2020 was one heck of a season. I don’t think this will be a season we will ever forget. It was..strange, unorthodox, unusual. COVID-19 changed the entire season and changed some player’s styles. There were a few surprises in the 2020 season, one of those being how some superstars had a bad year. Today, we will go over the top 5 players who had horrific seasons this year.
First, let’s name some honourable mentions
Cody Bellinger, Yoan Moncada, Nolan Arenado, Marcus Semien, Joc Pederson, Austin Meadows, Shohei Ohtani, Alex Bregman
All of those players were pretty disappointing in this weird 2020 season. But they weren’t the worst. Let’s dive into the top 5.
5: JD Martinez
You know a season was really weird when JD Martinez had a down year. For, his whole career, JD Martinez has been historically good. Even with the Astros, and even the Diamondbacks, when he wasn’t noticed, JD was very good. Before his career blossomed with the Red Sox, in between 2011-2017, JD hit 152 home runs, drove in 476 RBIs, and hit .285. That was before he got really good.
In 2018 and 2019, where he was arguably the best DH, JD hit 79 home runs, picked up 235 RBI’s, and hit .317. Think about it. He hit half as many home runs in 2 years then he did in 7 years, not on the Red Sox.
That’s why I was so disappointed to see JD Martinez 2020 stats. He just looked like he wasn’t in it this year, His discipline at the plate went waaaaaaay down. His strikeout numbers went waaaaaaay up. Honestly, the entire Red Sox team didn’t look like they wanted to win. It didn’t help that their manager got busted for cheating, and then got fired. Rick Roenicke wanted the Red Sox to tank this year. In 2021 Alex Cora will be making a return appearance. Maybe he will return to peak JD Martinez mode with Alex Cora at the helm. Who knows. The point is, JD Martinez, sucked this year. Bad. That’s why he is on this list.
4: Jose Altuve
Jose Altuve was an absolute monstrosity this year. He could not hit the ball to save his life, more specifically breaking balls. The swing and miss percentage on breaking pitches this year was sky-high. You can find a lot of evidence, whether it is stats, or just watching him play, to make the statement that he was arguably the most disappointing player of 2020. Watch this video (credit to Baseball Doesn’t Exist for the video) to see the lowlights of Jose Altuve’s disappointing 2020 season. You can learn the context of the past 3 seasons for Jose, and what makes him so hated and why he was horrendous this year.
On offense, this guy was hitting with a pool noodle up there. Every time he got thrown a curveball or slider, you could guarantee that he would strike out. He hit for almost now power, no consistency, on a team that relies on their biggest stars to hit extremely well. Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley, Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel, and the departing George Springer. All of them except for Brantley were not that good this year. Especially Jose Altuve. There is a chance that because of the struggles of Jose, it may influence where George Springer signs.
And on defense, he was the worst defensive 2nd baseman in all of baseball. His defensive stats are off the charts bad. As I was pulling up the defensive stats for Jose Altuve, the page malfunctioned and turned my computer off. I guess the stats were so bad that even the website didn’t want me to see them! Makes sense I guess. Not only was he bad in the regular season, but it also haunted him into the postseason vs the Rays, who would go on to the World Series, only to lose to the Dodgers. Remember in the ALCS, when he committed two throwing errors, one of which continued the inning, and the next batter hit a go-ahead home run. Check out the video Jomboy Media made about it.
It’s really hard for me to lean on the fact that he was so bad because he was never good in the first place. Of course, we all know Cody Bellinger on the Astros Cheating Scandal, he said that Altuve stole an MVP from Aaron Judge in 2017. Judge had a monster season, hitting 52 home runs as a rookie, which at the time was the record. But before the 3 years that the Astros cheated, which was 2011-2016, Jose was not all that hot. Then came the next 3 years the Astros cheated, and he was extremely good, and won the MVP in the process. Then they got busted and exposed. 2020 came, and without the trash can banging, Jose was brutal. I don’t want to believe that is why he is struggling, but let’s be honest, why else would he? It also was a really weird season, where a lot of superstars struggled, and maybe it was just a coincidence that it was after the season the Astros were exposed for cheating. Who knows? What we do know is that Jose Altuve was horrible this season.
