Finding the arch-nemeses for every National League team

Welcome to the conclusion of Baseball Nation's exciting series, "Find evidence to support your long-held belief that (player) killed your team." That title didn't sing, but it's pretty much what you're here for. Using Baseball Reference's Play Index, which is one of the best things the Internet has ever produced, we've found the hitters who did the best against every National League team (min. 100 at-bats).

But that's just by raw OPS, and you'll see a lot of names you'll expect because they were good against everyone. It shouldn't surprise you that Barry Bonds shows up in this article, for example. So we're also looking at tOPS+, which measures how out of whack the split is when compared with the hitter's career numbers.

For example, if Neifi Perez was a career .267/.297/.375 hitter, but he hit .388/.419/.578 against a specific team, he would have an incredibly high tOPS+ against that team. Of course, Neifi Perez isn't going to make an article like this, but you get the point.

Arizona Diamondbacks (Full table)
OPS: Manny Ramirez (1.305)
tOPS+: Adam Everett (189)

Manny Ramirez wasn't on the Dodgers long, but he was there long enough to harass a few NL West teams.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Adam Everett	136	5	21	.331	.378	.554	.931	.357	189
2	Dante Bichette	132	11	30	.372	.439	.752	1.192	.323	181
3	Alfonso Soriano	161	17	38	.333	.404	.757	1.161	.330	176
4	Andres Torres	185	5	20	.321	.395	.564	.958	.397	169
5	Chris Denorfia	113	7	13	.362	.398	.629	1.027	.356	166
6	Manny Ramirez	157	12	32	.411	.522	.782	1.305	.438	161
7	Austin Kearns	179	10	30	.323	.413	.587	1.001	.367	160
8	Ty Wigginton	178	10	25	.361	.390	.608	.998	.382	160
9	Morgan Ensberg	116	8	14	.347	.426	.653	1.080	.370	157
10	Todd Hollandsworth	158	12	29	.311	.350	.642	.992	.337	153

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I kind of figured Adam Everett was on the Diamondbacks the whole time, to be honest.

Atlanta Braves (Full table)
OPS: Shawn Green (1.087)
tOPS+: Nick Esasky (172)

That's weird. There's a dearth of hitters who were active from 1993 through the 2000s or so. Must be a fluke.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Nick Esasky	230	18	47	.306	.399	.673	1.073	.321	172
2	Willie Harris	171	4	20	.305	.427	.475	.902	.379	168
3	Sherry Magee	128	0	9	.346	.444	.477	.921	.359	163
4	Glenn Braggs	137	6	20	.336	.409	.525	.933	.376	157
5	Randy Winn	175	4	20	.368	.428	.546	.974	.377	156
6	Shawn Green	311	24	63	.348	.428	.659	1.087	.340	154
7	Tommie Agee	293	16	30	.312	.373	.564	.937	.322	154
8	Ed Fitz Gerald	127	0	19	.345	.397	.440	.836	.421	154
9	Marty Callaghan	115	0	10	.370	.404	.444	.848	.400	153
10	Greg Brock	241	12	30	.285	.402	.530	.932	.300	152

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I've never seen a Fitz Gerald. Is that weird, or are there hundreds of thousands of them out there? Even before I clicked on the link, I knew he was a backup catcher. Ed Fitz Gerald is somehow the catcheriest name in any table here, even if it's kind of an unusual name.

Chicago Cubs (Full table)
OPS: Mark McGwire (1.285)
tOPS+: Jerry White (199)

Jerry White was a career .253/.337/.363 hitter, and he was never a starter. For whatever reason, the Cubs traded him six months after acquiring him, and he didn't take kindly to the swap. White wasn't in the majors in 1984, and the Cubs won their division. Correlation is usually causation, as the Internet likes to remind you.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Jerry White	116	4	19	.408	.457	.592	1.049	.437	199
2	Bennie Warren	156	8	27	.326	.404	.565	.969	.333	186
3	Jackie Brandt	189	7	31	.366	.431	.610	1.041	.390	182
4	Jim Morrison	206	10	38	.362	.405	.611	1.016	.383	179
5	John Olerud	134	6	18	.414	.500	.703	1.203	.435	177
6	F.P. Santangelo	131	3	21	.342	.405	.577	.981	.376	176
7	Clyde McCullough	167	5	36	.318	.384	.527	.911	.311	170
8	Carl Everett	165	10	41	.369	.421	.671	1.092	.391	169
9	Jeff Blauser	299	15	48	.351	.413	.611	1.023	.356	167
10	Jerry Turner	131	6	24	.310	.392	.558	.950	.322	167

