Worst Career-Defining Performances in Sports

Everyone once in a while, athletes who are expected to do something let us down.

That's not to say these players aren't remembered for being good—or even great—but they are often associated with their respective infamous performances long after their playing days are over.

Whether it's forgetting how to do something simple, or surprising everyone at a time fans believe it's a lock, here are a few sporting performances that were career crushing.

Peyton Manning

Was the safety that occurred on the first offensive snap of the Super Bowl last season a career-crushing play for quarterback Peyton Manning? Probably not.

But was it another example of Manning's inability to perform on the biggest stage? Absolutely.

Going all the way back to his college days, the Denver Broncos signal-caller has always been better than everyone else, meaning he has higher expectations from fans and media alike.

He never won a national title while at the University of Tennessee—which people still bring up with him, even these days—and his 1-2 Super Bowl record is further proof that he can't seem to perform as he always has when the lights are brightest.

I mean, the guy passed for an NFL record 55 touchdowns last regular season and then looked like a pee-wee player in the Super Bowl.

Clayton Kershaw

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The curious case of Clayton Kershaw continues.

Opposing batters, media members and fans have often wondered how the 26-year-old has made professional hitters look so silly for the past four seasons, mixing mid-90s heat with nasty off-speed stuff. However, once the lefty gets to the postseason, he looks nothing like he ever has.

A near lock to win his third NL Cy Young Award in four seasons in just a few weeks, Kershaw has gone an insane 72-26 with a 2.10 ERA in the past four regular seasons.

In the playoffs, though? Well, as he showed when getting blasted in his two starts against the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, he's not nearly as on-point, holding a career playoff record of 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA—including an 0-4 and a 7.06 ERA in his last four starts over the past two playoff series.

For the best—and highest-paid—pitcher in the game, that's devastating.

Dan Marino

It's not like former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino had a bad career or anything.

At the time of his retirement in 1999, Marino was the NFL's all-time passing leader, finishing with 61,361 yards—he has since slid to third.

But, much like the aforementioned Peyton Manning, Marino seemed to wilt under the pressure of the biggest stage.

After tearing it up during the 1984 season, throwing 48 touchdowns and 5,084 yards, Marino got the chance to star the Super Bowl. Little did he know, it would be his only trip to the Big Game.

His performance wasn't exactly Hall of Fame worthy, as he did manage to toss for 318 yards, but his 1-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio was not enough, and his Dolphins were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers, 38-16.

Chris Webber

It doesn't matter if you were going for the University of Michigan or North Carolina in the 1993 men's national title game, if you have a heart, you have to feel for former Wolverine star Chris Webber.

Arguably the greatest player in the nation that year—as he proved by being the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft a few months later—Webber let his nerves and inexperience get the best of him in the aforementioned title game.

Just when you thought he would lead his team to the championship, pouring in 23 points and grabbing 11 boards, Webber did something unthinkable: called a timeout his team didn't have.

It's one of the biggest blunders in sports history, and was always the narrative for Webber throughout the rest of his career—especially because he never won a title at any level thereafter.

Bill Gramatica

Someone might have wanted to remind former NFL player Bill Gramatica that, as a kicker, his one job was to make field goals.

Unfortunately, he didn't get such advice prior to a 43-yarder in a game against the New York Giants during his rookie season in 2001.

That's because, upon hitting it, Gramatica went crazy and jumped up and down as if he had just won the Super Bowl.

Little did he know the kick and subsequent celebration would define his career, as he came down awkwardly and tore his ACL.

Oh, kickers. You're all just too silly.

Roberto Baggio

As a diehard Italian soccer fan—my name's Nicholas Dante Dimengo, after all—I remember this one as vividly as what I did this morning.

Marching up to the penalty spot during the 1994 World Cup Final against Brazil, Italy's star forward Roberto Baggio had a chance to keep the Azzurri's dreams of winning the most prestigious tournament on the planet alive.

