Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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The 1957 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records



Next in my continuing series of looking at individual seasons through the prism of Player won-lost records is the 1957 season.

The Best of 1957

I calculate Player won-lost records two ways: pWins, which tie to team wins and eWins, which control for context and the ability of one's teammates. For players with more pWins than eWins, their Player wins contributed to more team wins than one might expect; for players with more eWins than pWins, just the opposite is true: their Player wins translated into fewer team wins than expected. Or more briefly: a player with more pWins than eWins was better in context, a player with more eWins than pWins was worse in context.

The top 10 players in pWins above Positional Average and Replacement Level were as follows.

pWins over Positional Average
Top 10 Players
          pWins over Replacement Level
Top 10 Players
Player pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL           Player pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL
1Mickey Mantle24.812.85.3
6.9
1Mickey Mantle24.812.85.3
6.9
2Hank Aaron25.216.63.6
5.3
2Hank Aaron25.216.63.6
5.3
3Eddie Mathews20.814.73.0
4.5
3Eddie Mathews20.814.73.0
4.5
4Nellie Fox22.417.62.7
4.4
4Nellie Fox22.417.62.7
4.4
5Gil McDougald20.715.92.7
4.2
5Don Blasingame22.718.22.6
4.3
6Don Blasingame22.718.22.6
4.3
6Gil McDougald20.715.92.7
4.2
7Billy Pierce18.414.52.5
3.8
7Willie Mays24.518.72.1
3.9
8Jim Bunning18.014.12.5
3.8
8Ernie Banks22.318.32.2
3.9
9Ted Williams20.913.92.4
3.9
9Ted Williams20.913.92.4
3.9
10Jack S. Sanford17.713.82.4
3.6
10Billy Pierce18.414.52.5
3.8


The top 10 players in eWins above Positional Average and Replacement Level were as follows.

eWins over Positional Average
Top 10 Players
          eWins over Replacement Level
Top 10 Players
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA eWORL           Player eWins eLosses eWOPA eWORL
1Mickey Mantle24.113.44.7
6.2
1Mickey Mantle24.113.44.7
6.2
2Ernie Banks23.117.53.0
4.7
2Ernie Banks23.117.53.0
4.7
3Ted Williams21.513.33.0
4.5
3Ted Williams21.513.33.0
4.5
4Nellie Fox22.417.52.7
4.4
4Nellie Fox22.417.52.7
4.4
5Hank Aaron24.217.62.6
4.4
5Hank Aaron24.217.62.6
4.4
6Eddie Mathews20.415.12.5
4.0
6Willie Mays24.718.52.4
4.1
7Willie Mays24.718.52.4
4.1
7Eddie Mathews20.415.12.5
4.0
8Frank Sullivan15.411.82.2
3.3
8Roy Sievers25.518.92.0
3.8
9Roy Sievers25.518.92.0
3.8
9Al Kaline21.716.91.8
3.4
10Billy Pierce17.815.12.0
3.2
10Frank Sullivan15.411.82.2
3.3


Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle's 1957 season was one of the greatest seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records. In fact, measured by pWins over replacement level, Mantle's 1957 season is the second-best season by a non-pitcher since 1947, behind only Barry Bonds's 2001 season. The top 10 seasons, as measured by pWORL, are presented in the next table, in and out of context.

Player Season pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL      eWins eLosses eWOPA eWORL
1Babe Ruth192730.615.16.9
8.8
29.716.06.0
7.9
2Babe Ruth192328.012.96.8
8.4
27.213.66.0
7.7
3Lefty Grove193123.411.46.5
7.9
20.514.33.5
5.0
4Babe Ruth192128.814.56.2
7.8
27.515.84.9
6.5
5Sandy Koufax196525.014.55.9
7.6
23.016.63.9
5.6
6Steve Carlton197225.114.95.8
7.6
23.616.44.3
6.0
7Dwight Gooden198521.311.05.9
7.3
19.712.54.3
5.8
8Lefty Grove193022.211.55.8
7.3
20.213.43.8
5.3
9Ted Williams194628.415.55.5
7.2
27.916.05.0
6.7
10Barry Bonds200128.015.55.3
7.2
28.315.15.7
7.6


Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron won the only MVP award of his illustrious career in 1957. The 1957 season was Aaron's best, as measured by pWins over positional average or replacement level, although he had several better seasons measured by (context-neutral) eWins.