3: Christian Yelich
The former MVP was atrocious this season. Following his 2019 season where he was an All-Star, winning a Silver Slugger award and finishing 2nd in the MVP race to Cody Bellinger, Yelich barely hit above .200 in 2020. He was horrendous. I was expecting him to have another spectacular season, hitting around .300, 20 home runs, and playing solid defense.
Yelich got some payroll this season, when he signed a $215 million extension with the Milwuakee Brewers. And he deserved it. After winning back to back Silver Slugger awards and winning an MVP in 2018 and almost another one in 2019, Yelich was on a path to possibly be one of the best outfielders of the generation. All of us were so let down by Yelich this year.
Some people went as far as calling him the Least Valuable Player. Popular social media influencer GiraffeNeckMarc made an entire video on how Yelich was the worst player of 2020. The irony is how he made a video in 2019 on how Yelich was the best player in the league. And here we are now. It is sad to see someone like Yelich struggle so much, someone who is such a good person, and such an incredibly talented player. All we can do now, is look to the next season.
2: Javier Baez
Man oh man, was El Mago a disaster this season. So dissapointng. From being an All Star in 2019, winning a Gold Glove a few years back, the 2020 MLB The Show cover athlete, Javier Baez has looked all but that. With the bat, he was useless, a dead spot in the lineup. He hit .208 with 8 home runs and drove in 24 home runs. The counting stats aren’t horrible, but .208? Really? For being the guy who is arguably the best shortstop in the National League, he plummeted down to maybe the worst shortstop in the league.
Don’t even get me started about defense. It seemed like every single Cubs game I watched this year, Javy made an error. He was brutal with the leather this year, so bad. He was super hesitant to make the throw, never got to the ball quick, and his throwing was HORIBBLE. Seemed like Rizzo at 1st base had to pick or stretch almost every throw he made. Even on the ones that weren’t errors thrown to the wall, if the Cubs didn’t have Anthony Rizzo at 1st base, I guaruntee you Javier would have had twice if not 3 times as many errors. I hope he regains himself in 2021, because he is so exciting and fun to watch when he is right. But man, was he a bummer this season.
1: Kris Bryant
Oh boy, Kris Bryant was a mess this year. He barely could hit anything. My 7 year old brother has hit more home runs in tee ball than Kris Bryant hit this year. We all know about Bryant’s history. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2015, and then won the MVP in 2016, and he is a 3 time all star. But man, did he stink it up in 2020. Check out Kris Bryant’s stats here. He posted a 0.3 WAR. That means he was barely worth even putting in the lineup. Lots of players on the Cubs had down seasons this year, and Kris Bryant is near the top of that list. Yes, he hit a grand slam vs the White Sox. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. The Cubs lost that game, and that was only 1 of 4 home runs Kris hit this season, and only 4 of 11 RBI’s he drove in.
It has gotten so bad, that the Cubs are looking to potentially trade him. The biggest, most likeliest trade is between the Cubs and the Nationals, both teams have won World Series trophies in this decade. The deal may make you laugh, but the Nats are interested in trading Starlin Castro straight up for Kris Bryant. That’s it. The White Sox may also be interested in trading for him. “But why would they trade Kris Bryant, when they already have Yoan Moncada at 3rd base”, you may ask. Well, Kris Bryant can also play left and right field. And with the season Nomar Mazara had last year, and with the track record of Kris Bryant, it seems that if they landed him, Nomar would probably ride the bench most of the season. Even if the Cubs do not trade him, they may non-tender him, which means any team can pick him up in free agency. The chances of Kris leaving the Cubs, is fairly high, whether it is this season or next.
Anyways, Kris was horrendous this year, and has left the Cubs scratching their head at what to do with him.
There you have it, my list for the biggest disappointments of the 2020 MLB season. From being MVP’s to the bottom of the shelf, these players really demonstrated what it looks like to go from the cream of the crop, to the dog poop that gets stuck on your shoe when you walk outside. I do feel bad for them, and maybe they bounce back in 2021.
