1996 Season

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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1996 Season

The 1996 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

This article takes a look at the 1996 season as measured by Player won-lost records.

The Best of 1996

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	John Smoltz	18.1	11.8	7.3	9.1	1	John Smoltz	18.1	11.8	7.3	9.1
2	Ken Caminiti	23.8	16.0	7.2	9.1	2	Ken Caminiti	23.8	16.0	7.2	9.1
3	Mike Piazza	19.5	12.9	6.9	8.5	3	Barry Bonds	25.6	17.5	6.8	8.8
4	Barry Bonds	25.6	17.5	6.8	8.8	4	Alex Rodriguez	22.5	16.9	6.6	8.5
5	J. Kevin Brown	16.1	10.6	6.6	8.3	5	Mike Piazza	19.5	12.9	6.9	8.5
6	Alex Rodriguez	22.5	16.9	6.6	8.5	6	J. Kevin Brown	16.1	10.6	6.6	8.3
7	Jeff Bagwell	22.9	14.9	6.4	8.2	7	Jeff Bagwell	22.9	14.9	6.4	8.2
8	Roberto Alomar	21.6	16.3	6.2	8.0	8	Pat Hentgen	17.9	12.0	6.1	8.1
9	Pat Hentgen	17.9	12.0	6.1	8.1	9	Roberto Alomar	21.6	16.3	6.2	8.0
10	Jim Thome	20.4	14.1	6.1	7.7	10	Jim Thome	20.4	14.1	6.1	7.7

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	Alex Rodriguez	23.2	16.2	8.1	9.9	1	Alex Rodriguez	23.2	16.2	8.1	9.9
2	Barry Bonds	26.1	17.0	7.9	9.9	2	Barry Bonds	26.1	17.0	7.9	9.9
3	Greg Maddux	17.2	10.7	7.8	9.5	3	Greg Maddux	17.2	10.7	7.8	9.5
4	J. Kevin Brown	16.4	10.4	7.4	9.0	4	J. Kevin Brown	16.4	10.4	7.4	9.0
5	John Smoltz	17.6	12.4	6.4	8.2	5	John Smoltz	17.6	12.4	6.4	8.2
6	Mark McGwire	16.7	9.9	6.1	7.4	6	Gary Sheffield	25.5	18.8	5.7	7.7
7	Gary Sheffield	25.5	18.8	5.7	7.7	7	Ken Caminiti	23.0	16.8	5.6	7.5
8	Ken Caminiti	23.0	16.8	5.6	7.5	8	Pat Hentgen	17.5	12.3	5.4	7.4
9	Ken Griffey Jr.	19.9	14.2	5.6	7.2	9	Barry Larkin	22.6	17.8	5.5	7.4
10	Barry Larkin	22.6	17.8	5.5	7.4	10	Mark McGwire	16.7	9.9	6.1	7.4

I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 1996 at the end of this article.

1996 Postseason

The 1996 postseason saw the first of two World Series matchups between the two teams with the strongest claim as the best team of the 1990s. The New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2, to win their first World Series in 18 seasons and what would be the first of four World Series titles in five seasons.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1996 Postseason: Total

Bernie Williams	NYA	2.8	1.2	1.8
John Smoltz	ATL	2.3	1.3	1.3
John Wetteland	NYA	1.6	0.5	1.3
Mariano Rivera	NYA	1.3	0.3	1.2
Greg Maddux	ATL	2.5	1.7	1.1
Cecil Fielder	DET	1.9	0.9	1.0
Andruw Jones	ATL	1.6	0.8	0.9
Dennis Eckersley	SLN	0.9	0.1	0.9
Derek Jeter	NYA	2.2	1.7	0.8
Tom Glavine	ATL	1.7	1.3	0.8

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1996 World Series

Andruw Jones	ATL	1.3	0.7	0.6
John Wetteland	NYA	0.6	0.1	0.5
Greg Maddux	ATL	0.9	0.4	0.5
Mariano Rivera	NYA	0.5	0.2	0.4
Jim Leyritz	NYA	0.5	0.1	0.4

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1996 Postseason: League Championship Series

Bernie Williams	NYA	1.4	0.4	1.1
Mark Lemke	ATL	1.5	0.7	0.8
Cecil Fielder	DET	1.0	0.4	0.6
Royce Clayton	SLN	1.1	0.6	0.5
Darryl Strawberry	NYA	0.5	0.1	0.4

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1996 Postseason: Division Series

Brian Jordan	SLN	0.7	0.2	0.5
John Burkett	FLO	0.8	0.3	0.5
Juan Gonzalez	TEX	0.8	0.3	0.5
John Smoltz	ATL	0.6	0.2	0.4
Brady Anderson	BAL	0.8	0.4	0.4

Best of 1996 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 1996 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	Gary Sheffield	18.8	11.2	7.2	1	Jeff Bagwell	18.1	10.8	6.9
2	Barry Bonds	17.5	10.1	7.0	2	Ken Caminiti	17.4	10.1	6.8
3	Mark McGwire	14.4	7.9	6.5	3	Mike Piazza	16.9	9.9	6.6
4	Jeff Bagwell	17.6	11.3	5.8	4	Barry Bonds	17.3	10.4	6.5
5	Jim Thome	14.8	9.6	5.1	5	Mark McGwire	14.3	8.0	6.3
6	Alex Rodriguez	15.9	10.7	5.1	6	Edgar Martinez	15.6	9.5	6.2
7	Ken Caminiti	16.5	11.0	5.1	7	Albert Belle	17.6	11.5	6.2
8	Edgar Martinez	14.9	10.2	4.8	8	Jim Thome	15.3	9.1	6.1
9	Albert Belle	16.9	12.2	4.7	9	Gary Sheffield	18.2	11.8	6.0
10	Mike Piazza	15.9	10.9	4.6	10	Steve Finley	18.1	12.3	5.3