Bothered by a pulled hamstring, though, Baggio's defining World Cup moment was one that has stuck with him since, as his attempt sailed well over the crossbar, clinching the win for Brazil.

Nick Anderson

Never a star in the league, former shooting guard Nick Anderson was one of those critical glue guys every good team seemed to have.

A sharpshooter who killed other team's momentum by knocking down a three just when they were making a run, Anderson ended his career averaging 14.4 points over his 13 seasons in the league.

As good as he was at shooting, though, Anderson struggled when stepping to the charity stripe and only knocked down 66 percent in his career.

And wouldn't you know it, those freebies were what defined him; he missed four free-throws in 11 seconds during Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals, leading to a loss, at home, to the Houston Rockets.

If he knocks those down, who knows what direction the series would have gone in? I'm sure Anderson asks himself that a lot.

Author's Note: Anderson's Free Throws start at 2:52 mark.

Greg Norman

There's no denying that golfer Greg Normans enjoyed a widely successful career—I mean, he is in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

However, like a few other on this list, it was his failure to close out major wins that has forever defined him.

While he had a few instances of blowing final-round leads, there might not be one worse than the six-stroker he blew during the 1996 Masters. He completely collapsed on the Sunday, shooting a 78 and finishing, get this, five strokes behind the eventual champion, Nick Faldo.

Talk about an all-time collapse.

Andres Escobar

In one of the most unfortunate career-crushing performances in sports history, former Colombian national team player Andres Escobar's mistake actually ended up costing him his life.

For anyone who has seen the 30 for 30 entitled The Two Escobars, you saw the entire story about the relationship between the country's soccer team and the drug culture that took part in the Colombia in the early '90s.

Entering the 1994 World Cup as the No. 2 ranked team in the world, Escobar's own goal against the United States ended any hopes of the team marching on past the group stage, defining his soccer career and, sadly, leading to his death.

Leon Lett

What's funny about former NFL defensive lineman Leon Lett's defining moment is that people forget it came in an absolute blowout of the Buffalo Bills during the Super Bowl.

For that reason, though, Lett's blunder is probably blown up even more because the game was so uninteresting.

Unfortunately, for Lett, he probably wishes that the strip fumble he had after getting chased down by the Bills' Don Beebe was his only embarrassing moment—but that wasn't the case.

Besides the one on Super Sunday, Lett had a hot-potato moment during a Thanksgiving Day game against the Miami Dolphins the following season, as he jumped on a live ball after a blocked field goal, giving Miami a chance to kick the game-winner as time expired—which they did.

Oh well, at least he got the last laugh, as the Boys won a second-straight title later that season.

Jean van de Velde

If you polled 100 sports fans and asked them who Jean van de Velde is, I guarantee you that, for those who knew him, 90 percent of the people would say he is the golfer who blew the 1999 British Open—because he hasn't done anything of significance since.

In all honesty, watching the video of the Frenchman completely bomb the 18th hole in the major tournament is uncomfortable, given he entered the tee box needing just a double bogey to still come out victorious.

Instead, he over-thought everything and played the hole as poorly as humanly possible, walking out with a triple bogey and right into a three-way playoff that he lost to Paul Lawrie.

His career will forever be remembered for this epic fail.

Bill Buckner

Even though former MLB All-Star Bill Buckner's error against the New York Mets in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series has been swept under the rug now the Boston Red Sox have won three titles in 10 years, it's still the No. 1 career crusher.

I mean, even after playing for 22 seasons, there's just one thing that everyone knows about Buckner—this play.

Never again will Buckner's name not be heard without guys like Mookie Wilson and Ray Knight somehow being associated—as Wilson was the batter who hit the ball and Knight scored the winning run.

On the verge of a first World Series title since 1918 and about to end the Curse of the Bambino, Buckner's error extended the city's championship drought and put him among the biggest goats in sports history.

Thankfully, he has been embraced by Sox fans in light of the team's success over the past decade.