1983 Season

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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1983 Season

The 1983 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

I was born in Baltimore in 1968. The Baltimore Orioles won the World Series two years before and two years after I was born (the years my sister and brother were born in Baltimore). The only Orioles World Championship which I was old enough to remember and enjoy happened when I was fifteen years old, in 1983.

The Best of 1983

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
1	Dale Murphy	25.0	17.5	6.6	8.5	1	Dale Murphy	25.0	17.5	6.6	8.5
2	Eddie Murray	20.3	13.2	6.5	8.0	2	Cal Ripken	24.8	19.4	6.5	8.4
3	Cal Ripken	24.8	19.4	6.5	8.4	3	Eddie Murray	20.3	13.2	6.5	8.0
4	John Denny	15.7	10.6	6.3	7.7	4	John Denny	15.7	10.6	6.3	7.7
5	La Marr Hoyt	16.9	11.3	5.8	7.5	5	La Marr Hoyt	16.9	11.3	5.8	7.5
6	Robin Yount	21.2	16.5	5.6	7.3	6	Lou Whitaker	23.4	18.7	5.5	7.4
7	Lou Whitaker	23.4	18.7	5.5	7.4	7	Robin Yount	21.2	16.5	5.6	7.3
8	Dickie Thon	23.0	18.3	5.3	7.1	8	Dickie Thon	23.0	18.3	5.3	7.1
9	Dan Quisenberry	10.2	5.0	4.9	6.4	9	Tim Raines Sr.	26.0	19.7	4.9	6.9
10	Tim Raines Sr.	26.0	19.7	4.9	6.9	10	Dan Quisenberry	10.2	5.0	4.9	6.4

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
1	Dale Murphy	24.8	17.7	6.3	8.2	1	Dale Murphy	24.8	17.7	6.3	8.2
2	Cal Ripken	24.2	20.1	5.2	7.2	2	Cal Ripken	24.2	20.1	5.2	7.2
3	Lou Whitaker	23.2	18.8	5.2	7.1	3	Lou Whitaker	23.2	18.8	5.2	7.1
4	Mike Schmidt	22.6	16.8	5.0	6.8	4	Mike Schmidt	22.6	16.8	5.0	6.8
5	Robin Yount	20.9	16.8	5.0	6.7	5	Robin Yount	20.9	16.8	5.0	6.7
6	Pedro Guerrero	22.2	16.7	4.6	6.3	6	Tim Raines Sr.	25.8	19.9	4.4	6.4
7	Atlee Hammaker	11.5	8.0	4.5	5.6	7	Pedro Guerrero	22.2	16.7	4.6	6.3
8	Rickey Henderson	21.5	16.4	4.4	6.1	8	Rickey Henderson	21.5	16.4	4.4	6.1
9	Tim Raines Sr.	25.8	19.9	4.4	6.4	9	La Marr Hoyt	16.1	12.2	4.2	5.9
10	John Denny	14.7	11.7	4.2	5.6	10	Wade Boggs	22.5	18.0	4.1	5.9

I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 1983 at the end of this article.

1983 Postseason

The 1983 World Series turned out to be something of a last hurrah for two teams who had been perennial playoff participants through the 1970s: the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1983 Postseason: Total

Mike Boddicker	BAL	1.6	0.6	1.2
Gary Matthews Sr.	PHI	1.8	0.9	0.9
Al Holland	PHI	0.8	0.1	0.8
La Marr Hoyt	CHA	0.8	0.1	0.7
Cal Ripken	BAL	1.3	0.8	0.7
Rick Dempsey	BAL	1.1	0.5	0.7
Gary Roenicke	BAL	0.9	0.3	0.6
Tippy Martinez	BAL	0.8	0.3	0.6
Fernando Valenzuela	LAN	0.8	0.3	0.5
Ken Singleton	BAL	0.7	0.2	0.5