The next table presents Hank Aaron's career. Hank Aaron compiled more regular-season pWins and eWins in his career than any other player for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Hank Aaron
Basic Player Won-Lost Records
Value Decomposition
Season Team Age Games pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL eWins eLosses eWin Pct. eWOPA eWORL
1954MLN20
122
17.014.70.5360.6
2.0
16.415.30.5160.01.3
1955MLN21
153
21.618.60.5371.0
2.6
22.317.90.5551.73.3
1956MLN22
153
25.218.40.5782.6
4.4
24.319.30.5571.83.5
1957MLN23
151
25.216.60.6023.6
5.3
24.217.60.5792.64.4
1958MLN24
153
24.917.30.5902.9
4.5
24.018.20.5692.13.7
1959MLN25
154
25.117.80.5852.6
4.3
24.918.00.5802.44.1
1960MLN26
153
24.017.90.5732.4
4.1
24.017.80.5742.54.1
1961MLN27
155
25.418.60.5772.4
4.4
24.819.30.5621.83.7
1962MLN28
156
26.919.70.5782.7
4.5
27.419.20.5883.25.0
1963MLN29
161
25.819.30.5732.0
3.7
26.918.20.5973.04.8
1964MLN30
145
21.118.00.5410.8
2.3
21.617.40.5541.32.8
1965MLN31
150
21.917.90.5501.2
2.7
22.617.10.5701.93.5
1966ATL32
158
25.318.70.5752.3
4.0
25.118.90.5712.13.8
1967ATL33
155
26.119.40.5742.3
4.3
25.719.80.5662.03.9
1968ATL34
160
27.520.40.5752.6
4.6
27.020.90.5632.14.0
1969ATL35
147
23.915.70.6033.0
4.7
23.616.00.5962.74.4
1970ATL36
150
22.916.30.5852.7
4.4
21.917.30.5591.63.3
1971ATL37
139
20.513.40.6052.7
4.1
20.713.30.6092.94.2
1972ATL38
129
16.212.70.5600.7
1.9
16.812.00.5831.42.6
1973ATL39
120
15.013.20.5310.3
1.5
16.012.20.5691.42.5
1974ATL40
112
14.210.80.5681.2
2.2
13.611.40.5440.61.6
1975MIL41
137
9.510.40.479-0.5
0.7
9.810.10.493-0.31.0
1976MIL42
85
6.46.50.498-0.1
0.7
6.86.20.5230.31.0
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER (reg. season)
3,298
491.8372.10.56942.2
77.9
490.5373.40.56841.076.6
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
PostSeason (career)
17
2.72.50.524 0.23.22.00.622 0.7
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
COMBINED
3,315
494.5374.60.569
78.1
493.8375.30.568 77.4


1957 Postseason

In 1957, the postseason ended for the first (and, so far, only) time with a World Series winner from Milwaukee. The hero of the 1957 World Series was Lew Burdette who pitched three complete games, two of them shutouts, one a 1-0 victory and the second in Game 7 on two days' rest.

1957 World Series: Top Player Performances
pWins pLosses pWORL
Lew BurdetteMLN2.41.10.8


Lew Burdette's 1957 performance is the best World Series performance as measured by pWins, pWins over positional average (pWOPA), or pWins over replacement level (pWORL) for any World Series for which I have calculated Player won-lost records (i.e., since 1947).