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Kenny Lofton	2.2	1.5	0.6	1	Kenny Lofton	2.4	1.3	1.1
2	Delino DeShields Sr.	1.6	0.9	0.6	2	Barry Larkin	1.7	0.9	0.7
3	Lance Johnson	2.3	1.7	0.6	3	Chipper Jones	1.3	0.6	0.7
4	Ray Durham	1.4	0.8	0.5	4	Tom Goodwin	2.0	1.3	0.7
5	Roberto Alomar	1.5	0.9	0.5	5	Roberto Alomar	1.5	0.9	0.7
6	Brian L. Hunter	1.6	1.0	0.5	6	Delino DeShields Sr.	1.6	0.9	0.7
7	Barry Bonds	1.6	1.1	0.5	7	Jose Valentin	1.2	0.6	0.6
8	Otis Nixon	1.9	1.5	0.4	8	Brian L. Hunter	1.6	1.0	0.5
9	Stan Javier	0.8	0.4	0.4	9	Paul Molitor	1.6	1.1	0.5
10	Tom Goodwin	1.9	1.4	0.4	10	Ray Durham	1.3	0.8	0.5

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Greg Maddux	14.9	9.0	5.9	1	John Smoltz	16.2	10.0	6.2
2	J. Kevin Brown	14.4	8.7	5.7	2	J. Kevin Brown	14.6	8.5	6.2
3	Mariano Rivera	8.7	4.2	4.5	3	Mariano Rivera	9.3	3.5	5.8
4	John Smoltz	15.3	10.9	4.4	4	Pat Hentgen	17.5	11.9	5.6
5	Pat Hentgen	16.6	12.8	3.8	5	Greg Maddux	14.7	9.2	5.5
6	Roger Clemens	13.6	10.4	3.2	6	Charles Nagy	13.2	8.0	5.3
7	Charles Nagy	12.2	9.0	3.2	7	Trevor Hoffman	9.6	4.5	5.1
8	Kevin Appier	13.0	10.0	3.0	8	Troy Percival	8.1	3.4	4.7
9	Roberto M. Hernandez	8.7	5.7	3.0	9	John Wetteland	8.1	3.9	4.2
10	Juan Guzman	11.4	8.5	2.9	10	Andy Pettitte	14.5	10.3	4.2

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Alex Fernandez	0.5	0.2	0.4	1	Mike Fetters	0.5	0.0	0.5
2	Kevin Ritz	0.5	0.2	0.3	2	Kevin Ritz	0.6	0.1	0.4
3	Bob Tewksbury	0.4	0.1	0.3	3	Alex Fernandez	0.5	0.2	0.3
4	Pat Hentgen	0.4	0.1	0.3	4	Bob Tewksbury	0.4	0.1	0.3
5	Mel Rojas	0.3	0.0	0.3	5	Mel Rojas	0.3	0.0	0.3


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Ivan Rodriguez	2.2	1.2	0.9	1	Ivan Rodriguez	2.2	1.2	1.0
2	Tom Lampkin	0.9	0.4	0.5	2	Charles Johnson	1.8	1.2	0.5
3	Kirt Manwaring	1.3	0.9	0.4	3	Dan A. Wilson	1.6	1.1	0.5
4	Charles Johnson	1.7	1.3	0.4	4	Tom Pagnozzi	1.5	1.1	0.4
5	Dan A. Wilson	1.5	1.2	0.3	5	Tom Lampkin	0.8	0.4	0.4


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	John Mabry	2.2	1.6	0.6	1	Greg Colbrunn	3.1	2.1	1.0
2	Will Clark	2.3	1.7	0.6	2	Mark P. Johnson	1.8	1.1	0.7
3	Greg Colbrunn	2.9	2.3	0.5	3	Jose Offerman	1.8	1.2	0.6
4	John Olerud	1.3	0.9	0.5	4	Will Clark	2.3	1.7	0.6
5	Mark P. Johnson	1.7	1.3	0.4	5	Jeff Bagwell	3.4	2.9	0.5


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Jody Reed	5.4	4.8	0.7	1	Fernando Vina	5.8	4.2	1.5
2	Ryne Sandberg	5.0	4.4	0.6	2	Roberto Alomar	5.6	4.6	1.0
3	Fernando Vina	5.3	4.7	0.6	3	Eric Young Sr.	6.0	5.0	1.0
4	Keith Lockhart	2.6	2.1	0.5	4	Jody Reed	5.5	4.7	0.9
5	Tomas Perez	3.1	2.6	0.5	5	Mark Lemke	5.6	4.8	0.8


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Vinny Castilla	5.9	4.9	1.0	1	Shane Andrews	4.1	3.1	1.0
2	Dave Hollins	4.1	3.5	0.6	2	Vinny Castilla	5.9	4.9	1.0
3	Scott Brosius	3.3	2.7	0.6	3	Scott Brosius	3.4	2.6	0.7
4	Tim Naehring	3.4	2.8	0.6	4	Dave Hollins	4.1	3.5	0.7
5	Shane Andrews	3.9	3.3	0.6	5	Robin Ventura	4.5	3.8	0.7