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1983 World Series

Rick Dempsey	BAL	0.8	0.2	0.6
Mike Boddicker	BAL	0.7	0.2	0.4
Al Holland	PHI	0.4	0.1	0.3
Cal Ripken	BAL	0.8	0.5	0.3
Sammy Stewart	BAL	0.5	0.2	0.3

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1983 Postseason: League Championship Series

Gary Matthews Sr.	PHI	1.3	0.3	1.0
Gary Roenicke	BAL	0.9	0.1	0.8
La Marr Hoyt	CHA	0.8	0.1	0.6
Mike Boddicker	BAL	0.9	0.4	0.5
Steve Carlton	PHI	1.3	0.8	0.4

Best of 1983 by Factor and Position

Next, let's look at the top players 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 1983 in wins over positional average (WOPA) by factor were as follows.


Batting
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	16.3	10.7	5.2	1	Eddie Murray	17.1	10.3	6.8
2	Dale Murphy	16.3	11.2	4.6	2	Dale Murphy	16.6	10.9	5.2
3	Pedro Guerrero	15.4	10.7	4.4	3	Cal Ripken	16.7	11.8	4.8
4	Eddie Murray	15.9	11.6	4.3	4	Cecil Cooper	17.9	13.1	4.8
5	Wade Boggs	15.0	11.2	3.8	5	Jim Rice	17.0	12.2	4.8
6	Jim Rice	16.5	12.8	3.7	6	Pedro Guerrero	15.6	10.5	4.7
7	Jose Cruz Sr.	14.7	10.7	3.5	7	Greg Luzinski	14.0	9.7	4.3
8	Darrell Evans	13.8	9.9	3.5	8	Wade Boggs	15.3	11.0	4.3
9	Cal Ripken	15.9	12.6	3.3	9	Mike Schmidt	15.7	11.3	4.0
10	George Brett	12.1	9.1	3.0	10	George Brett	12.4	8.7	3.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Rickey Henderson	3.6	1.7	1.9	1	Rudy Law	3.0	1.3	1.8
2	Rudy Law	3.1	1.3	1.8	2	Tim Raines Sr.	3.2	1.7	1.5
3	Tim Raines Sr.	3.2	1.7	1.5	3	Dale Murphy	2.4	1.2	1.1
4	Willie Wilson	2.3	1.0	1.3	4	Willie Wilson	2.2	1.1	1.1
5	Alan Wiggins	3.2	2.0	1.2	5	Alan Wiggins	3.2	2.0	1.1
6	Dale Murphy	2.3	1.3	1.0	6	Rickey Henderson	3.2	2.2	1.0
7	Mookie Wilson	2.7	1.7	0.9	7	Ken Landreaux	1.7	0.8	0.9
8	Bill Sample	1.8	1.0	0.9	8	Bill Sample	1.8	1.0	0.8
9	Willie McGee	2.0	1.3	0.7	9	Lou Whitaker	2.1	1.3	0.8
10	Bob Dernier	1.5	0.8	0.7	10	John Shelby	1.1	0.4	0.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Atlee Hammaker	10.2	6.8	3.4	1	John Denny	14.3	8.4	5.9
2	Dan Quisenberry	9.0	5.7	3.3	2	La Marr Hoyt	16.4	11.1	5.3
3	John Denny	12.9	9.8	3.0	3	Dan Quisenberry	9.9	4.8	5.1
4	La Marr Hoyt	15.2	12.4	2.8	4	Richard Dotson	14.6	10.6	3.9
5	Dave Stieb	14.6	12.0	2.6	5	Ron Guidry	15.7	11.8	3.9
6	Lee Smith	7.9	5.6	2.3	6	Dave Stieb	15.2	11.3	3.9
7	Steve Carlton	16.3	14.0	2.3	7	Moose Haas	10.5	6.6	3.9
8	Mario Soto	17.3	15.1	2.2	8	Mario Soto	18.1	14.3	3.8
9	Alejandro Pena	10.8	8.6	2.2	9	Dave Righetti	12.4	9.0	3.4
10	Steve Howe	5.8	3.7	2.1	10	Lee Smith	8.4	5.0	3.4