Best of 1957 by Factor and Position

Next, let's look at the top players in (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) eWins over Positional Average in various aspects of the game.
Best by Factor: Batting, Baserunning, Pitching, Fielding
There are four basic factors for which players earn Player won-lost records: Batting, Baserunning, Pitching, and Fielding. The top players in 1957 in eWOPA by factor were as follows.

Batting
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Mickey Mantle16.88.14.1
Ted Williams15.57.43.9

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense



Baserunning
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Don Blasingame2.11.30.4
Jim Gilliam2.31.50.4
Nellie Fox1.70.90.4
Luis Aparicio1.81.00.4

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense



Pitching
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Frank Sullivan12.59.33.2
Billy Pierce13.611.02.6


Fielding, P
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Don Drysdale0.60.20.3
Bobby Shantz0.50.20.3


Fielding, C
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Del Crandall1.20.90.3
Roy Campanella1.20.90.3


Fielding, 1B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Gil Hodges2.52.00.5


Fielding, 2B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Nellie Fox6.15.01.1


Fielding, 3B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Bubba Phillips3.53.00.5
George Kell2.01.50.5


George Kell led the major-leagues in net fielding wins at 3B in this, his final major-league season, despite only 80 games played there.

Fielding, SS
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Johnny Logan6.96.20.7


Fielding, LF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Charlie Maxwell6.85.81.0


Fielding, CF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Jim Piersall7.05.61.4


Fielding, RF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Al Kaline5.44.11.4


Best by Position
Next, we look at 1957 Major-League leaders in eWOPA by position. The figures shown here only include Player decisions earned while playing this particular position, and include no contextual adjustments (expected or actual).



Catcher
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Gus Triandos11.39.90.9
Yogi Berra12.411.10.9


First Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Stan Musial16.812.61.4


Second Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Nellie Fox22.417.92.6


Third Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Eddie Mathews21.816.52.5


Shortstop
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Ernie Banks15.312.01.9


Left Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Ted Williams19.913.22.3


Center Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Mickey Mantle23.213.54.2


Right Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Hank Aaron14.010.01.7


The best players of 1957 by position are all Hall-of-Famers except for catcher and pitcher.

Starting Pitcher
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Frank Sullivan12.79.61.5
Billy Pierce13.710.91.4


Relief Pitcher
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Art Ditmar4.02.70.6
Gerry Staley5.54.40.6
Larry Jackson3.01.90.6
Arnie Portocarrero1.70.60.6


For relief pitchers, context-neutral records may not be the best measure of how good they are, as context can matter a great deal, depending on how a pitcher is used. Here are the top relief pitchers of 1957 in context, in terms of pWins and pWOPA.

Top Relief Pitchers of 1957, based on pWORL
Player pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL
Turk Farrell5.32.70.6631.31.9
Bob Grim7.05.20.5741.01.8
Cal McLish7.26.10.5400.81.5
Art Ditmar7.25.90.5470.81.4
Clem Labine7.46.60.5290.51.4


Finally, here are the best at three oft-forgotten positions that can nevertheless matter: pitcher offense, pinch hitting, and pinch running.

Pitcher Offense
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Jack Harshman1.20.90.4
Cal McLish1.11.00.4
Don Newcombe1.41.60.4


Pinch Hitter
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Joe Cunningham1.30.60.4


Pinch Runner
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Al Pilarcik0.20.00.1
Dick Schofield Sr.0.30.10.1


Noteworthy Players of 1957

Finally, let's take a look at some players who had noteworthy 1957 seasons.

Notable Debuts
There are no Hall-of-Famers who made their major-league debut in 1957. Three players who debuted in 1957 earned more than 30 pWORL for their careers. These three players all have some connection to Hall-of-Famers.

Roger Maris broke perhaps the most famous record held by the most famous Hall-of-Famer when he hit 61 home runs in 1961.

Milt Pappas was traded for an "old 30" year-old Frank Robinson on December 9, 1965. Robinson won a Triple Crown and led the Baltimore Orioles to the 1966 World Series.