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Better nickname for #4: The Lizard King or The Overrated Poet?

Cincinnati Reds (Full table)
OPS: Barry Bonds (1.184)
tOPS+: Paul Bako (195)

Theory: Every team has a backup catcher of doom. That is, a backup catcher that always seems to hit well against your team. For the Reds, it's Paul Bako.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Paul Bako	143	3	26	.317	.413	.508	.921	.361	195
2	Matt Lawton	138	10	24	.361	.435	.697	1.132	.340	185
3	Sixto Lezcano	129	8	29	.327	.473	.663	1.136	.325	182
4	Joe Koppe	134	3	19	.301	.396	.496	.891	.356	175
5	Brady Clark	217	6	27	.352	.444	.575	1.020	.358	173
6	Honus Wagner	123	1	13	.394	.475	.471	.946	.404	173
7	Felipe Lopez	148	4	16	.353	.419	.564	.983	.391	170
8	Shane Andrews	142	10	34	.305	.366	.609	.976	.354	168
9	Barry Bonnell	132	3	15	.364	.412	.545	.958	.398	168
10	Dante Bichette	286	20	74	.379	.413	.709	1.121	.373	165

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I love it when guys like Honus Wagner show up in these searches. He was Honus Wagner to the rest of the league, but he meant even more to a team like the Reds. Of course, I think there were three teams back then, and they all took turns playing each other.

Colorado Rockies (Full table)
OPS: Mark McGwire (1.271)
tOPS: Neifi Perez (195)

LOLOLOLOLOLOL. YOU EARNED THIS, ROCKIES. OH, JUST DESSERTS. THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT, COLORADO. REAP WHAT YOU HATH SOWN.

Sorry. I get a little irrational when it comes to Neifi Perez.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Neifi Perez	128	3	17	.388	.419	.578	.997	.408	195
2	Matt Stairs	112	11	33	.380	.446	.770	1.216	.380	187
3	Robin Ventura	127	6	29	.410	.488	.667	1.155	.425	185
4	Jeff Conine	295	16	63	.375	.447	.684	1.131	.403	183
5	David Segui	180	10	36	.379	.461	.654	1.115	.372	176
6	Aaron Hill	137	5	21	.363	.423	.629	1.052	.377	175
7	Kevin Stocker	145	4	23	.319	.431	.496	.926	.382	172
8	Richard Hidalgo	191	12	40	.358	.450	.686	1.136	.352	170
9	Jeff Blauser	233	10	41	.340	.425	.599	1.024	.368	168
10	Sean Berry	171	11	34	.315	.415	.636	1.052	.298	167

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Look at the sheer number of at-bats for Jeff Conine! That doesn't make sense, seeing as a) Conine spent most of his time in the NL East, but b) also spent nine years in the AL.

Also of note: One of those players was the cover player for a Baseball Prospectus once. That's why they have a few different players on every cover now. That and Josh Phelps.