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Scott McGregor	0.5	0.2	0.3	1	Dave Dravecky	0.4	0.2	0.3
2	Jim Beattie	0.4	0.2	0.3	2	Bud Black	0.5	0.2	0.3
3	Bud Black	0.5	0.2	0.2	3	Steve Bedrosian	0.3	0.0	0.3
4	Steve Bedrosian	0.3	0.0	0.2	4	Scott McGregor	0.4	0.2	0.3
5	Dave Dravecky	0.4	0.2	0.2	5	Richard Dotson	0.4	0.2	0.3


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Gary Carter	2.8	1.7	1.1	1	Gary Carter	2.8	1.7	1.1
2	Lance Parrish	2.0	1.4	0.6	2	Bo Diaz	2.7	1.9	0.8
3	Marc Hill	0.7	0.3	0.4	3	Steve Yeager	2.2	1.6	0.5
4	Bob Boone	2.1	1.8	0.4	4	Bruce Benedict	2.5	2.0	0.5
5	Bruce Benedict	2.4	2.0	0.4	5	Darrell Porter	2.1	1.6	0.4


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Enos Cabell	2.0	1.3	0.7	1	Enos Cabell	2.1	1.2	0.9
2	Pete M. O'Brien	2.1	1.6	0.5	2	Ray Knight	2.5	1.8	0.6
3	Ray Knight	2.4	1.9	0.5	3	Pete M. O'Brien	2.1	1.7	0.5
4	Keith Hernandez	2.4	2.1	0.4	4	Eddie Murray	2.3	1.9	0.4
5	Dave L. Stapleton	2.0	1.7	0.4	5	Chris Chambliss	2.3	1.9	0.4


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Bill D. Doran	6.3	5.3	1.0	1	Frank White	6.3	4.8	1.6
2	Frank White	6.0	5.1	1.0	2	Lou Whitaker	6.0	4.7	1.3
3	John Castino	5.0	4.1	0.9	3	Bill D. Doran	6.4	5.2	1.3
4	Ryne Sandberg	6.6	5.9	0.8	4	Johnny C. Ray	6.1	5.1	1.0
5	Lou Whitaker	5.6	5.0	0.6	5	Julio Cruz	6.4	5.6	0.8


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Phil Garner	5.2	4.5	0.6	1	Paul Molitor	4.9	3.9	1.0
2	Vance Law	4.5	3.9	0.6	2	Mike Schmidt	5.3	4.4	1.0
3	Ken Oberkfell	3.4	2.9	0.5	3	Hubie Brooks	4.9	4.0	1.0
4	Luis Salazar	3.8	3.4	0.4	4	Vance Law	4.6	3.7	0.9
5	Paul Molitor	4.6	4.2	0.4	5	Buddy Bell	5.8	5.0	0.8


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Ozzie Smith	7.4	6.2	1.3	1	Ozzie Smith	7.9	5.7	2.3
2	Andre Robertson	3.3	2.6	0.7	2	Andre Robertson	3.7	2.3	1.4
3	Dave Concepcion	5.1	4.5	0.6	3	Robin Yount	6.4	5.1	1.2
4	Scott Fletcher	3.6	3.0	0.6	4	Scott Fletcher	3.9	2.7	1.2
5	Alfredo Griffin	6.0	5.5	0.5	5	Dickie Thon	7.0	6.0	1.0


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Gary Ward	10.2	8.1	2.1	1	Gary Ward	10.3	8.0	2.3
2	Tim Raines Sr.	7.5	6.3	1.2	2	Tim Raines Sr.	7.6	6.3	1.3
3	Rickey Henderson	5.8	5.1	0.7	3	Joe Lefebvre	1.1	0.4	0.8
4	Steve Henderson	5.4	4.8	0.6	4	Gary Matthews Sr.	5.2	4.5	0.7
5	Jeffrey Leonard	6.2	5.7	0.5	5	Rickey Henderson	5.8	5.1	0.7


