The Worst Red Sox Team of All Time Pt. 14: Hod Lisenbee

Failure is often even more fascinating than success. I am definitely intrigued by the 1932 Boston Red Sox, the worst Red Sox team of all time. The team finished with a record of 43-111, for a winning percentage of .279 and very little went right.

Hod Lisenbee was a rookie sensation in 1927.  As a 28-year-old rookie with the Washington Senators, Lisenbee finished with a record of 18-9 with a 3.47 ERA in 242 innings.  He led the league in shutouts with four.  After a disappointing sophomore season, Lisenbee was dealt to the cash-poor Red Sox, along with Elliott Bigelow, Milt Gaston, Grant Gillis and Bobby Reeves for Buddy Myer.  Myer was a legitimate star, yet the players the Red Sox received did very little.

Lisenbee only pitched in five games his first season in Boston.  He had his best season with Boston the next year when he went 10-17 (the team was 52-102) with a 4.40 ERA, striking out 47 while walking 86.  Not exactly up to par with his rookie season.  The next season he was 5-12 with a 5.19 ERA.  Which brings us to 1932.  Lisenbee pitched in just 19 games, starting six and finishing with a 0-4 record and a 5.65 ERA.  He threw just 73.1 innings, striking out 13 and walking 25.  

Lisenbee did not appear again in the Majors until 1936 with the Philadelphia Athletics and then re-emerged again in 1945 at the age of 46 with the Reds.  Unfortunately, he was never able to replicate the success of his 1927 rookie season.