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You Must be Misch-taken

News item: Mets claim lefthanded pitcher Patrick Misch on waivers from the Giants.

"I'll always be a winner, and you'll always be a loser,"

This is the second time I've quoted the same line of the Seinfeld episode, "The Revenge." and its appropriate here with the news that the Mets added Misch to their major-league roster.

Mishmash is more like it.

Patrick Misch sports a win-loss record of which only Charlie Brown could be proud. If Misch never pitches in the majors again, he'd be one of 15 pitchers since the advent of the major leagues to sport a record of no wins, and at least seven losses.

That's a fun list of pitchers to look through. It's one that includes the likes of

Tommy McCarthy, who has no relation to the former Met broadcaster (not that I know, anyway), but is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. McCarthy wasn't much for moundsmanship, going 0-7 for the 1884 Boston Reds of the Union Association, but was quite an able batsman once he converted to full-time outfield duties. Baseball-Reference reports he was one of the pioneers of the hit-and-run and the "trapped-ball" play.

Steve Gerkin, and that's not spelled Gherkin, like the cucumber twin. Instead, this Gerkin was nicknamed "Splinter" and I didn't check as to why. Gerkin's most similar player, by way of Baseball-Reference, is Farmer Ray. I'm not sure why he was named Farmer, but I'm guessing it had nothing to do with planting Gherkins, or Gerkins. This Gerkin went 0-12 for the 1945 Philadelphia Athletics. He didn't pitch in the majors again, though he was the MVP for the 1947 Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.

Scott Ruffcorn, whom I feel sorry for, despite the fact that he once was a member of the Phillies. Ruffcorn pitched in 30 major league games from 1993 to 1997. He faced 12 NL teams, though the Mets never got a crack at him. In those 30 games, his team NEVER won. Ruffcorn, a star of stars in the minors (career record: 68-30 as a first-round pick by the 1991 White Sox) went 0-8 in the big leagues with an 8.57 ERA.

The Mets have beaten a pair of the pitchers on "The Biggest Loser" list.

On June 25, 1970, the combo of Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan swept a doubleheader from the Cubs, pushing the Mets past Chicago and into first place in the National League. In the nightcap, Ryan's fine effort of seven innings, in which he allowed one run and one hit (retiring the last 15 he faced), was far better than that of Archie Reynolds, who suffered the fourth of eight career defeats by yielding five runs in six innings. Reynolds finished his career with no wins.

On June 21, 1998, the Mets celebrated the beginning of summer with a 3-2 win over the Marlins and Joe Fontenot, who lost for the fifth time in his winless career. Fontenot would finish 0-7 in eight career appearances though with a little luck, he could have managed one win.

Fontenot's day was done after seven innings, with his team down a run. The Marlins had a great chance to tie or lead but missed on their opportunity to bail out their starting pitcher's decent effort. Florida loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, but John "I'm known for making things difficult" Franco (his words, after the game), escaped via an ugly force out (Franco made a bad throw home) and a pair of strikeouts. Franco then completed the save for Al Leiter by retiring the side in the ninth.

Those who know Misch-ter Met know...The complete list of pitchers with career records of 0-7 or worse:

0-16 Terry Felton
0-12 Steve Gerkin
0-10 Charlie Stecher
0-8 Scott Ruffcorn
0-8 Archie Reynolds
0-8 Paul Brown
0-8 Ed Albosta
0-8 Ed O'Neil
0-7 Pat Misch
0-7 Joe Fontenot
0-7 Walt Craddock
0-7 Roy Bruner
0-7 Charlie Barnabe
0-7 Walter Moser
0-7 Tommy McCarthy

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