Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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The 1960 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records


The next season in my continuing series on looking at individual seasons through the prism of Player won-lost records is 1960. The 1960 season was the last major-league season before expansion and the last season when both leagues played 154-game seasons.

The Best of 1960

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 Mantle23.313.54.2
5.6
1Mickey Mantle23.313.54.2
5.6
2Roger Maris22.513.83.8
5.2
2Roger Maris22.513.83.8
5.2
3Eddie Mathews22.514.83.4
4.9
3Eddie Mathews22.514.83.4
4.9
4Ron Hansen21.515.53.3
4.8
4Ron Hansen21.515.53.3
4.8
5Vern Law18.513.53.0
4.3
5Vern Law18.513.53.0
4.3
6Woodie Held15.911.22.6
3.7
6Hank Aaron24.017.92.4
4.1
7Ernie Broglio15.911.52.6
3.8
7Warren Spahn19.015.02.6
4.0
8Warren Spahn19.015.02.6
4.0
8Roberto Clemente22.216.22.4
3.9
9Lindy McDaniel9.64.92.5
3.4
9Ernie Broglio15.911.52.6
3.8
10Hank Aaron24.017.92.4
4.1
10Willie Mays25.219.52.0
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
1Ernie Banks24.719.43.1
4.8
1Ernie Banks24.719.43.1
4.8
2Roger Maris21.714.53.0
4.4
2Roger Maris21.714.53.0
4.4
3Mickey Mantle21.715.12.6
4.0
3Hank Aaron24.017.82.5
4.1
4Eddie Mathews21.615.72.5
4.0
4Mickey Mantle21.715.12.6
4.0
5Hank Aaron24.017.82.5
4.1
5Eddie Mathews21.615.72.5
4.0
6Ron Hansen20.316.82.1
3.5
6Ron Hansen20.316.82.1
3.5
7Jim Bunning15.812.72.0
3.2
7Willie Mays24.919.81.7
3.5
8Frank Robinson19.013.51.9
3.2
8Ken Boyer21.116.61.9
3.4
9Larry Jackson18.616.01.9
3.3
9Larry Jackson18.616.01.9
3.3
10Ken Boyer21.116.61.9
3.4
10Don Drysdale18.015.41.8
3.2


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.

Two sets of players in the previous tables seem to warrant further comment.

The M&M Boys: Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris
The voting for the 1960 AL MVP Award was one of the closest ever, with Roger Maris edging out teammate Mickey Mantle 225-222, despite Mantle winning more 1st place votes (10-8, with 3 other players splitting 6 additional first-place votes).

Maris and Mantle hold the top two spots among American League players in all four of the above tables.

Both Maris and Mantle look better in pWins (over positional average and replacement level) than eWins. This is mostly because they had very good teammates (including each other) so that more of Mantle's and Maris's positive contributions contributed to Yankee wins and Maris and Mantle's negative contributions were often overcome by strong performances by their teammates and the Yankees were able to win anyway, minimizing the cost of Maris's and Mantle's "losses".

Although both Maris and Mantle benefitted from putting their performance in context, Mantle benefitted much more so. This is because, while Maris's performance did not necessarily improve in more "clutch" situations (e.g., his OPS was 1.247 in high-leverage vs. 1.010 in low-leverage situations, 0.918 in late and close situations, 0.473 in extra innings), Mantle's performance generally improved as the situation became more "clutch": OPS of 1.171 in high-leverage vs. 0.852 in low-leverage, 1.201 in late and close situations, 1.462 in extra innings.

The effect of Mickey Mantle's "clutch" performance vis-a-vis Roger Maris's "clutch" performance wasn't huge, but it was just enough to flip their positions, with Maris showing up as the most valuable player in the American League when context is neutralized but Mantle just passing him as the most valuable player in the American League (and major leagues) when his performance is put into context.

NL Infielders: Eddie Mathews and Ernie Banks
Looking at context-neutral statistics, the most valuable player in the National League was Ernie Banks, who (deservedly) won the two previous NL MVP awards. Putting his performance into the context of team wins (of which the 1960 Chicago Cubs managed only 60), however, Banks falls out of the major-league top 10 entirely with the top spot for a National League player held instead of fellow Hall-of-Fame infielder Eddie Mathews.

The 1960 season is something of a microcosm of Banks's and Mathews's career in this regard. Mathews spent the first half of his career playing for very good Braves teams with very good teammates, such as Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn. As result his career was worth about 5 more wins (over positional average and replacement level) as measured by pWins than as measured by eWins. The exact opposite is true for Ernie Banks, who toiled on terrible Cubs teams for the better part of his career, and consequently was worth about 5 fewer wins (over positional average and replacement level) as measured by pWins than as measured by eWins. The relative values of Banks and Mathews in 1960 and in their careers are shown in the next table.