Miami Marlins (Full table)
OPS: Barry Bonds (1.116)
tOPS+: Tom Pagnozzi (180)

Starting to get the sense that Barry Bonds annoyed a lot of teams.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Tom Pagnozzi	132	5	18	.352	.385	.541	.926	.373	180
2	Jeff Cirillo	173	3	21	.396	.494	.604	1.099	.430	175
3	Chris Widger	126	3	19	.318	.405	.536	.941	.368	173
4	Robby Thompson	122	5	11	.333	.421	.562	.983	.441	167
5	Matt Diaz	213	10	29	.360	.417	.608	1.026	.420	164
6	Andre Ethier	167	7	30	.397	.464	.623	1.087	.432	160
7	Rod Barajas	145	6	24	.309	.338	.559	.897	.350	156
8	Todd Walker	159	7	29	.359	.411	.592	1.003	.361	154
9	Phil Nevin	178	8	33	.356	.449	.577	1.027	.398	153
10	Adrian Beltre	226	9	34	.350	.413	.611	1.024	.378	153

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That's a fairly catcher-heavy list as far as these things go. Robby Thompson didn't play against the Marlins for long, but he loved the expansion-era pitching when he did.

Los Angeles Dodgers (Full table)
OPS: Gary Sheffield (1.093)
tOPS+: Jim Eisenreich (191)

I wonder how many of these players ended up with the team they bludgeoned. It can't be a coincidence that for years and years, Gary Sheffield caused the Dodgers great pain, and then they eventually traded their homegrown, All-Star catcher for him.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Jim Eisenreich	232	7	46	.405	.468	.620	1.087	.413	191
2	Gordon Slade	145	2	12	.331	.374	.500	.874	.342	171
3	Cory Sullivan	158	3	17	.357	.420	.529	.949	.416	167
4	Johnny Estrada	118	4	14	.351	.390	.568	.957	.365	165
5	Jack Shepard	113	2	11	.350	.409	.470	.879	.393	153
6	Don Gutteridge	277	7	48	.309	.332	.517	.849	.313	151
7	Gene Oliver	310	16	48	.318	.385	.540	.925	.324	149
8	Lew McCarty	150	0	10	.349	.425	.434	.859	.375	147
9	Todd Benzinger	151	7	19	.291	.364	.485	.849	.333	147
10	Lee Magee	125	0	4	.304	.345	.446	.791	.321	146

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Cory Sullivan is a great example of a player who isn't going to be remembered by anyone but Rockies diehards and Dodgers fans who know how to hold a grudge.

Milwaukee Brewers (Full table)
OPS: Barry Bonds (1.346)
tOPS+: Darryl Motley (179)

Bonds again, and this time he has one of the higher OPSs in baseball history for any player against a specific team. I knew he was a jerk to the Padres, but I didn't remember the Brewers. They probably remembered.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Darryl Motley	114	8	16	.321	.368	.594	.963	.286	179
2	Jeff Huson	128	2	16	.307	.365	.465	.830	.324	178
3	Troy Tulowitzki	142	10	28	.395	.465	.750	1.215	.433	176
4	Jason Kubel	121	9	26	.369	.438	.670	1.108	.397	174
5	Jose Castillo	164	6	31	.320	.372	.558	.930	.345	173
6	Colby Rasmus	149	8	24	.296	.405	.568	.973	.345	164
7	Kosuke Fukudome	194	8	31	.323	.394	.605	.999	.348	163
8	Danny Bautista	147	9	29	.326	.352	.616	.968	.319	162
9	Brian Jordan	148	6	23	.380	.419	.606	1.025	.418	159
10	Scott Hatteberg	148	5	24	.339	.422	.581	1.002	.349	159

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Again, even by Troy Tulowitzki standards, he's hit the Brewers especially hard. The cameo from Fukudome is pretty amusing -- just under a fifth of his career home runs came against the Brewers.

New York Mets (Full table)
OPS: Joey Votto (1.143)
tOPS+: Brian Johnson (180)

Joey Votto hits everyone. Brian Johnson, though ...

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Brian Johnson	108	8	23	.333	.355	.637	.992	.356	180
2	Claudell Washington	241	12	30	.330	.423	.578	1.001	.337	168
3	Endy Chavez	146	2	16	.328	.372	.530	.902	.356	165
4	Ed Spiezio	119	5	12	.295	.364	.514	.879	.333	165
5	Jeff Stone	117	2	15	.355	.402	.514	.916	.434	160
6	Dave Clark	133	6	25	.342	.414	.547	.961	.410	157
7	Rico Carty	347	15	67	.380	.460	.607	1.066	.401	156
8	Ivan Rodriguez	163	4	28	.348	.438	.578	1.016	.391	156
9	Kevin Orie	126	3	11	.316	.381	.526	.907	.347	154
10	Yorvit Torrealba	119	3	13	.311	.390	.505	.895	.358	154

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Johnson is a legend in Giants lore for a home run he hit in 1997 against the Dodgers, but apparently he was a consistent problem for the Mets, too. In case you were wondering, yes, Ed Spiezio is Scott's dad.