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Chet Lemon	5.1	3.7	1.4	1	Chet Lemon	5.3	3.5	1.9
2	Eddie Milner	6.3	5.7	0.7	2	Andre Dawson	7.4	6.3	1.1
3	Andre Dawson	7.2	6.5	0.7	3	Jerry Mumphrey	5.3	4.2	1.0
4	Dwayne Murphy	4.9	4.3	0.6	4	Rick Manning	6.7	5.7	1.0
5	Omar Moreno	6.0	5.3	0.6	5	Tony Armas Sr.	4.7	3.8	0.9


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Tom Brunansky	5.8	4.9	0.9	1	Sixto Lezcano	5.3	3.9	1.4
2	Jesse Barfield	5.4	4.7	0.7	2	Dan Ford	4.7	3.9	0.8
3	Joe Simpson	0.9	0.4	0.5	3	Steve Kemp	3.1	2.4	0.7
4	Terry Harper	1.3	0.8	0.5	4	Terry Harper	1.4	0.7	0.7
5	Ellis Valentine	3.0	2.5	0.4	5	Tom Brunansky	5.7	5.0	0.7

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1983 Major-League leaders by position. The figures shown here only include Player decisions earned while playing this particular position.


Catcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Carlton Fisk	14.4	11.8	3.2	1	Carlton Fisk	15.1	11.1	4.6
2	Gary Carter	15.9	13.2	3.0	2	Ernie Whitt	10.0	7.1	3.3
3	Lance Parrish	14.8	13.3	2.3	3	Gary Carter	15.5	13.6	2.2
4	Terry Kennedy	15.7	14.2	1.8	4	Bo Diaz	13.7	11.9	2.1
5	Darrell Porter	12.7	11.2	1.8	5	Butch Wynegar	8.8	7.1	2.1


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Eddie Murray	18.6	14.3	3.6	1	Eddie Murray	19.9	13.0	6.3
2	Darrell Evans	14.3	10.5	3.0	2	Cecil Cooper	20.7	15.9	4.0
3	Willie Upshaw	17.2	14.4	2.1	3	Darrell Evans	14.5	10.2	3.5
4	Keith Hernandez	15.8	12.9	1.9	4	Willie Aikens	12.5	9.7	2.4
5	Kent Hrbek	14.9	12.6	1.7	5	Ken Griffey Sr.	11.5	9.0	2.1


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Lou Whitaker	22.7	18.9	4.6	1	Lou Whitaker	23.3	18.3	5.7
2	Bobby Grich	15.2	13.0	2.6	2	Joe L. Morgan	15.9	12.6	3.5
3	Bill D. Doran	18.4	16.3	2.3	3	Bill D. Doran	18.3	16.3	2.2
4	John Castino	16.7	15.1	2.2	4	John Castino	16.6	15.2	2.0
5	Joe L. Morgan	15.0	13.4	1.9	5	Julio Cruz	18.5	17.3	1.9


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	22.4	17.0	4.6	1	Mike Schmidt	22.5	16.9	4.7
2	Pedro Guerrero	21.8	16.9	4.0	2	Pedro Guerrero	21.8	16.8	4.2
3	Wade Boggs	22.2	18.3	3.6	3	Bob Horner	14.4	10.2	3.6
4	Bob Horner	13.6	11.0	2.1	4	Wade Boggs	22.2	18.3	3.5
5	George Brett	13.3	11.2	1.9	5	George Brett	13.5	10.9	2.4


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Cal Ripken	24.0	20.3	4.8	1	Cal Ripken	24.8	19.4	6.5
2	Robin Yount	19.9	16.5	4.2	2	Dickie Thon	23.0	18.3	5.3
3	Dickie Thon	22.2	19.2	3.6	3	Robin Yount	20.3	16.1	5.2
4	Alan Trammell	18.6	15.9	3.5	4	Alan Trammell	18.5	16.0	3.4
5	Ozzie Smith	19.3	18.6	1.3	5	Ozzie Smith	20.0	17.8	2.8


