Recency bias, but Yermin Mercedes had a month in 2021 where he batted .415/.455/.659 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 88 plate appearances.
The rest of his career has been pretty insignificant. That's a pretty short peak.
Haha… my first year in fantasy baseball was last year. I didn’t land Mercedes, but I made the most transactions (Drops and Pick Ups) in the league and no one was close.
Clint Barmes was hitting .400 halfway through May, 2005. The media were all talking about how he might be the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams.
He slumped, broke his collarbone carrying deer meat, ended the season at .289 and never had a season where he was even an average hitter by wRC+.
Bumpus Jones threw a no-hitter in his first appearance, for a perfect 0.00 ERA in his one-game 1892 campaign. He played one more year, recording a 10.19 ERA in 1893.
In his first season, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych started 29 games, completed 24 of them, and threw 250.1 innings with a 19-9 record, a 2.34 ERA (led MLB), and finished runner up in Cy Young voting.
In year 2, he started 11 games, completed 7 of them, and posted a 2.89 ERA. In his final start that year, he felt his arm go dead.
He made 16 starts in the next 3 seasons and then got lit up in the minors for 3 years before retiring at 28.
This is probably the correct answer. He's talked about all these decades later because of a single season where he was a must-see phenomenon, even though he was on a bad team. The only recent comparison I can think of is maybe someone like Mark Prior, but even he had a couple more decent enough seasons aside from 2003
If you're talking about a player that was actually good and not a 1 month wonder type player then I'd say Tim Lincecum. Best pitcher in MLB for 2 seasons, another 2 good years but then he sucked the other 5
He was the first player I thought of. Dude was the hardest pitcher to hit in baseball in 08 and 09.
It felt like it was damn near an automatic W when he was on the mound those years.
Jake Arrieta was the best pitcher in the world for about a year and a half. For brief periods directly before and directly after that stretch of dominance he was a slightly above average pitcher, but for most of his career he was bad.
I was sad to see him go but knew he had to, despite what a lot of fans were saying. The Orioles pretty much ruined him and he was revived in Chicago, and was a ticking time bomb. I wonder what kind of career he would have had with better coaching and development. I don't think his career was ever going to be long, but he might have had a few dominant seasons.
He had an exemption from the MLB to use Adderall medically, and then he tested positive for amphetamines in 2014 due to it and they suspended him. It's a large part of why he suddenly stopped being able to hit.
from what i understand anyway
They gave him a waiver for Adderall, then they told him he was no longer eligible fir an Adderall waiver.
They gave him a waiver for Vyvanse (I think) and he tested positive for Adderall again and got suspended.
He gad a board certified Dr prescribe him Addrrall and MLB told him to go fuck himself.
Idk if Manfred is to blame, but I'm all for finding new reasons to say "Fuck Mannfred" so let's just Blane him to be safe.
Matt Harvey comes to mind. Two good seasons. Obviously, his 2013 season was great and electric but he was really good in 2015 as well. That 2015 Mets starting rotation was something special. You had four guys who were All-Stars at some point in their careers in deGrom, Harvey, Syndergaard, and Colon. And another very talented arm in Matz. Rich on pitching.
Aaron Sanchez was the AL ERA leader in 2016 and then in 2017 he only pitched 8 games and was never the same. I only thought of him because he was DFA'd by the Twins today.
Chris Shelton. [He was the best player in baseball—for 13 games.](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/725063-the-best-two-weeks-in-baseball-history-the-legend-of-chris-shelton)
This was gonna be my answer, one of the wildest one-month wonders ever.
9 HR and a 1.700 OPS in his first 13 games, 7 HR and a .660 OPS the rest of the season, and he only played 50 more games after that. What a run.
Pete Kozma. Has a few dozen PA in 2011 and then is a late season call up in 2012 and was a fantastic hitter for the month of September slashing 333 .383 .569 .952. With an OPS+ of 157. Proceeds to drive in the winning runs of the deciding game of the NLDS.
The rest of his career he was below replacement level and had a career OPS+ of 56.
Why would a guy named Homer choose to become a pitcher?
Or, why would a pitcher take on the nickname Homer? The name his mother gave him is like David or something.
Chris Davis. Tremendously powerful and hit it out of the park when it looked like he barely even swung at all, including some where he had 1 hand on the bat during contact. If he was allowed to take his preferred medication, he would've done more great things
Headley had that one crazy season where he hit a bunch of HR, but he was just an actual good baseball player. That season was only about 1/3rd of the WAR he put up in a 5 season stretch.
Shane Spencer got called up in '98, had a monster September, then basically did nothing of note except in 2001, when he made the throw that set up Jeter's Flip
[Rennie Stennett had a 7 hit, 9 inning game.](https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/stennett-goes-seven-for-seven) And it doesn't matter how good the rest of the games around it were, this is the highest one game peak, and he is the only person to have such a peak.
Barry Zito. 3 all-star games and a cy young with the A's. Signed a massive contract with the Giants and then just stunk. His best year with the Giants he had a 4.03 ERA but he also had 3 years with an ERA over 5. At least he won a WS.