Claude Osteen was the only member of the 4-man pitching rotation for the Orioles' opponents in that World Series who is not in the Hall of Fame.

The career Player won-lost records for Maris, Pappas, and Osteen are shown below.

Roger Maris Milt Pappas Claude Osteen
Season pWins pLoss pWOPA pWORL pWins pLoss pWOPA pWORL pWins pLoss pWOPA pWORL
195713.513.4-0.4
0.7
0.00.00.0
0.0
0.10.10.00.0
195818.918.6-0.5
0.9
8.68.80.1
0.9
195915.714.6-0.2
1.0
14.211.41.8
2.9
0.30.8-0.3-0.2
196022.513.83.8
5.2
13.412.60.7
1.8
1.02.6-0.7-0.5
196126.915.54.5
6.3
12.111.70.6
1.6
1.01.2-0.00.0
196220.016.11.2
2.5
12.313.9-0.4
0.7
10.710.90.21.2
196312.38.91.1
2.0
13.912.31.2
2.4
12.014.8-1.00.3
196418.813.22.1
3.4
14.512.01.7
3.0
16.614.91.43.0
19655.64.90.1
0.6
14.513.01.1
2.3
16.516.90.31.8
196611.112.1-1.0
-0.0
13.212.90.5
1.6
15.813.41.83.0
196714.411.50.9
2.0
13.013.40.2
1.3
17.717.80.72.1
196813.210.01.2
2.2
10.811.5-0.1
0.9
14.216.8-0.80.4
1969
 
8.69.4-0.1
0.7
20.416.62.74.3
1970
 
12.010.61.1
2.1
14.616.4-0.31.0
1971
 
16.816.90.4
1.9
15.415.40.51.8
1972
 
13.110.41.7
2.8
18.614.02.94.3
1973
 
9.411.2-0.6
0.2
13.914.00.41.5
1974
 
 
9.010.0-0.20.6
1975
 
 
10.412.3-0.90.2
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS192.9152.612.8
26.8
200.2192.110.0
27.2
208.2208.66.524.8


Last Hurrahs
Finally, 1957 was the final season for two Hall-of-Famers: Roy Campanella and George Kell. I have calculated Player won-lost records for Campanella's entire (major-league) career. I am missing play-by-play data for the first three full seasons of Kell's career, though, as well as several games from 1947 - 1950. Overall, I have play-by-play data for 1,795 of the 1,795 games (100.0%) played by George Kell in his career.

The Player won-lost records for Roy Campanella and George Kell, for the games for which I have play-by-play data and have calculated Player won-lost records, are presented in the next table.

Roy Campanella George Kell
Season Games pWins pLoss Win Pct. pWOPA pWORL Games pWins pLoss Win Pct. pWOPA pWORL
1947
 
15220.417.50.5391.22.7
1948836.95.60.5500.9
1.4
9211.810.80.5220.21.1
194913011.29.60.5370.8
1.7
13417.814.50.5511.42.7
195012612.39.80.5571.3
2.2
15720.817.00.5501.32.7
195114316.211.50.5862.5
3.6
14719.417.60.5250.41.8
195212816.210.40.6103.0
4.1
11414.113.40.5130.21.3
195314419.710.40.6544.9
6.2
13417.714.50.5491.02.4
19541118.68.80.494-0.1
0.7
9710.210.40.497-0.40.4
195512314.210.00.5872.3
3.3
12815.812.30.5611.32.5
195612412.510.30.5481.1
2.1
12311.813.20.472-0.90.1
19571038.68.00.5180.5
1.2
999.49.50.499-0.10.7
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS1,215126.594.50.57217.3
26.3
1,377169.2150.50.5295.618.5




All articles are written so that they pull data directly from the most recent version of the Player won-lost database. Hence, any numbers cited within these articles should automatically incorporate the most recent update to Player won-lost records. In some cases, however, the accompanying text may have been written based on previous versions of Player won-lost records. I apologize if this results in non-sensical text in any cases.

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