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Jose Valentin	6.2	5.5	0.7	1	Kevin Stocker	5.2	4.0	1.2
2	Alex Rodriguez	5.6	4.9	0.7	2	David Howard	5.7	4.6	1.1
3	Rey Sanchez	3.9	3.2	0.7	3	Jose Valentin	6.4	5.3	1.1
4	Alex S. Gonzalez	6.5	5.8	0.6	4	Greg Gagne	6.1	5.4	0.7
5	Kevin Stocker	4.9	4.3	0.6	5	Alex Rodriguez	5.6	4.9	0.7


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Bernard Gilkey	7.1	5.5	1.5	1	Rusty Greer	6.0	4.5	1.5
2	Rusty Greer	5.6	4.8	0.8	2	Bernard Gilkey	7.0	5.6	1.4
3	Chad Curtis	1.7	1.1	0.6	3	Tony Phillips	7.6	6.2	1.4
4	Darren Bragg	1.8	1.3	0.5	4	Barry Bonds	6.7	5.8	0.9
5	Barry Bonds	6.5	6.0	0.5	5	Marty Cordova	5.8	5.0	0.8


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Brian L. Hunter	5.2	4.0	1.2	1	Marquis Grissom	6.0	4.4	1.6
2	Ray Lankford	6.0	4.9	1.0	2	Ray Lankford	6.2	4.7	1.4
3	Ken Griffey Jr.	4.7	3.8	0.9	3	Ernie Young	5.4	4.4	1.0
4	Ernie Young	5.2	4.6	0.6	4	Ken Griffey Jr.	4.7	3.8	1.0
5	Lance Johnson	6.6	6.0	0.6	5	Kenny Lofton	5.6	4.7	0.9


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Sammy Sosa	6.4	4.9	1.6	1	Sammy Sosa	6.6	4.6	2.0
2	Reggie L. Sanders	3.3	2.2	1.0	2	Paul O'Neill	6.0	4.0	2.0
3	Raul Mondesi Sr.	7.3	6.3	1.0	3	Reggie L. Sanders	3.4	2.1	1.3
4	Dave Martinez	1.8	1.1	0.8	4	Moises Alou	4.3	3.0	1.3
5	Manny Ramirez	6.0	5.3	0.7	5	David Justice	2.1	1.2	0.9

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1996 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	Mike Piazza	18.1	14.1	4.5	1	Mike Piazza	19.4	12.9	6.9
2	Todd Hundley	15.9	12.3	4.0	2	Chris Hoiles	10.9	8.9	2.6
3	Benito Santiago	12.0	10.6	1.7	3	Ivan Rodriguez	15.1	13.9	2.1
4	Ivan Rodriguez	14.9	14.2	1.6	4	Tom Pagnozzi	10.6	9.0	2.0
5	Terry Steinbach	12.3	11.7	1.4	5	Todd Hundley	14.8	13.4	1.9


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Jeff Bagwell	22.3	15.5	5.0	1	Jeff Bagwell	22.9	14.9	6.4
2	Mark McGwire	14.6	9.0	4.8	2	Mark McGwire	14.9	8.7	5.5
3	Frank E. Thomas	16.9	12.7	3.1	3	Rafael Palmeiro	19.1	14.6	3.3
4	Mo Vaughn	17.2	13.4	2.8	4	John Jaha	11.0	7.4	3.0
5	John Jaha	10.8	7.6	2.6	5	Mo Vaughn	17.2	13.4	2.8


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Chuck Knoblauch	21.1	17.6	4.6	1	Roberto Alomar	20.4	15.6	5.7
2	Roberto Alomar	19.6	16.4	4.2	2	Chuck Knoblauch	21.1	17.6	4.6
3	Craig Biggio	22.0	20.0	2.7	3	Craig Biggio	22.4	19.6	3.5
4	Ryne Sandberg	19.0	17.2	2.5	4	Ryne Sandberg	19.4	16.7	3.4
5	Eric Young Sr.	18.7	17.8	1.5	5	Eric Young Sr.	19.2	17.3	2.5


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ken Caminiti	22.7	17.1	4.9	1	Ken Caminiti	23.8	16.0	7.3
2	Jim Thome	19.2	14.9	4.1	2	Jim Thome	20.2	14.0	6.0
3	Chipper Jones	16.9	13.0	3.3	3	Chipper Jones	17.4	12.5	4.3
4	Scott Brosius	13.6	11.2	2.3	4	Scott Brosius	13.4	11.3	1.9
5	Matt D. Williams	13.3	10.7	2.2	5	Jeff Cirillo	16.6	15.0	1.5


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Alex Rodriguez	22.8	16.5	7.4	1	Alex Rodriguez	22.5	16.9	6.7
2	Barry Larkin	22.2	18.1	4.8	2	Barry Larkin	22.0	18.3	4.4
3	Jose Valentin	17.8	16.8	2.0	3	Greg Gagne	16.1	14.3	2.3
4	Cal Ripken	19.4	19.2	1.4	4	Cal Ripken	19.9	18.7	2.3
5	John Valentin	14.2	14.0	1.1	5	Jose Valentin	17.9	16.7	2.3


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Barry Bonds	24.9	16.7	6.9	1	Barry Bonds	24.9	16.7	7.0
2	Bernard Gilkey	23.8	17.9	4.5	2	Albert Belle	22.9	18.6	4.6
3	Greg Vaughn	18.8	15.2	2.8	3	Rusty Greer	19.6	15.3	4.5
4	Rusty Greer	18.6	15.3	2.5	4	Bernard Gilkey	23.4	17.9	3.6
5	Ellis Burks	16.7	13.2	2.3	5	Ron Gant	17.1	13.2	3.5