Games pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL eWins eLosses eWin Pct. eWOPA eWORL
Ernie Banks, 1960
156
23.021.10.5221.4
3.1
24.719.40.5603.14.8
Eddie Mathews, 1960
153
22.514.80.6033.4
4.9
21.615.70.5782.54.0


Games pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL eWins eLosses eWin Pct. eWOPA eWORL
Ernie Banks, career
2,525
310.4279.10.52711.9
35.8
317.3272.20.53818.842.7
Eddie Mathews, career
2,389
320.9240.80.57134.3
57.0
317.8243.90.56631.253.9


The 1960 Postseason

The 1960 World Series, between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates, was one of the most remarkable World Series ever.

The Yankees set records for most runs scored in a World Series, 55, and for largest run differential for a series, 28 runs (55-27). The Yankees won games 2, 3, and 6 of the 1960 World Series by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0, respectively. As a team, the Yankees batted .338/.383/.528 for the series with Pirates pitchers amassing a combined ERA of 7.11.

But Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 with a home run to left field to win the World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

If you look at player performance in the 1960 World Series independent of context, the best players in the 1960 World Series were, not surprisingly, mostly New York Yankees:

1960 World Series: eWins
eWins eLosses eWORL
Mickey MantleNYA1.20.50.4
Bobby RichardsonNYA1.41.00.3
Whitey FordNYA0.90.40.3
Elston HowardNYA0.60.20.2
Bill MazeroskiPIT1.00.90.2


If, however, you put players' performances into context and tie them to team results, suddenly the list of the best players in the 1960 World Series includes a fair number of Pittsburgh Pirates:

1960 World Series: pWins
pWins pLosses pWORL
Roy FacePIT1.00.30.4
Whitey FordNYA0.90.40.3
Vern LawPIT1.20.80.3
Mickey MantleNYA1.10.60.3
Hal W. SmithPIT0.60.10.3
Bill VirdonPIT1.10.70.3
Roberto ClementePIT1.10.70.2
Bill MazeroskiPIT1.10.90.2
Elston HowardNYA0.60.20.2
Bob TurleyNYA0.70.50.2
Bob SkinnerPIT0.40.10.2
Harvey HaddixPIT0.60.40.2
Smoky BurgessPIT0.50.30.2
Bobby RichardsonNYA1.21.20.2


Best of 1960 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 1960 in eWOPA by factor were as follows.

Batting
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Eddie Mathews16.710.42.9

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense



Baserunning
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Luis Aparicio2.31.30.5
Maury Wills2.01.30.4

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense



Pitching
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Jim Bunning14.011.12.9
Bob Friend13.911.12.9
Larry Jackson15.413.02.4
Don Drysdale14.812.72.1
Mike McCormick12.810.72.1
Lindy McDaniel6.44.42.0
Lew Burdette13.511.61.9


Next, we look at the major-league leaders in net fielding wins in 1960 by fielding position.

Fielding, P
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Roy Face0.40.10.2
Pedro Ramos0.50.30.2
Lew Burdette0.80.60.2
Ray Herbert0.60.30.2
Don Drysdale0.40.20.2
Jerry Walker0.20.10.2
Jim Bunning0.30.20.2
Mike McCormick0.60.40.2
Glen Hobbie0.90.70.2
Harvey Haddix0.40.20.2
Juan Pizarro0.20.10.2


Fielding, C
eWins eLosses Net Wins
El Tappe0.60.40.2
Cal Neeman0.90.60.2
Ed Bailey1.31.10.2
Hank Foiles0.50.30.2
Smoky Burgess0.90.60.2
Pete Daley0.70.60.2
Del Crandall1.81.60.2
Hal R. Smith1.31.20.2
Lou Berberet0.80.60.2


Fielding, 1B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Vic Power2.62.00.6


Fielding, 2B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Bill Mazeroski5.85.20.6


Fielding, 3B
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Brooks Robinson5.03.71.3


Fielding, SS
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Ron Hansen7.15.81.3


Fielding, LF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Wally Moon4.93.81.1


Fielding, CF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Curt Flood4.94.00.9


Fielding, RF
eWins eLosses Net Wins
Roger Maris5.23.91.2


Best by Position
Next, we look at 1960 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
Del Crandall15.113.31.4


First Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Roy Sievers14.410.11.5


Second Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Bill Mazeroski16.916.20.9


Third Base
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Eddie Mathews21.916.42.3


Shortstop
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Ernie Banks24.319.62.8


Left Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Ted Williams13.610.01.3


Center Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Mickey Mantle21.915.62.4


Right Field
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Roger Maris20.013.92.5


Starting Pitcher
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Jim Bunning14.311.11.6
Bob Friend14.211.51.3


Relief Pitcher
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Lindy McDaniel5.93.41.2


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 1960 in context, in terms of pWins and pWOPA.

Top Relief Pitchers of 1960, based on pWORL
Player pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL
Lindy McDaniel9.64.90.6642.53.4
Turk Farrell6.14.00.6031.11.8
Mike Fornieles7.15.60.5610.91.7
Hoyt Wilhelm9.88.90.5240.71.6
Johnny Klippstein5.23.50.5960.91.5


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
Early Wynn1.72.00.4
Don Cardwell1.51.70.4
Vern Law1.61.90.4


Pinch Hitter
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Earl Torgeson1.50.80.4


Pinch Runner
eWins eLosses eWOPA
Al Spangler0.40.10.1
Johnny Antonelli0.10.00.1


Notable Debuts

Two Hall-of-Famers made their major-league debut in 1960: Ron Santo and Juan Marichal.