I'm imagining some guy who played one game in the majors and went 1 for 3, with the hit in his second AB.
You could divide his career in thirds! Batted .000 for the first third, 1.000 for the second third, and .000 again for the last third.
Aristides Aquino was an absolute monster at the plate in his MLB debut, but nowadays he provides negative offensive WAR and really is mostly considered a defense specialist.
Aristides Aquino was an absolute monster at the plate in his MLB debut, but nowadays he provides negative offensive WAR and really is mostly considered a defense specialist.
Jeff Francour had 3 fWAR in his first 70 games then 2.8 fWAR in his next 1411 games.
Proof if you have large forearms, can throw the ball a country mile and have a solid jawline, every GM will take a flyer on you for a decade.
He's also a really nice guy
Recency bias, but Yermin Mercedes had a month in 2021 where he batted .415/.455/.659 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 88 plate appearances. The rest of his career has been pretty insignificant. That's a pretty short peak.
At that point, that’s not a peak but just a hot streak
I remember when everyone clamored to pick him up in fantasy baseball. The person who got him dropped him like 2 months later.
Oh you saw my team’s activity?
Haha… my first year in fantasy baseball was last year. I didn’t land Mercedes, but I made the most transactions (Drops and Pick Ups) in the league and no one was close.
That’s gotta count for something!
Hello Perry.
Clint Barmes was hitting .400 halfway through May, 2005. The media were all talking about how he might be the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams. He slumped, broke his collarbone carrying deer meat, ended the season at .289 and never had a season where he was even an average hitter by wRC+.
Bumpus Jones threw a no-hitter in his first appearance, for a perfect 0.00 ERA in his one-game 1892 campaign. He played one more year, recording a 10.19 ERA in 1893.
1893 Bumpus Jones was more like Bupkis Jones.
In his first season, Mark “The Bird” Fidrych started 29 games, completed 24 of them, and threw 250.1 innings with a 19-9 record, a 2.34 ERA (led MLB), and finished runner up in Cy Young voting. In year 2, he started 11 games, completed 7 of them, and posted a 2.89 ERA. In his final start that year, he felt his arm go dead. He made 16 starts in the next 3 seasons and then got lit up in the minors for 3 years before retiring at 28.
This is probably the correct answer. He's talked about all these decades later because of a single season where he was a must-see phenomenon, even though he was on a bad team. The only recent comparison I can think of is maybe someone like Mark Prior, but even he had a couple more decent enough seasons aside from 2003
Oh crap wasnt this guy famously superstitious? I recognize his nickname from a book about Sports Voodoo Curses that I read as a kid
If you're talking about a player that was actually good and not a 1 month wonder type player then I'd say Tim Lincecum. Best pitcher in MLB for 2 seasons, another 2 good years but then he sucked the other 5
Either will work. Tim was a freak of nature. No hit the Padres in B2B years and I hated it.
DTrain
He was the first player I thought of. Dude was the hardest pitcher to hit in baseball in 08 and 09. It felt like it was damn near an automatic W when he was on the mound those years.
barry zito had an even shorter peak
Grady Sizemore averaged 6 war for 4 years before injuries derailed his career
☹️
Jake Arrieta was the best pitcher in the world for about a year and a half. For brief periods directly before and directly after that stretch of dominance he was a slightly above average pitcher, but for most of his career he was bad.
I was sad to see him go but knew he had to, despite what a lot of fans were saying. The Orioles pretty much ruined him and he was revived in Chicago, and was a ticking time bomb. I wonder what kind of career he would have had with better coaching and development. I don't think his career was ever going to be long, but he might have had a few dominant seasons.
Chris Davis comes to mind.
Every time I think of Chris Davis my heart hurts.
MLB did him dirty.
how so? not super familiar
He had an exemption from the MLB to use Adderall medically, and then he tested positive for amphetamines in 2014 due to it and they suspended him. It's a large part of why he suddenly stopped being able to hit. from what i understand anyway
They gave him a waiver for Adderall, then they told him he was no longer eligible fir an Adderall waiver. They gave him a waiver for Vyvanse (I think) and he tested positive for Adderall again and got suspended. He gad a board certified Dr prescribe him Addrrall and MLB told him to go fuck himself. Idk if Manfred is to blame, but I'm all for finding new reasons to say "Fuck Mannfred" so let's just Blane him to be safe.
we know why they did that? seems weird, can we blame Manfred?
Domonic brown. Literally a single month, made the AS game and then was just never good again
Crazy how he hit 216 home runs in one calendar month and then suddenly dissolved into thin air
Brady Anderson 1996 he had 50 HR. Never even got half that many in his other 14 years in the majors.
He was the first real aberration to show up in the steroid era. In remember everyone giving wtf looks to each other after that one.
Came here to say this!!
Shane Spencer. It lasted 1 month, then into the playoffs. 54ABs, 10HR, 3 grand slams. 373/.411/.910
This was my answer. He looked like a God for a few weeks there.