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ken Griffey Jr.	19.2	14.1	5.1	1	Steve Finley	24.7	18.7	5.5
2	Brady Anderson	20.7	16.1	4.6	2	Ken Griffey Jr.	19.0	14.2	4.7
3	Ray Lankford	20.8	17.3	3.0	3	Ray Lankford	21.6	16.5	4.7
4	Eric Davis	14.5	11.8	2.4	4	Marquis Grissom	23.3	18.3	4.4
5	Steve Finley	23.2	20.2	2.3	5	Kenny Lofton	21.5	18.3	3.2


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Gary Sheffield	25.3	19.0	4.9	1	Paul O'Neill	20.6	14.9	4.9
2	Sammy Sosa	20.4	15.7	3.5	2	Manny Ramirez	21.7	16.9	4.0
3	Manny Ramirez	21.2	17.4	2.9	3	Gary Sheffield	24.7	19.7	3.6
4	Raul Mondesi Sr.	22.9	19.2	2.3	4	Sammy Sosa	20.3	15.8	3.3
5	Juan Gonzalez	15.1	12.4	2.1	5	Moises Alou	16.7	12.4	3.2


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Greg Maddux	15.6	9.6	6.2	1	J. Kevin Brown	15.2	8.8	6.5
2	J. Kevin Brown	14.9	9.1	6.0	2	John Smoltz	16.5	10.2	6.5
3	John Smoltz	15.6	11.1	4.7	3	Pat Hentgen	17.9	12.0	6.1
4	Pat Hentgen	17.0	12.9	4.3	4	Greg Maddux	15.4	9.9	5.7
5	Charles Nagy	12.5	9.3	3.4	5	Charles Nagy	13.6	8.2	5.6
6	Roger Clemens	13.7	10.6	3.3	6	Jeff Fassero	14.9	10.9	4.2
7	Kevin Appier	13.2	10.2	3.2	7	Tom Glavine	14.4	10.4	4.2
8	Juan Guzman	11.6	8.7	3.0	8	Andy Pettitte	14.8	10.8	4.1
9	Jeff Fassero	14.2	11.5	2.9	9	Alex Fernandez	15.6	12.0	3.8
10	Tom Glavine	13.7	11.1	2.8	10	Orel Hershiser	14.0	10.4	3.7


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mariano Rivera	8.9	4.3	4.5	1	Mariano Rivera	9.6	3.6	5.9
2	Trevor Hoffman	8.5	5.7	2.7	2	Trevor Hoffman	9.7	4.5	5.0
3	Roberto M. Hernandez	8.7	5.8	2.7	3	Troy Percival	8.1	3.5	4.4
4	Mel Rojas	7.0	4.6	2.2	4	John Wetteland	8.2	3.9	4.1
5	Robb Nen	6.7	4.5	2.1	5	Mark Wohlers	7.9	4.1	3.6
6	Troy Percival	6.8	4.8	1.8	6	Robb Nen	7.5	3.7	3.6
7	Heathcliff Slocumb	7.4	5.4	1.8	7	Mel Rojas	7.7	3.9	3.6
8	Dan Plesac	5.0	3.6	1.4	8	Roberto M. Hernandez	9.1	5.4	3.5
9	Bruce Ruffin	5.5	4.0	1.3	9	Jeff Brantley	7.5	4.0	3.4
10	Mike Timlin	5.3	3.9	1.3	10	Mike Fetters	6.9	3.7	3.1


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Edgar Martinez	15.2	10.7	3.7	1	Edgar Martinez	15.8	10.1	4.9
2	Jose Canseco	8.0	6.4	1.1	2	Geronimo Berroa	8.5	6.6	1.4
3	Reggie Jefferson	4.5	3.3	1.0	3	Paul Molitor	14.5	12.5	1.1

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	Steve Avery	1.1	1.1	0.6	1	Donovan Osborne	1.5	1.2	1.0
2	Jim Bullinger	0.9	0.6	0.6	2	Steve Avery	1.3	0.9	0.8
3	Tom Glavine	1.3	1.6	0.6	3	John Smoltz	1.6	1.7	0.8


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Billy Ashley	1.2	0.4	0.8	1	Billy Ashley	1.3	0.3	1.0
2	Thomas Howard	1.2	0.6	0.7	2	John Vander Wal	1.9	1.0	1.0
3	Ruben Amaro Jr.	1.5	0.9	0.6	3	Mark Whiten	1.2	0.3	0.9


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	David Hulse	0.6	0.2	0.4	1	David Hulse	0.5	0.3	0.3
2	Jesus Tavarez	0.2	0.0	0.2	2	Jesus Tavarez	0.2	0.0	0.2
3	Royce Clayton	0.1	0.0	0.1	3	Damon Mashore	0.2	0.0	0.2

Noteworthy Players of 1996

Braves Ace: Greg Maddux or John Smoltz

According to all of the first four tables in this article, the best pitcher in major-league baseball in 1996 was a starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. If you look at pWins, which are tied to team wins and incorporate context, the best pitcher in major-league baseball was John Smoltz. But if you control for context and teammate quality, the best pitcher in baseball was Smoltz's teammate, Greg Maddux.

The next table compares the 1996 seasons of Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, as measured by Player won-lost records.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Greg Maddux	35	16.2	11.7	5.6	7.4	17.2	10.7	7.8	9.5
John Smoltz	35	18.1	11.8	7.3	9.1	17.6	12.4	6.4	8.2

John Smoltz led the National League in innings pitched, strikeouts, K/9, pitcher wins, and pitcher winning percentage. Based on all of that (but probably mostly the 24 wins), he won the Cy Young Award. Greg Maddux actually put up a slightly lower ERA than Smoltz, however, 2.72 to 2.94. Smoltz's advantages in pWins are largely the result of the Braves going 26-9 in Smoltz's starts but only 20-15 in Maddux's starts. And a large part of that advantage was that the Braves scored 5.32 runs per 27 outs in Smoltz's starts versus 3.92 runs per 27 outs in Maddux's starts.