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Tim Raines Sr.	25.0	19.7	3.7	1	Tim Raines Sr.	25.4	19.7	4.7
2	Rickey Henderson	20.1	15.7	3.6	2	Jim Rice	25.9	21.9	3.8
3	Jim Rice	25.3	21.9	2.5	3	Gary Roenicke	8.3	5.7	3.1
4	Larry Herndon	18.4	15.6	2.1	4	Rickey Henderson	19.7	15.7	2.7
5	Jose Cruz Sr.	22.9	19.6	1.8	5	Larry Herndon	18.6	15.6	2.5


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dale Murphy	19.9	14.9	4.4	1	Chet Lemon	18.1	13.0	4.8
2	Andre Dawson	23.5	19.4	3.4	2	Dale Murphy	19.9	14.8	4.5
3	Chet Lemon	17.2	13.9	3.1	3	Andre Dawson	23.1	19.8	2.6
4	Lloyd Moseby	19.2	16.5	2.5	4	Ken Landreaux	17.3	14.6	2.1
5	Ken Landreaux	17.0	14.8	1.6	5	Lloyd Moseby	18.9	16.8	1.9


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Darryl Strawberry	17.0	14.3	2.1	1	Jack Clark	19.4	15.3	3.5
2	Jack Clark	18.6	16.0	1.9	2	Jim Dwyer	6.0	3.4	2.6
3	George Hendrick	7.4	5.9	1.2	3	Harold Baines	19.3	16.6	2.5
4	Jesse Barfield	13.7	12.3	1.2	4	Darryl Strawberry	17.1	14.2	2.3
5	Jim Dwyer	5.3	4.1	1.1	5	Terry Puhl	14.2	11.6	2.1


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Atlee Hammaker	10.4	7.1	3.5	1	John Denny	14.6	8.6	6.2
2	La Marr Hoyt	15.6	12.6	3.3	2	La Marr Hoyt	16.9	11.3	5.8
3	John Denny	13.1	10.1	3.2	3	Richard Dotson	15.0	10.8	4.4
4	Dave Stieb	14.9	12.1	3.0	4	Ron Guidry	16.0	11.9	4.3
5	Mario Soto	17.7	15.6	2.4	5	Dave Stieb	15.5	11.5	4.3
6	Dave Righetti	11.9	9.9	2.2	6	Moose Haas	10.7	6.8	4.1
7	Floyd Bannister	12.5	10.5	2.2	7	Mario Soto	18.5	14.8	4.0
8	Steve Carlton	16.5	14.6	2.2	8	Dave Righetti	12.6	9.1	3.7
9	Scott McGregor	13.6	11.7	2.1	9	Scott McGregor	14.4	11.0	3.6
10	Rick Honeycutt	12.2	10.3	2.1	10	Floyd Bannister	13.0	10.0	3.2


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dan Quisenberry	9.3	5.9	3.0	1	Dan Quisenberry	10.2	5.0	4.9
2	Lee Smith	8.0	5.7	2.1	2	Tippy Martinez	8.4	4.9	3.2
3	Steve Howe	6.1	3.8	2.1	3	Lee Smith	8.6	5.1	3.2
4	Kent Tekulve	6.8	4.9	1.7	4	Jesse Orosco	7.3	4.0	3.1
5	Jesse Orosco	6.6	4.7	1.6	5	Bob Stanley	10.8	7.5	3.0
6	Tom Niedenfuer	4.6	2.9	1.5	6	Luis DeLeon	7.5	4.7	2.5
7	Gary Lavelle	5.8	4.1	1.5	7	Rich Gossage	8.8	6.2	2.3
8	Al Holland	7.3	5.6	1.4	8	Tom Niedenfuer	4.9	2.6	2.1
9	Frank DiPino	5.8	4.2	1.4	9	Steve Howe	6.0	3.9	1.9
10	Bob Stanley	10.0	8.3	1.4	10	Al Holland	7.5	5.4	1.8