Philadelphia Phillies (Full table)
OPS: Vladimir Guerrero (1.204)
tOPS+: Ted Martinez (211)

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Ted Martinez	138	1	16	.366	.387	.519	.906	.431	211
2	Jerry Kindall	149	9	22	.284	.318	.546	.864	.333	186
3	Miguel Cairo	148	2	14	.362	.417	.523	.940	.395	178
4	Jeff Treadway	137	4	18	.371	.423	.565	.988	.378	177
5	Fred Brickell	153	4	30	.351	.422	.534	.956	.350	173
6	Wally Pipp	200	5	42	.389	.448	.577	1.026	.375	171
7	Joe Marty	120	6	25	.343	.403	.574	.977	.348	171
8	Alan Wiggins	120	0	7	.368	.432	.434	.866	.398	171
9	John Olerud	152	9	35	.384	.480	.696	1.176	.382	170
10	Scott Hairston	135	12	25	.307	.348	.677	1.025	.318	168

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Did you ever notice that when an AMC series needs a weaselly boss, they name him Ted? The two Teds from Mad Men and Breaking Bad could probably switch roles without a lot of us catching on. Ted Martinez was a little-used utility player for four different teams, and he was a career .240/.270/.309 hitter. That's a .309 slugging percentage, mostly because he had 73 career extra-base hits in 1,480 at-bats.

Pittsburgh Pirates (Full table)
OPS: Jermaine Dye (1.232)
tOPS+: Jermaine Dye (193)

Of all the hitters to hit the Pirates hard over the years, no one did it more effectively than Dye. He also wasn't that good against anyone else.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Jermaine Dye	148	11	40	.382	.446	.786	1.232	.386	193
2	Mark Reynolds	143	10	25	.376	.437	.728	1.165	.463	183
3	Lee King	122	5	24	.313	.342	.591	.933	.337	175
4	Bruce Edwards	216	9	37	.326	.405	.595	.999	.321	174
5	Roy Hartsfield	160	4	11	.333	.427	.489	.916	.366	168
6	Ron Hodges	151	3	23	.336	.433	.456	.889	.345	168
7	Jay Johnstone	244	5	33	.355	.422	.547	.969	.374	167
8	Craig Paquette	118	4	21	.324	.362	.556	.918	.373	167
9	Don Hahn	138	1	11	.336	.430	.397	.826	.362	166
10	Bob Usher	114	3	15	.321	.368	.462	.831	.323	165

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Dig that .463 BABIP for Reynolds. The three outcomes don't come much truer.

San Diego Padres (Full table)
OPS: Mark McGwire (1.461)
tOPS+: Mark McGwire (191)

I was prepared to crown McGwire's line against San Diego as the biggest one-team demolition in baseball history. He got on base over half the time, and he hit 18 homers in 136 at-bats -- a 79-homer pace for 600 plate appearances.

But there was another.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Mark McGwire	136	18	41	.389	.507	.954	1.461	.400	191
2	Davey Johnson	189	13	40	.333	.447	.641	1.087	.311	190
3	Rodney Scott	147	0	14	.347	.465	.415	.881	.402	188
4	Bill Sudakis	128	7	26	.328	.383	.586	.969	.337	172
5	Brian McRae	194	5	19	.351	.425	.556	.980	.382	169
6	Miguel Olivo	125	5	15	.336	.384	.534	.918	.395	168
7	Marc Hill	159	3	21	.321	.390	.414	.804	.331	163
8	Johnny Ray	289	4	31	.362	.415	.515	.930	.366	156
9	Luis Melendez	151	1	11	.336	.381	.401	.782	.363	154
10	Joe Pepitone	125	8	26	.333	.358	.579	.937	.294	153

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Also, Miguel Olivo. Backup catcher of doom.