Some of that difference in run support was just dumb luck, but some of it was because Smoltz (.218/.253/.295) out-hit Maddux (.147/.183/.176), and some of it was because Maddux pitched with backup catcher Eddie Perez (.256/.293/.404) more frequently than Smoltz did, while Smoltz pitched almost exclusively with Javy Lopez (.282/.322/.456) behind the plate.

One other advantage that Smoltz enjoyed over Maddux was that, by leading the league in strikeouts and K/9, Smoltz did more of the job of defense himself without relying on his defense. In fact, according to Fangraphs, Smoltz actually had a slightly better FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) than Maddux in 1996, 2.64 to 2.73.

It may or may not be fair to give Smoltz credit for pitching in more win-favorable conditions, but it's hard to argue with the results.

The next table compares the careers of Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Greg Maddux					John Smoltz
1986	6	1.6	2.3	-0.5	-0.3
1987	34	9.9	13.6	-2.9	-1.6
1988	37	17.2	12.5	5.7	7.4	12	4.4	6.4	-1.8	-1.2
1989	35	15.9	14.0	3.0	4.8	33	14.3	12.7	2.5	4.1
1990	35	15.6	14.9	1.7	3.5	38	14.6	15.6	0.1	1.9
1991	39	15.7	14.0	2.7	4.4	38	14.5	13.5	1.9	3.6
1992	35	17.5	12.3	6.3	8.0	36	17.0	16.1	1.8	3.9
1993	36	17.9	13.5	5.4	7.1	35	15.3	14.6	1.6	3.3
1994	25	14.4	8.0	7.0	8.4	21	8.9	9.6	-0.3	0.9
1995	28	16.5	7.4	10.0	11.4	29	11.7	10.8	1.5	3.0
1996	35	16.2	11.7	5.6	7.4	35	18.1	11.8	7.3	9.1
1997	33	14.2	9.2	6.0	7.4	36	16.4	14.9	2.5	4.4
1998	34	17.0	12.0	6.2	8.0	26	13.1	7.7	6.1	7.3
1999	33	15.7	12.9	3.7	5.4	29	13.4	10.8	3.3	4.7
2000	35	17.0	12.2	6.0	7.7
2001	35	16.0	11.7	5.6	7.3	36	4.3	2.4	1.9	2.5
2002	35	13.5	10.1	4.3	5.9	75	10.3	4.0	6.0	7.6
2003	37	13.3	14.0	0.4	2.1	62	5.6	2.4	3.1	3.9
2004	34	14.6	13.1	2.5	4.2	73	7.8	3.5	4.0	5.2
2005	35	12.3	14.8	-1.2	0.3	33	13.5	11.8	2.6	4.2
2006	34	13.3	12.4	2.1	3.6	35	15.3	13.6	3.0	4.7
2007	35	11.7	11.3	1.4	2.8	32	12.9	10.9	3.1	4.6
2008	34	10.1	13.8	-2.8	-1.3	6	2.4	2.0	0.6	0.9
2009						15	4.9	6.5	-1.4	-0.7
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	759	327.2	271.7	78.2	114.0	735	238.8	201.8	49.7	77.9

Position Player Comparison: Barry Larkin vs. Mike Piazza

Another comparison of how context can affect relative value is Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin versus Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza.

The next table compares their 1996 seasons, as measured by Player won-lost records.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Barry Larkin	152	22.0	18.3	4.4	6.3	22.6	17.8	5.5	7.4
Mike Piazza	148	19.5	12.9	6.9	8.5	18.4	14.0	4.9	6.4

Barry Larkin's 1996 performance translated into somewhat fewer Reds' wins than expected while Piazza's performance produced slightly more Dodgers' wins than expected. The reason for this was basically the timing of their performances. Baseball-Reference shows players' batting splits for various splits. One breakdown they show is by the "leverage" of the situation.

Overall in 1996, Barry Larkin's OPS was .977. By leverage, his OPS in high-leverage situations was .890; in medium leverage, .940; and, in low leverage, 1.036.

For Mike Piazza, the split was just the opposite. His overall OPS of .985 broke down between high, medium, and low leverage as 1.238, .966, and .887, respectively.

For both Larkin and Piazza, the extremity of these splits by leverage in 1996 were unusual. For his career, Larkin's OPS splits were .806/.825/.810 in high/medium/low-leverage situations. For his career, Piazza's splits were .929/.891/.949 in high/medium/low-leverage situations.

The next table compares the careers of Barry Larkin and Mike Piazza, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Barry Larkin					Mike Piazza
1986	41	5.5	4.5	1.2	1.7
1987	125	14.5	14.0	1.2	2.5
1988	151	22.8	19.1	4.2	6.3
1989	97	13.5	10.0	3.9	5.0
1990	158	22.5	18.3	5.0	6.8
1991	123	19.0	15.3	4.2	5.8
1992	140	21.5	16.1	6.1	7.8	21	1.2	1.8	-0.6	-0.5
1993	100	13.5	12.3	1.7	2.9	149	18.1	13.5	4.9	6.4
1994	110	16.0	13.6	3.1	4.5	107	12.5	9.7	3.2	4.3
1995	131	19.9	15.1	5.5	7.2	112	14.6	10.2	4.7	5.9
1996	152	22.0	18.3	4.4	6.3	148	19.5	12.9	6.9	8.5
1997	73	8.2	8.2	0.3	1.1	152	18.1	13.4	5.0	6.5
1998	145	20.0	16.6	4.0	5.9	151	18.6	13.2	6.1	7.7
1999	161	22.4	17.6	5.5	7.5	141	17.9	14.0	4.6	6.1
2000	102	11.7	13.0	-0.9	0.3	136	17.9	11.8	6.4	7.9
2001	45	5.7	4.7	1.1	1.6	141	16.7	13.3	4.4	6.0
2002	145	14.5	15.3	-0.4	1.2	135	13.6	13.2	1.4	2.8
2003	70	7.8	6.6	1.4	2.1	67	6.4	6.4	0.3	0.9
2004	111	10.7	10.6	0.4	1.5	129	11.2	11.9	-0.9	0.3
2005						113	9.7	10.6	-0.4	0.5
2006						126	10.9	10.6	0.6	1.7
2007						83	6.6	7.1	-0.9	-0.0
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,180	291.5	249.5	51.9	77.9	1,911	213.7	173.6	45.7	65.1