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Greg Luzinski	13.6	11.0	1.9	1	Greg Luzinski	14.5	10.2	3.6
2	Andre Thornton	11.1	9.1	1.4	2	Cliff Johnson	10.6	7.3	2.8
3	Cliff Johnson	9.9	8.0	1.4	3	Ted Simmons	7.1	4.7	2.1

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


Pitcher Offense
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Tim Lollar	1.0	0.9	0.5	1	Frank Pastore	1.2	1.2	0.6
2	Mike Krukow	1.2	1.3	0.5	2	Mike Krukow	1.2	1.3	0.5
3	Bob Forsch	0.9	1.0	0.4	3	Walt Terrell	0.9	0.9	0.5


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dave Bergman	2.2	1.0	1.2	1	Johnny Bench	2.0	1.2	0.8
2	Kurt Bevacqua	1.8	1.0	0.9	2	Greg Walker	1.4	0.7	0.8
3	Bob Watson	1.8	1.2	0.6	3	Dave Bergman	1.9	1.3	0.7


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Bob Dernier	0.5	0.1	0.4	1	Bob Dernier	0.5	0.2	0.3
2	John Shelby	0.3	0.0	0.2	2	John Shelby	0.3	0.0	0.2
3	Carmen Castillo	0.2	0.1	0.2	3	Carmen Castillo	0.3	0.0	0.2

Noteworthy Players of 1983

AL MVP: Cal Ripken vs. Eddie Murray

My brother and I probably spent at least 30 hours debating who deserved the AL Most Valuable Player award in 1983. My brother was a Cal Ripken supporter, while I was a huge fan of Eddie Murray. In retrospect, understanding the idea of positional scarcity and the need for positional comparisons, I am forced to concede that my brother - and the MVP voters in 1983 - got this one right.

The next table decomposes the (context-neutral) performances of Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken in 1983 to show how Ripken ends up ahead of Murray in terms of wins over Positional Average and replacement level.

	Decomposition of eWORL
	Wins over Average
	Batting	Baserunning	Fielding	Position	Replacement	eWORL
Eddie Murray	4.3	-0.2	0.2	-0.3	1.5	5.5
Cal Ripken	3.3	-0.1	0.4	1.7	2.0	7.2

The career records for Murray and Ripken are compared below.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Eddie Murray					Cal Ripken
1977	160	16.5	12.9	3.1	4.9
1978	161	20.1	15.1	4.0	5.6
1979	159	20.0	14.3	4.8	6.5
1980	158	19.1	14.9	3.3	4.9
1981	99	13.2	9.0	3.9	5.0	23	0.6	0.9	-0.2	-0.2
1982	151	18.9	13.1	5.1	6.6	160	21.6	18.0	4.3	6.1
1983	156	20.3	13.2	6.5	8.0	162	24.8	19.4	6.5	8.4
1984	162	22.3	14.8	6.7	8.4	162	25.9	19.4	8.4	10.5
1985	156	20.4	13.8	5.5	7.1	161	23.1	20.4	4.3	6.4
1986	137	13.3	14.2	-1.7	-0.4	162	22.0	20.0	3.7	5.6
1987	160	17.6	17.3	-1.5	0.1	162	19.3	21.4	-0.6	1.2
1988	161	16.9	17.3	-1.4	0.5	161	19.9	19.7	1.2	3.1
1989	160	18.2	16.3	-0.3	1.3	162	22.4	19.6	4.3	6.2
1990	155	20.2	14.7	3.7	5.3	161	20.4	18.4	3.3	5.0
1991	153	19.5	15.9	2.1	3.7	162	23.2	20.2	4.1	6.1
1992	156	18.7	16.7	0.2	1.9	162	19.7	18.7	2.4	4.2
1993	154	15.4	17.6	-4.4	-2.7	162	20.4	19.4	2.2	4.2
1994	108	9.9	9.9	-0.8	0.5	112	14.9	12.8	3.1	4.5
1995	113	11.4	8.7	2.0	3.4	144	17.6	18.3	0.7	2.4
1996	152	11.7	11.3	-0.3	1.2	163	20.6	19.4	2.3	4.2
1997	55	2.9	4.3	-1.4	-1.0	162	19.4	17.1	2.3	4.0
1998						161	16.4	17.5	-1.1	0.6
1999						86	10.0	9.3	0.7	1.6
2000						83	8.7	7.7	1.2	2.0
2001						128	11.5	14.0	-2.5	-1.1
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	3,026	346.7	285.5	39.0	70.6	3,001	382.3	351.6	50.5	85.1

