With Mizzou baseball’s season officially in the books — for all the wrong reasons — I figured it was the perfect time to look back at the worst conference records in each SEC team’s history. Just a little something to lift everyone’s spirits.
Disclaimer: Due to rule changes over the years and teams shifting conferences, not all have played a full 30-game SEC schedule. These records reflect each team’s worst conference finish in a season with at least 24 games.
Alabama: 5-24-1 (2017)
While the Alabama Crimson Tide won only four of 26 SEC games in 1997 — their worst conference record by winning percentage — there are no available statistics from that season. However, one could argue that the program’s worst overall year came two decades later, in 2017. That season, Alabama won just five conference games, posted a minus-30 run differential, recorded the worst RPI in program history at No. 175, and even had one tie.
The team was led by first-year head coach Greg Goff, who was fired after the season for NCAA rules violations related to attempting to revoke players’ scholarships. The Tide entered the season following a .500 campaign that ended with a second-round SEC Tournament loss to Mississippi State. While expectations were tempered due to significant roster turnover, the season still fell far below what many anticipated.
Alabama finished around the middle of the pack offensively in 2017, ranking eighth in the SEC with a .265 team batting average. However, that mark came with limited production. Of the seven players who appeared in at least 45 of the team’s 54 games, none hit above .300 — and one finished below .200. The closest was Cody Henry, who led the regulars with a .294 average.
Much like other teams on this list, the Tide struggled to generate extra-base hits. Of their 474 total hits — a bottom-three mark in the SEC — just over 140 went for extra bases, leaving them near the bottom in total bases as well. Two players, Alex Webb and Kyle Kaufman, did finish with averages above .300, but both hit just two home runs apiece and drove in fewer than 14 runs.
Pitching was Alabama’s biggest weakness in 2017, as the Tide finished in the bottom three of the SEC with a 4.83 team ERA. Much of that stemmed from poor control and traffic on the bases — they ranked last in the conference in WHIP at 1.60, allowing nearly two baserunners per inning and giving opponents ample scoring opportunities.
The rotation featured three consistent starters, each making over 10 starts. While one finished with a sub-4.00 ERA, the other two ended the year with ERAs above 5.50. The bullpen didn’t offer much relief either. Although four pitchers posted ERAs under 5.00 in at least 15 appearances, the group as a whole struggled, allowing nearly 10 hits per nine innings.