Top AL Pitcher: Pat Hentgen

The only American League pitcher to appear in any of the first four tables of this article is Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Pat Hentgen. Hentgen led the American League in innnings pitched (265.2), complete games (10), shutouts (3), and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.7). He was second in the league in ERA (3.22) and pitcher wins (20). It was a strong performance for which he deservedly won the American League Cy Young award.

Unfortunately, Pat Hentgen suffered the fate of so many major-league pitchers. Although he was only 27 in 1996, he only had one more good year left in him. The 1997 season was the last one in which Hentgen pitched 200 innings. Pat Hentgen's career, as measured by Player won-lost records, is shown in the next table.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Pat Hentgen Basic Player Won-Lost Records
1991	TOR	22	3	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0
1992	TOR	23	28	1.8	1.5	0.3	0.6	1.5	1.7	-0.2	0.0
1993	TOR	24	34	14.3	11.4	2.9	4.5	12.7	12.9	-0.1	1.5
1994	TOR	25	24	12.6	9.0	3.6	5.1	11.9	9.7	2.2	3.7
1995	TOR	26	30	11.6	12.6	-0.9	0.8	11.8	12.4	-0.5	1.1
1996	TOR	27	35	17.9	12.0	6.1	8.1	17.5	12.3	5.4	7.4
1997	TOR	28	35	15.0	14.4	0.8	2.8	15.6	13.8	2.0	3.9
1998	TOR	29	29	10.7	12.4	-1.5	0.0	10.9	12.2	-1.1	0.5
1999	TOR	30	34	10.2	11.0	-0.6	0.8	10.2	11.0	-0.7	0.7
2000	SLN	31	33	12.4	13.6	-0.2	1.4	12.4	13.5	-0.0	1.6
2001	BAL	32	9	3.3	2.9	0.5	1.0	3.4	2.8	0.8	1.2
2002	BAL	33	4	1.2	2.6	-1.4	-1.1	1.4	2.4	-0.9	-0.7
2003	BAL	34	28	8.8	9.8	-0.8	0.5	8.9	9.7	-0.5	0.8
2004	TOR	35	18	4.2	8.0	-3.6	-2.8	5.0	7.2	-2.0	-1.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			344	124.3	121.1	5.4	21.7	123.5	121.8	4.1	20.4
			------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			3	1.5	1.7		0.1	1.4	1.7		-0.0
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			347	125.7	122.7		21.8	124.9	123.5		20.4

Top Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera

The top relief pitcher in MLB, as measured by either pWins or eWins over positional average was Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera. This was Rivera's first season as the best relief pitcher in baseball - but not his last. It was also arguably the most valuable season of his career, mostly because he had a career high in innings pitched in 1996 - by 27 innings over his second-highest total.

In 1996, Rivera pitched 107.2 innings in 61 games, all in relief. He only finished 14 games and earned only 5 saves (the first 5 saves of his career). But he also earned 8 traditional pitcher wins and 26 holds while striking out 130 (50 more than in his second-highest season) with an ERA of 2.09. Oh, and he then added 14.1 IP in the postseason, allowing only one run (a 0.63 ERA).

The next table shows Mariano Rivera's career, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Mariano Rivera Basic Player Won-Lost Records
1995	NYA	25	19	4.0	4.2	-0.3	0.4	4.0	4.3	-0.2	0.4
1996	NYA	26	61	9.6	3.6	5.9	7.2	9.1	4.1	4.8	6.1
1997	NYA	27	66	7.2	4.1	3.1	4.2	6.5	4.8	1.7	2.8
1998	NYA	28	54	6.4	1.9	4.3	5.2	5.1	3.2	1.7	2.6
1999	NYA	29	66	6.5	2.5	3.9	4.9	6.2	2.9	3.2	4.1
2000	NYA	30	66	7.5	4.0	3.4	4.6	7.3	4.3	2.9	4.1
2001	NYA	31	71	8.8	4.0	4.4	5.8	8.2	4.6	3.2	4.6
2002	NYA	32	45	4.9	3.9	0.9	1.9	4.7	4.1	0.7	1.7
2003	NYA	33	64	7.1	2.9	4.1	5.1	6.3	3.7	2.7	3.7
2004	NYA	34	74	9.4	3.6	5.5	6.8	8.7	4.3	4.1	5.4
2005	NYA	35	71	7.6	3.2	4.3	5.4	7.3	3.6	3.6	4.7
2006	NYA	36	63	7.0	3.4	3.4	4.5	6.8	3.6	2.9	4.0
2007	NYA	37	67	6.4	3.9	2.3	3.4	6.1	4.2	1.7	2.8
2008	NYA	38	64	7.5	2.6	4.7	5.8	6.8	3.3	3.4	4.5
2009	NYA	39	66	6.2	3.1	3.0	4.0	5.7	3.7	1.9	2.8
2010	NYA	40	61	5.6	3.3	2.1	3.1	5.5	3.4	2.0	3.0
2011	NYA	41	64	6.2	2.8	3.3	4.2	5.6	3.4	2.1	3.0
2012	NYA	42	9	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.5
2013	NYA	43	64	7.1	3.7	3.1	4.3	6.4	4.4	1.7	2.9
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			1,115	125.9	61.1	61.9	81.3	116.8	70.2	44.3	63.7
			------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			96	12.9	3.5		10.9	11.4	5.0		8.0
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			1,211	138.8	64.6		92.2	128.2	75.2		71.6

