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.
Hal Rhyne began his career as a utility infielder for the Pirates in 1926. He was a decent enough fielder and his bat was not a complete waste, which was sort of surprising for a utility infielder in those days. Rhyne bounced around a little bit and eventually found himself in Boston in 1929.
Rhyne became the starting shortstop for the Red Sox for three years starting in 1929. The first year was very similar to his rookie season with Pittsburgh, though he had a little more doubles power (he never hit a home run with the Red Sox). He was still difficult to strike out and walked more often than he went down at the plate. 1930 saw his numbers decline significantly and he was in danger of losing his job. His line slipped to .203/.269/.264, with an OPS+ of 39. His glove kept him on the field though.
1931 was Rhyne's best season and actually saw him get some minor MVP consideration. His bat rebounded in a fairly big way and he hit .273/.341/.343 with 75 runs scored, 154 hits, 34 doubles and 51 RBIs. He also led the league in assists (502) and fielding percentage (.963) while being among the league leaders in several other fielding categories.
Rhyne struggled in 1932 though and eventually lost his job to Rabbit Warstler (who I will get to eventually). He hit just .227/.310/.333 and played in just 71 games. After the season, Rhyne was shipped out along with Ed Durham and sent to the other Sox for a package include Bob "Fats" Fothergill, Johnny Hodapp, Greg Mulleavy and Bob Seeds. That was not a great deal for either team, though Durham and Hodapp each did well for their new teams in the one year they were both there. Rhyne played in just 39 games with Chicago, and that was it for his Major League career.
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