National League Award Winners: Dale Murphy and John Denny

In the National League, the BBWAA voters selected Braves' center fielder Dale Murphy as Most Valuable Player and gave the Cy Young award to Philadelphia Phillies starter John Denny.

Looking at the above tables, Player won-lost records appear to agree with the voters' choices in both of these cases. The next table summarizes Murphy's and Denny's 1983 seasons as measured by Player won-lost records.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Dale Murphy	162	25.0	17.5	6.6	8.5	24.8	17.7	6.3	8.2
John Denny	36	15.7	10.6	6.3	7.7	14.7	11.7	4.2	5.6

Denny's 1983 performance was more valuable in context, translating into a couple more Phillies wins than might have been expected. Dale Murphy's performance, on the other hand, was worth virtually exactly as many wins as you would expect.

The Last Firemen

In 1983, Bob Stanley pitched 145.1 innings and Dan Quisenberry pitched 139 innings, all in relief in both cases. It was right around this time that teams began to transition toward using their relief aces less frequently. This is evident in the next two tables.

The first table below shows the top 10 seasons in pWins earned as a relief pitcher through 1983.

Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
Mike G. Marshall	1974	13.6	11.8	1.8
Dick Radatz	1964	12.4	8.0	4.3
Jim Kern	1979	12.4	6.6	5.6
John Hiller	1973	12.2	5.1	7.1
Bill Campbell	1977	12.2	8.3	3.7
Rich Gossage	1975	12.0	6.9	5.1
Dan Quisenberry	1980	11.9	5.8	5.7
Mike G. Marshall	1973	11.5	9.0	2.5
John Hiller	1974	11.3	9.5	1.9
Sid Monge	1979	11.1	7.9	3.1

The next table, then, shows the top 10 seasons in pWins earned as a relief pitcher since 1983.

Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
Bob Stanley	1983	10.8	7.5	3.0
Mark W. Davis	1989	10.7	5.1	5.1
Billy Koch	2002	10.6	5.7	4.5
Dan Quisenberry	1985	10.5	7.0	3.3
Dave Righetti	1986	10.3	6.3	3.9
John Smoltz	2002	10.3	4.0	6.0
Dan Quisenberry	1983	10.2	5.0	4.9
Todd Worrell	1986	10.2	7.9	2.2
John Wetteland	1993	10.1	4.7	5.3
Lee Smith	1985	10.1	6.1	3.8

Stanley and Quisenberry were two of the last of a breed which was already in decline from its heyday in the 1970s.

The End of an Era

The 1983 season was the final season for four Hall-of-Famers who combined to win three Most Valuable Player and three Cy Young awards.