Notable Debuts

One player who debuted in 1996 has made the Hall-of-Fame so far as I write this (in 2019), but three additional players who debuted that year appear on the 2020 BBWAA Hall-of-Fame ballot. The career records of these four players are compared below.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Vladimir Guerrero Sr.					Bobby Abreu
1996	9	0.6	1.0	-0.5	-0.4	14	0.5	0.6	-0.1	-0.1
1997	90	10.9	12.0	-2.1	-1.0	58	5.7	5.8	-0.5	0.1
1998	159	23.2	19.9	1.4	3.6	151	18.7	14.8	2.6	4.3
1999	160	24.7	21.3	1.5	3.7	152	21.5	16.6	3.3	5.1
2000	154	24.3	20.6	2.5	4.6	154	22.9	19.1	2.6	4.6
2001	159	25.3	22.3	0.9	3.4	162	23.3	19.0	2.8	5.0
2002	161	26.3	18.2	6.6	8.9	157	21.3	16.8	3.2	5.2
2003	112	17.3	13.4	2.8	4.3	158	23.4	18.1	3.9	5.9
2004	156	22.8	17.9	4.4	6.5	159	22.9	18.7	3.2	5.3
2005	141	20.6	14.7	5.3	6.9	162	23.1	18.3	3.7	5.5
2006	156	21.5	18.9	2.0	3.9	156	22.7	18.0	4.0	5.9
2007	150	22.6	15.6	6.3	8.1	158	20.3	18.8	0.7	2.4
2008	143	18.7	14.7	3.3	5.0	156	21.5	19.3	1.5	3.3
2009	100	8.4	8.7	-0.6	0.5	152	19.9	18.7	0.5	2.4
2010	152	16.5	13.4	2.7	4.6	154	18.4	17.9	-0.2	1.5
2011	145	10.1	12.5	-3.1	-1.6	142	12.4	11.4	0.4	1.9
2012						99	7.5	7.9	-0.6	0.2
2013
2014						75	3.6	4.3	-0.8	-0.4
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,147	293.8	245.0	33.4	61.2	2,419	309.4	264.0	30.2	58.2

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Scott Rolen					Andruw Jones
1996	37	4.3	4.4	-0.3	0.1	31	3.3	3.1	0.0	0.3
1997	156	21.0	18.8	1.7	3.6	153	16.5	13.1	2.7	4.1
1998	160	21.7	17.5	3.7	5.6	159	22.3	16.8	5.0	7.0
1999	112	15.1	11.3	3.7	4.9	162	25.0	19.0	5.4	7.5
2000	128	16.1	14.7	1.4	2.8	161	24.1	18.2	5.3	7.3
2001	151	20.4	15.6	4.5	6.4	161	23.3	19.5	3.3	5.6
2002	155	22.4	17.6	4.6	6.7	154	21.7	17.9	3.2	5.3
2003	154	20.9	16.5	4.3	6.1	156	22.8	18.3	4.2	6.2
2004	142	23.0	13.8	8.5	10.4	154	21.9	17.8	3.7	5.7
2005	56	7.0	6.0	0.8	1.4	160	24.8	18.1	6.3	8.1
2006	142	17.6	17.2	-0.6	1.0	156	22.4	18.1	4.0	5.8
2007	112	13.5	12.9	0.1	1.2	154	19.4	19.1	-0.1	1.6
2008	115	13.9	11.6	2.1	3.3	75	4.9	7.3	-2.6	-2.0
2009	128	15.3	12.2	3.1	4.4	82	7.1	6.6	0.2	1.0
2010	133	17.5	14.9	2.4	3.9	107	9.9	9.4	0.2	1.1
2011	65	7.8	7.8	0.1	0.9	76	5.9	4.0	1.8	2.3
2012	91	8.9	8.8	-0.3	0.6	94	6.0	6.4	-0.6	0.0
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,037	266.5	221.6	39.8	63.3	2,195	281.1	232.8	41.9	67.0

Farewell Seasons

Finally, the 1996 season was the final season for three Hall-of-Famers: Andre Dawson, Ozzie Smith, and Alan Trammell.