San Francisco Giants (Full table)
OPS: Mark McGwire (1.199)
tOPS+: David Bell (185)

You can see why there's a loud contingent of people following NL teams who support McGwire for the Hall of Fame. For a few years, he was as fearsome as any hitter could possibly be.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	David Bell	166	7	29	.356	.430	.596	1.026	.375	185
2	Michael Tucker	132	8	25	.360	.443	.649	1.092	.363	184
3	Chris Iannetta	201	7	27	.338	.510	.586	1.096	.404	182
4	Hank Leiber	170	12	43	.366	.461	.683	1.144	.364	177
5	Mike Jorgensen	246	9	31	.338	.427	.529	.955	.365	165
6	Kevin Elster	171	8	22	.285	.359	.536	.895	.292	162
7	Lenny Randle	140	3	15	.328	.396	.456	.852	.328	159
8	Brian McRae	205	7	33	.342	.385	.558	.943	.377	157
9	Ron Swoboda	256	16	44	.284	.359	.555	.914	.302	157
10	Hal Morris	266	13	45	.357	.415	.601	1.016	.360	154

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The Giants eventually acquired the first two players on the list. They were good at that.

St. Louis Cardinals (Full table)
OPS: Jim Thome (1.575)
tOPS+: Jim Thome (223)

In the history of baseball, no player has punished a single team more than Jim Thome punished the Cardinals. He leads all hitters in OPS against a single team (min. 100 at-bats), and he also has the highest tOPS+. Even by the standards of a probable Hall of Famer, Thome saved his best work for the Cardinals.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Jim Thome	131	18	40	.430	.565	1.010	1.575	.403	223
2	Ellis Burks	245	18	53	.378	.469	.794	1.264	.384	185
3	Terry Whitfield	169	10	20	.359	.413	.621	1.034	.363	183
4	Tom Saffell	113	4	16	.317	.361	.485	.846	.373	181
5	Angel Pagan	129	4	17	.361	.442	.565	1.007	.372	167
6	Lenny Randle	143	1	12	.339	.448	.424	.871	.379	166
7	Pete Whisenant	150	10	27	.284	.342	.575	.917	.286	165
8	Daryl Boston	135	4	12	.353	.422	.529	.952	.373	164
9	Thomas Howard	131	5	14	.302	.382	.543	.925	.323	164
10	Matt Holliday	120	9	15	.394	.475	.750	1.225	.395	163

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Eighteen homers, 131 at-bats, and a .565 on-base percentage. He's a free agent, Cincinnati.

Washington Nationals (Full table)
OPS: Jim Edmonds (1.198)
tOPS+: Chris Stynes (176)

This is the Expos' list too, don't forget. Apparently, Vernon Wells hit the Expos well in the cross-Canada interleague series.

Rk	Player	PA	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+ ▾
1	Chris Stynes	121	4	20	.363	.454	.559	1.013	.388	176
2	Art Shamsky	144	7	19	.333	.465	.561	1.027	.323	172
3	Biff Pocoroba	141	5	17	.328	.420	.504	.924	.330	168
4	Vernon Wells	125	11	21	.342	.400	.667	1.067	.333	167
5	Adam Jones	127	7	21	.383	.409	.625	1.034	.402	164
6	Danny Heep	199	5	24	.335	.412	.497	.909	.361	164
7	Jim Edmonds	189	16	53	.342	.455	.743	1.198	.375	162
8	Fernando Tatis	165	7	24	.333	.417	.623	1.040	.355	162
9	Sean Casey	226	6	48	.398	.469	.597	1.066	.402	161
10	Lee May	280	25	52	.311	.357	.650	1.007	.294	156

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Amazing names on this list. Biff Pocoroba. Danny Heep. Art Shamsky. Weird note about Shamsky: He hit the Expos disproportionately well, but he was a career .185/.285/.252 hitter on turf. Not sure how that happened.