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Which WAR seasons surprise you the most?

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  • #1

    Which WAR seasons surprise you the most?

    Now that we are even considering the not so dominant by any standard Mike Trout's season as the best All-Time by a leadoff hitter, thanks to WAR, this led me thinking: What other seasons are so surprising by it's high WAR totals?

    My Top 5. (Only seasons I lived personally):

    1. Cal Ripken Jr., 1991. 11.3 WAR, 11th All-Time!!! Are you serious? He was gonna loose the MVP to Cecil Fielder, and the O's were one of the worst teams in the majors.

    2. Ken Griffey Jr., 1996. 9.5 WAR. He had the best WAR in the whole league and all of us thought it was an injustice that A-Rod lost to Igor the MVP because of him. Defense raises his value, and i think this wasn't his best defensive season IMO.

    3. Scott Rolen, 2004. 8.9 WAR. Pujols and Edmonds got all the flashes, but Rolen outperformed them both without REALLY outperforming them. Surprising.

    4. Lenny Dykstra, 1990. 8.8 WAR. 1990 was fine, but his defining Phillie season was in 1993, and he got the highest WAR in a losing season. Thought Brett Butler was better that year.

    5. Mike Trout, 2012. +8.4 WAR. I can't emphasize this enough, the kid is outperforming everybody I grant this. But an historically great WAR season??? C'mon!!!

    Any thoughts?
    "I am not too serious about anything. I believe you have to enjoy yourself to get the most out of your ability."-
    George Brett
    Tags: None
  • #2
    That annoying font and color surprise me the most.

    But to answer your question, Ben Zobrist last year and in 2009, but especially last year.
    My top 10 players:

    1. Babe Ruth
    2. Barry Bonds
    3. Ty Cobb
    4. Ted Williams
    5. Willie Mays
    6. Alex Rodriguez
    7. Hank Aaron
    8. Honus Wagner
    9. Lou Gehrig
    10. Mickey Mantle

    Comment

    • #3
      Gladly annoying....

      Ben Zobrist, really???
      "I am not too serious about anything. I believe you have to enjoy yourself to get the most out of your ability."-
      George Brett

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by yankillaz View Post
        Gladly annoying....

        Ben Zobrist, really???
        Here's a good trivia question to stump your friends at the bar. Since 1998, who are the only two players to lead the AL in WAR more than once. Answer: Alex Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist.
        My top 10 players:

        1. Babe Ruth
        2. Barry Bonds
        3. Ty Cobb
        4. Ted Williams
        5. Willie Mays
        6. Alex Rodriguez
        7. Hank Aaron
        8. Honus Wagner
        9. Lou Gehrig
        10. Mickey Mantle

        Comment

        • #5
          Lonnie Smith 1989. Where did that season come from?
          "Chuckie doesn't take on 2-0. Chuckie's hackin'." - Chuck Carr two days prior to being released by the Milwaukee Brewers

          Comment

          • #6
            Arky Vaughah's 9.1 WAR in 1935 is a shocker. This boy could play some serious ball. But I never would have guessed he ever would have posted a WAR greater than 9! I think Arky Vaughn during his time was very underrated. Also, his lifetime WAR of 70.5 is a shocker too!

            Comment

            • #7
              "Onnie Smith would've been my 5th pick if not for Trout.
              "I am not too serious about anything. I believe you have to enjoy yourself to get the most out of your ability."-
              George Brett

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by Ben Grimm View Post
                Lonnie Smith 1989. Where did that season come from?
                Heh, I was just about to say the same thing!

                Even by "traditional standards", 1989 was the greatest season Skates ever had, period. He had best batting average with a 500 PA season, he led the league in on-base percentage and slugged .533, one of only five qualifying players to do that in the National League. It was also the only time in his career he hit 10 home runs in a season, and he had twenty-one.
                46 wins to match last year's total

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by SamtheBravesFan View Post
                  Heh, I was just about to say the same thing!

                  Even by "traditional standards", 1989 was the greatest season Skates ever had, period. He had best batting average with a 500 PA season, he led the league in on-base percentage and slugged .533, one of only five qualifying players to do that in the National League. It was also the only time in his career he hit 10 home runs in a season, and he had twenty-one.
                  He only averaged a 1 WAR for each of the five seasons leading into '89.

                  I'm not sure how WAR's calculated, but I remember something in the likes of first basemen and corner outfielders taking a negative hit because of the defensive positions they played. Considering Skates had a WAR near 9 while spending the entire season in LF blows me away.
                  "Chuckie doesn't take on 2-0. Chuckie's hackin'." - Chuck Carr two days prior to being released by the Milwaukee Brewers

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    1917, 1918, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945

                    oh you mean the other WAR?
                    1. The more I learn, the more convinced I am that many players are over-rated due to inflated stats from offensive home parks (and eras)
                    2. Strat-O-Matic Baseball Player, Collector and Hobbyist since 1969, visit my strat site: http://forums.delphiforums.com/GamersParadise
                    3. My table top gaming blog: http://cary333.blogspot.com/

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Originally posted by yankillaz View Post
                      Now that we are even considering the not so dominant by any standard Mike Trout's season as the best All-Time by a leadoff hitter, thanks to WAR, this led me thinking: What other seasons are so surprising by it's high WAR totals?

                      My Top 5. (Only seasons I lived personally):

                      1. Cal Ripken Jr., 1991. 11.3 WAR, 11th All-Time!!! Are you serious? He was gonna loose the MVP to Cecil Fielder, and the O's were one of the worst teams in the majors.

                      2. Ken Griffey Jr., 1996. 9.5 WAR. He had the best WAR in the whole league and all of us thought it was an injustice that A-Rod lost to Igor the MVP because of him. Defense raises his value, and i think this wasn't his best defensive season IMO.

                      3. Scott Rolen, 2004. 8.9 WAR. Pujols and Edmonds got all the flashes, but Rolen outperformed them both without REALLY outperforming them. Surprising.

                      4. Lenny Dykstra, 1990. 8.8 WAR. 1990 was fine, but his defining Phillie season was in 1993, and he got the highest WAR in a losing season. Thought Brett Butler was better that year.

                      5. Mike Trout, 2012. +8.4 WAR. I can't emphasize this enough, the kid is outperforming everybody I grant this. But an historically great WAR season??? C'mon!!!

                      Any thoughts?
                      I think Ripken gets overrated defensively in the metric used for WAR. He gets +20 runs a year as a shortstop. He was very good defensively. A 162 OPS+ for a shortstop would be like a 190 or so first baseman, but with the defensive level he gets it would be like Keith Hernandez putting up a 190 OPS+.

                      The hard part about Trout is he's only played 100 games. He has a 180 OPS+ and gold glove defense in center and extremely efficient base running which is basically what Mays did in his top seasons and Mays led the league like 9 times, but 8.4 in 100 games seems high. I could see like 11 and change in a full season and he's on a pace for like 14 per 162, just about matching Ruth's best season.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Tommy Harper / 1970 / 7.2 WAR
                        Was -0.1 in 1969.
                        Averaged 1.125 in previous 8 seasons, 1962-1969.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Mike Trout currently is leading the league in runs, SB, BA, SLG, and OPS. He's got a 1.010 OPS and he has gone 2/5 so far tonight. You don't need WAR to tell you that is a pretty amazing line and extremely rare of a line for a leadoff hitter. The only player ahead of him at the leadoff spot is Rickey Henderson.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            To answer the OP: Bobby Grich

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Ripken 1991.

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