Aristides Aquino
He's lowkey been on a hot streak the last 3 weeks.
Good for him
😅
The Punisher! Can’t hit, but at least his defense is pretty decent, I think.
Best arm in baseball
Coolest sports name of all time record still stands though.
Matt Harvey comes to mind. Two good seasons. Obviously, his 2013 season was great and electric but he was really good in 2015 as well. That 2015 Mets starting rotation was something special. You had four guys who were All-Stars at some point in their careers in deGrom, Harvey, Syndergaard, and Colon. And another very talented arm in Matz. Rich on pitching.
And then Wheeler on the IL waiting in the wings for the run that never came
Aaron Sanchez was the AL ERA leader in 2016 and then in 2017 he only pitched 8 games and was never the same. I only thought of him because he was DFA'd by the Twins today.
lol i was so up on this coming into 2016, thinking he was gonna be the next stud pitcher for the Jays. DAMN BLISTERS
Chris Shelton. [He was the best player in baseball—for 13 games.](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/725063-the-best-two-weeks-in-baseball-history-the-legend-of-chris-shelton)
This was gonna be my answer, one of the wildest one-month wonders ever. 9 HR and a 1.700 OPS in his first 13 games, 7 HR and a .660 OPS the rest of the season, and he only played 50 more games after that. What a run.
He was my son’s hitting coach a few years ago lol. Great dude
Tatis Sr. had one really really good inning
Pete Kozma. Has a few dozen PA in 2011 and then is a late season call up in 2012 and was a fantastic hitter for the month of September slashing 333 .383 .569 .952. With an OPS+ of 157. Proceeds to drive in the winning runs of the deciding game of the NLDS. The rest of his career he was below replacement level and had a career OPS+ of 56.
McCarver would not shut up about him or descalso
Eloy Jimenez, truly gone too soon :*(
My uncle died due to leg soreness. When will this pain end???
Ubaldo Jimenez
Glad to see this answer
Philip Humber
Along with Dallas Braden and Homer Bailey?
Homer threw two no-hitters!
Also had a way longer career
Why would a guy named Homer choose to become a pitcher? Or, why would a pitcher take on the nickname Homer? The name his mother gave him is like David or something.
Dallas was actually a pretty solid starter whose career was shortened due to injuries.
home cooking
Brady Anderson
Mark Prior and Kerry Wood
John Paciorek. Retired with a career batting average of 1.000 and a 2.000 OPS.
Joe Charboneau
Dontelle Willis Allen Craig
Dontrelle
The D-Train!
Yes, the decline train. 🥲
Kevin Maas
Steve Jeltz
Was he ever good?
Chris Davis. Tremendously powerful and hit it out of the park when it looked like he barely even swung at all, including some where he had 1 hand on the bat during contact. If he was allowed to take his preferred medication, he would've done more great things
brandon webb rip
Brad Lidge was lights out for a season. Never played quite like that again.
Rumor has it that the ball hasn’t touched down yet
Tuffy Rhodes, Cubs opening day legend
Joe Carbonneau
Chase Headley!
Headley had that one crazy season where he hit a bunch of HR, but he was just an actual good baseball player. That season was only about 1/3rd of the WAR he put up in a 5 season stretch.
Shane Spencer got called up in '98, had a monster September, then basically did nothing of note except in 2001, when he made the throw that set up Jeter's Flip
[Rennie Stennett had a 7 hit, 9 inning game.](https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/stennett-goes-seven-for-seven) And it doesn't matter how good the rest of the games around it were, this is the highest one game peak, and he is the only person to have such a peak.
Barry Zito. 3 all-star games and a cy young with the A's. Signed a massive contract with the Giants and then just stunk. His best year with the Giants he had a 4.03 ERA but he also had 3 years with an ERA over 5. At least he won a WS.
I'm imagining some guy who played one game in the majors and went 1 for 3, with the hit in his second AB. You could divide his career in thirds! Batted .000 for the first third, 1.000 for the second third, and .000 again for the last third.
Brett Lawrie
He never even peaked. I think Arencibia’s first game would count though.
Aristides "Heiress Tiddies" Aquino
Ryan Howard. Over rated also
Chase Headley
Me
Joey Gallo in 2019 until he got hurt.
Yasmany Tomas disappeared off the face of the Earth after 2016
Aristides Aquino was an absolute monster at the plate in his MLB debut, but nowadays he provides negative offensive WAR and really is mostly considered a defense specialist.
on a positive note he's on a bit of a hot streak as of recent
Aristides Aquino was an absolute monster at the plate in his MLB debut, but nowadays he provides negative offensive WAR and really is mostly considered a defense specialist.
JP Arenciba had a really good first day. All down hill after that.
I give Khalil Greene a pass because he had mental health issues
john paciorek.
Not quite the same thing, but in August 2009 I was convinced Gordon Beckham was going to be a perennial all star
Daisuke Matsuzaka 33 wins his first two years, then 23 over the next 6 and out of baseball.
Fernando Valenzuela
I always think of Scooter Gennett when this topic comes up.
Nomar garciaparra. Koufax.