Here's how their careers compare in Player won-lost records.

Ron Santo Juan Marichal
Season Games pWins pLosses Win Pct. pWOPA pWORL Games pWins pLosses Win Pct. pWOPA pWORL
1960
9510.410.30.501-0.2
0.6
115.23.40.6031.01.4
1961
15417.318.80.480-0.9
0.7
3012.811.60.5250.92.0
1962
16217.221.70.442-2.4
-0.9
3817.915.50.5361.83.2
1963
16223.020.60.5281.0
2.7
4222.616.00.5864.05.7
1964
16122.918.70.5501.7
3.3
3318.612.80.5933.55.1
1965
16423.718.90.5561.9
3.5
3922.015.20.5914.15.7
1966
15521.618.70.5361.0
2.5
3722.814.10.6175.16.6
1967
16123.417.10.5782.7
4.4
2612.612.20.5080.71.7
1968
16224.018.20.5692.7
4.4
3820.116.30.5522.64.0
1969
16023.318.20.5612.3
4.1
3821.114.60.5913.95.5
1970
15420.717.00.5491.3
2.9
3412.913.10.4960.31.4
1971
15419.917.50.5320.7
2.2
3716.713.80.5472.03.2
1972
13317.014.50.5401.1
2.4
259.612.40.437-1.1-0.1
1973
14919.618.30.5170.1
1.6
3413.513.00.5100.71.8
1974
11710.110.90.481-0.3
0.6
113.52.40.5940.50.8
1975
 
20.30.90.231-0.3-0.2
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS
(Regular Season)
2,243294.2259.50.53112.7
35.2
475232.1187.10.55429.747.8
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Postseason00.00.00.0000.0
0.0
20.60.80.417-0.1-0.0
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS2,243294.2259.50.53112.7
35.2
477232.7187.90.55329.647.7


Retirement of a Legend

Finally, 1960 was the final season in the legendary career of Ted Williams. Even at the age of 41, Williams was the best left fielder in the American League (as measured by eWins over positional average). And famously, he homered in the final at-bat of his career. That moment was memorialized by John Updike in a New Yorker essay, Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.

Ted Williams' career began in 1939. I have only calculated Player won-lost records for complete seasons since 1928. Before that time, I am missing 0 games from the first few years of Ted Williams's career. But here is what I do have for the portion of Ted Williams's career for which Retrosheet has play-by-play data and I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Ted Williams
Basic Player Won-Lost Records
Value Decomposition
Season Team Age Games pWins pLosses pWin Pct. pWOPA pWORL eWins eLosses eWin Pct. eWOPA eWORL
1939BOS20
149
24.817.30.5903.0
4.7
23.918.20.5682.03.8
1940BOS21
144
22.917.30.5702.0
3.6
23.117.10.5752.23.8
1941BOS22
143
24.416.40.5973.3
5.1
25.415.40.6234.36.1
1942BOS23
150
28.316.50.6324.8
6.6
27.917.00.6214.36.1
1946BOS27
150
28.415.50.6465.5
7.2
27.916.00.6355.06.7
1947BOS28
156
27.018.00.6003.4
5.2
27.617.50.6124.05.8
1948BOS29
137
25.615.60.6214.1
5.7
24.816.40.6013.34.9
1949BOS30
155
26.717.30.6083.6
5.3
26.517.50.6023.35.0
1950BOS31
89
14.111.10.5601.1
2.1
14.610.50.5821.62.6
1951BOS32
148
24.119.00.5591.6
3.3
24.518.60.5682.03.7
1952BOS33
6
0.90.20.7880.3
0.4
0.80.30.7340.30.3
1953BOS34
37
5.83.00.6631.3
1.7
5.63.20.6411.11.5
1954BOS35
117
18.813.00.5912.4
3.7
19.412.40.6103.04.3
1955BOS36
98
16.210.40.6102.5
3.6
16.110.50.6052.43.5
1956BOS37
136
17.912.80.5831.9
3.2
18.112.60.5892.13.4
1957BOS38
132
20.913.90.6012.4
3.9
21.513.30.6183.04.5
1958BOS39
129
17.815.00.5430.5
1.8
18.514.40.5621.12.4
1959BOS40
103
10.39.40.5220.2
1.0
10.09.70.508-0.10.7
1960BOS41
112
14.011.50.5500.7
1.7
14.610.90.5731.32.3
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER (reg. season)
2,291
368.9253.10.59344.4
69.7
370.7251.40.59646.171.4
------ ------ ------ ------ ------
PostSeason (career)
7
0.70.80.467 -0.00.80.80.481 -0.0
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
COMBINED
2,298
369.7254.00.593
69.6
371.4252.20.596 71.4


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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