The next table compares the career Player won-lost records for Smith and Trammell. They're kind of an obvious comparison, as both of them were shortstops with Smith being the far better fielder (and baserunner) and Trammell the far better hitter.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Ozzie Smith					Alan Trammell
1977						19	0.8	1.3	-0.5	-0.4
1978	159	20.9	21.8	0.4	2.4	139	14.7	14.1	1.7	3.1
1979	156	17.3	19.1	-0.5	1.3	142	13.8	13.8	1.2	2.5
1980	158	21.1	21.3	1.2	3.2	146	18.9	16.8	3.7	5.3
1981	110	13.1	15.5	-1.4	0.2	105	13.8	12.3	2.6	4.0
1982	140	19.5	17.0	3.4	5.1	157	17.0	15.2	2.9	4.3
1983	159	20.1	17.9	2.7	4.4	142	18.6	16.3	3.3	4.8
1984	124	17.9	15.8	3.3	4.8	139	20.0	15.2	6.1	7.8
1985	158	22.5	18.3	5.3	7.2	149	17.9	19.8	-0.1	1.6
1986	153	18.7	16.9	2.8	4.5	151	19.5	17.7	3.2	4.9
1987	158	22.9	17.5	6.3	8.1	151	23.1	16.0	8.3	10.0
1988	153	22.3	17.8	5.1	7.1	128	20.9	14.9	6.9	8.7
1989	155	20.6	19.0	2.6	4.4	121	14.7	14.8	0.9	2.3
1990	143	16.0	17.4	-0.6	0.9	146	19.7	17.1	3.8	5.4
1991	150	20.7	17.6	3.7	5.5	100	13.2	12.5	1.4	2.6
1992	132	18.5	16.7	2.6	4.3	29	3.9	3.6	0.6	0.9
1993	141	18.3	18.1	0.9	2.7	112	13.4	11.4	2.4	3.6
1994	98	10.8	12.5	-1.0	0.1	76	7.1	10.1	-2.4	-1.5
1995	44	4.8	5.6	-0.6	-0.1	74	6.7	7.6	-0.3	0.4
1996	82	7.5	6.8	0.9	1.6	66	4.1	7.4	-2.9	-2.3
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,573	333.3	312.5	37.3	67.7	2,292	281.6	257.9	42.6	68.1

Add it all up and you get virtually identical results, at least when measured via pWins over replacement level (pWORL).

Ozzie Smith also makes for an interesting comparison to the other Hall-of-Famer whose career ended in 1996, Andre Dawson.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Ozzie Smith					Andre Dawson
1976						24	2.5	3.4	-1.0	-0.7
1977						139	16.4	15.4	0.3	1.9
1978	159	20.9	21.8	0.4	2.4	157	22.5	18.7	3.0	5.0
1979	156	17.3	19.1	-0.5	1.3	155	22.8	18.5	3.3	5.3
1980	158	21.1	21.3	1.2	3.2	151	22.3	18.6	3.0	4.9
1981	110	13.1	15.5	-1.4	0.2	103	18.1	13.2	4.2	5.9
1982	140	19.5	17.0	3.4	5.1	148	24.1	16.9	6.6	8.5
1983	159	20.1	17.9	2.7	4.4	159	23.2	19.8	2.7	4.6
1984	124	17.9	15.8	3.3	4.8	138	20.1	18.1	0.3	2.1
1985	158	22.5	18.3	5.3	7.2	139	21.0	17.4	2.6	4.4
1986	153	18.7	16.9	2.8	4.5	130	16.5	16.5	-1.1	0.4
1987	158	22.9	17.5	6.3	8.1	153	23.2	20.1	1.6	3.6
1988	153	22.3	17.8	5.1	7.1	157	22.2	18.7	2.1	4.1
1989	155	20.6	19.0	2.6	4.4	118	15.5	12.8	1.9	3.2
1990	143	16.0	17.4	-0.6	0.9	147	20.1	20.0	-0.8	1.0
1991	150	20.7	17.6	3.7	5.5	149	16.9	16.6	-0.8	0.7
1992	132	18.5	16.7	2.6	4.3	143	18.3	17.5	-0.0	1.7
1993	141	18.3	18.1	0.9	2.7	121	11.2	11.1	-0.2	1.2
1994	98	10.8	12.5	-1.0	0.1	75	5.8	7.0	-1.7	-0.8
1995	44	4.8	5.6	-0.6	-0.1	79	5.9	7.5	-2.1	-1.4
1996	82	7.5	6.8	0.9	1.6	42	1.7	1.9	-0.2	-0.0
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,573	333.3	312.5	37.3	67.7	2,627	350.4	309.7	23.6	55.4

Dawson's and Smith's careers were almost exactly the same length so that both of them are thought of, I think, as something of career Hall-of-Fame candidates. But Andre Dawson had a wonderful peak when he was young, from about age 23 through 28 (1978 - 1983), and then hung around for quite a while as a decent - and, eventually, a below-average - guy.

In contrast, Ozzie Smith was brilliant defensively from day one but could not hit major-league pitching worth a lick for several years. In 1979, for example, he won a "Reverse Triple Crown", finishing last in the National League (among batting qualifiers) in batting average (.211), home runs (0), and RBI (27). But Ozzie improved such that, by 1984, he was actually a slightly above-average batter (although that "average" included pitchers). Having finally figured out how to be at least competent as a hitter, while continuing to be an outstanding fielder, Smith had a later peak than Dawson, running from about age 27 through age 34 (1982 - 1989).

Their peaks end up barely overlapping, although for one season, 1983, they played the same number of games (159) and earned the same number of pWOPA.

The last two tables here compare their careers from 1978 - 1982 - Dawson's peak before Smith really learned to hit - and then from 1984 - 1993, when Smith was at his best while Dawson was already heading (somewhat gracefully) into his decline phase.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
		1978 - 1982
Ozzie Smith	723	91.9	94.6	3.2	12.1	91.2	95.3	2.4	11.3
Andre Dawson	714	109.8	86.0	20.2	29.5	108.1	87.7	16.7	26.0

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
		1984 - 1993
Ozzie Smith	1467	198.3	175.0	32.1	49.5	195.0	178.3	25.6	43.0
Andre Dawson	1395	185.1	168.7	5.5	22.3	185.8	168.1	7.0	23.8

Article last updated: November 17, 2019

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 1996 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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