D-train]

Chuck Knoblauch, though Mackey Sasser is probably the most bizarre, a catcher that forgot how to throw back to the pitcher

Yep. I think Steve Sax was the first that I remember. Khris Davis has them which is weird because he is an OFer. Sasser just couldn't release the ball without a few pump fakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hURkoqx0pg4

[D-train]

Check out number 10. Barkely almost goes into convulsions during his golf swing. lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDm1xv34oq0

[DavidGee24]

You know the answer to this question. Happened to my first fav Mariner

Are you talking about LeRoy Stanton? Even though he was never an All-Star he had that great 1977 and then like the other sluggers Dan Meyer and Ruppert Jones, fell apart in 1978 and his career was suddenly over. Did you know he just died in March? I didn't.

[D-train]

You know the answer to this question. Happened to my first fav Mariner

Are you talking about LeRoy Stanton? Even though he was never an All-Star he had that great 1977 and then like the other sluggers Dan Meyer and Ruppert Jones, fell apart in 1978 and his career was suddenly over. Did you know he just died in March? I didn't.

Yep that was posted here. We need a dead Mariners thread at some point.