The next two tables compare the careers of Johnny Bench, Carl Yastrzemski, Fergie Jenkins, and Gaylord Perry.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Johnny Bench					Carl Yastrzemski
1961						148	17.6	18.1	-1.6	0.4
1962						160	21.7	20.5	-0.6	1.5
1963						151	23.5	18.8	3.0	5.0
1964						151	20.3	18.3	1.0	3.0
1965						133	17.6	18.0	-1.9	-0.1
1966						160	23.9	20.1	2.7	4.7
1967	26	1.9	2.6	-0.5	-0.2	161	27.7	17.8	8.1	10.3
1968	154	15.2	13.6	2.1	3.5	157	26.0	16.8	7.5	9.6
1969	148	15.4	11.3	4.7	6.1	162	23.5	18.1	4.0	6.2
1970	158	21.9	15.1	6.6	8.5	161	23.3	16.1	5.4	7.4
1971	149	16.0	15.4	0.7	2.3	148	23.0	17.9	3.8	5.8
1972	147	20.1	13.2	6.9	8.6	125	18.1	13.9	2.7	4.3
1973	152	19.8	14.1	5.8	7.5	152	18.0	14.2	2.9	4.5
1974	160	21.9	15.7	6.5	8.2	148	17.6	17.4	-0.8	0.9
1975	142	17.9	13.6	4.3	5.8	149	15.9	13.6	1.2	2.5
1976	135	12.8	11.0	2.2	3.4	155	18.3	16.8	0.5	2.3
1977	142	16.8	12.5	4.0	5.5	150	21.7	18.4	2.5	4.5
1978	120	12.4	9.7	2.8	3.8	144	18.5	14.8	3.1	4.8
1979	130	15.6	11.9	3.8	5.1	147	17.3	13.8	3.0	4.7
1980	114	11.4	9.9	1.6	2.6	105	10.3	10.2	-0.3	0.7
1981	52	6.2	4.3	1.8	2.3	91	8.9	7.8	0.9	2.0
1982	119	11.7	13.1	-2.0	-0.9	131	10.2	9.6	0.1	1.3
1983	110	10.2	10.1	-0.3	0.6	119	7.9	9.1	-1.7	-0.7
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,158	247.2	196.8	51.1	72.7	3,308	430.9	360.2	45.4	85.5

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Fergie Jenkins					Gaylord Perry
1962						13	2.3	2.5	-0.1	0.2
1963						32	3.2	4.9	-1.6	-0.8
1964						46	12.2	10.7	2.0	3.8
1965	7	0.7	0.8	-0.1	0.0	49	11.4	12.8	-0.7	0.8
1966	61	9.4	10.2	-0.3	1.2	36	17.4	12.6	5.6	7.3
1967	39	20.2	17.5	3.8	6.0	42	18.0	17.8	1.2	3.4
1968	40	21.0	17.8	4.3	6.3	39	15.7	14.7	2.0	3.6
1969	43	22.0	17.4	5.7	8.0	40	20.6	18.9	2.7	5.1
1970	40	21.6	16.9	6.0	8.0	41	22.1	19.8	3.4	5.7
1971	39	24.1	17.4	7.7	10.0	38	16.3	16.0	1.2	3.0
1972	36	18.6	16.2	3.3	5.4	41	24.1	18.5	6.5	9.1
1973	38	15.8	18.4	-1.7	0.2	41	19.9	18.5	1.3	3.7
1974	41	22.7	14.4	8.4	10.6	37	17.4	15.1	2.4	4.3
1975	37	16.4	14.9	1.6	3.5	37	17.1	15.9	1.3	3.3
1976	30	11.1	11.4	-0.2	1.1	32	13.7	10.4	3.4	4.8
1977	28	10.2	10.2	0.1	1.5	34	14.8	12.6	2.3	4.2
1978	34	14.7	10.3	4.3	5.9	37	16.0	12.0	4.7	6.3
1979	37	14.8	14.1	0.7	2.5	32	13.7	12.5	2.1	3.6
1980	29	12.3	11.8	0.6	2.0	34	11.0	11.6	-0.4	0.9
1981	19	6.5	7.1	-0.6	0.3	24	8.5	8.4	0.5	1.6
1982	34	13.9	14.5	0.5	2.0	32	11.0	11.7	-0.4	1.0
1983	33	8.9	11.1	-1.5	-0.4	30	9.3	12.5	-3.1	-1.7
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	665	285.0	252.3	42.7	74.3	787	315.6	290.2	36.4	73.0

Article last updated: January 29, 2020

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 1983 season. Positional averages for starting pitching and relief pitching are calculated using single-year data for all starting pitchers and all relief pitchers.

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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