The 1950s

The 1950s as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

I have now written articles on every season of the 1950s for which I have complete play-by-play data (i.e., 1951 through 1959). This article looks at the decade of the 1950s (including 1950, for which several games are missing).

Unlike in the seasonal articles, where I intersperse tables with writing, here I'm going to present a set of tables first with no commentary (beyond simple explanation of what I'm showing), and then I will conclude the article with some commentary on some of the players who show up in one or more of the preceding tables and seem interesting to me.

Incidentally, almost all of the tables here can be reproduced on my leaders page, where you can look at leaders over any set of (consecutive) seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records (1921 - 2018). For example, the top 25 players in pWOPA and pWORL from 1964 through 1975 can be found here. But for now, back to the 1950s.

The Best of the 1950s

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 25 players in pWins above Positional Average and Replacement Level were as follows.

		pWins over Positional Average Top 25 Players						pWins over Replacement Level Top 25 Players
	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Mickey Mantle	196.7	124.9	30.7	43.7	1	Mickey Mantle	196.7	124.9	30.7	43.7
2	Yogi Berra	169.3	120.9	25.6	37.3	2	Warren Spahn	190.4	153.9	23.9	38.5
3	Warren Spahn	190.4	153.9	23.9	38.5	3	Yogi Berra	169.3	120.9	25.6	37.3
4	Duke Snider	198.5	143.8	21.7	35.5	4	Duke Snider	198.5	143.8	21.7	35.5
5	Eddie Mathews	168.5	121.8	20.4	32.1	5	Robin Roberts	197.8	169.5	19.7	35.4
6	Robin Roberts	197.8	169.5	19.7	35.4	6	Early Wynn	180.9	154.5	18.5	32.8
7	Willie Mays	170.4	122.8	18.7	30.5	7	Eddie Mathews	168.5	121.8	20.4	32.1
8	Early Wynn	180.9	154.5	18.5	32.8	8	Willie Mays	170.4	122.8	18.7	30.5
9	Pee Wee Reese	158.0	126.8	18.3	29.9	9	Billy Pierce	162.5	136.2	17.7	30.5
10	Jackie Robinson	130.4	91.8	18.3	27.3	10	Minnie Minoso	206.1	160.6	15.4	30.2
11	Billy Pierce	162.5	136.2	17.7	30.5	11	Pee Wee Reese	158.0	126.8	18.3	29.9
12	Gil Hodges	176.6	129.7	17.3	29.6	12	Gil Hodges	176.6	129.7	17.3	29.6
13	Gil McDougald	157.4	125.5	16.7	28.1	13	Stan Musial	194.6	151.8	15.0	29.0
14	Al Rosen	143.6	104.0	16.4	26.4	14	Larry Doby	175.4	133.3	16.2	28.8
15	Larry Doby	175.4	133.3	16.2	28.8	15	Nellie Fox	200.0	178.9	13.4	28.6
16	Roy Campanella	108.5	79.3	15.6	23.2	16	Gil McDougald	157.4	125.5	16.7	28.1
17	Minnie Minoso	206.1	160.6	15.4	30.2	17	Jackie Robinson	130.4	91.8	18.3	27.3
18	Stan Musial	194.6	151.8	15.0	29.0	18	Al Rosen	143.6	104.0	16.4	26.4
19	E. Mike Garcia	132.2	108.9	15.0	25.8	19	Bob Lemon	141.6	120.8	14.5	26.2
20	Whitey Ford	105.9	81.9	14.9	23.0	20	E. Mike Garcia	132.2	108.9	15.0	25.8
21	Bob Lemon	141.6	120.8	14.5	26.2	21	Ted Williams	146.8	107.7	14.1	24.5
22	Ted Williams	146.8	107.7	14.1	24.5	22	Bobby Avila	160.1	139.6	12.3	24.4
23	Hank Aaron	138.9	103.4	13.5	23.2	23	Carl Furillo	166.0	136.0	11.1	23.3
24	Nellie Fox	200.0	178.9	13.4	28.6	24	Roy Campanella	108.5	79.3	15.6	23.2
25	Ernie Banks	134.5	113.9	13.0	23.0	25	Hank Aaron	138.9	103.4	13.5	23.2

The top 25 players in eWins above Positional Average and Replacement Level were as follows.

		eWins over Positional Average Top 25 Players						eWins over Replacement Level Top 25 Players
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL		Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
1	Mickey Mantle	193.8	127.8	27.8	40.8	1	Mickey Mantle	193.8	127.8	27.8	40.8
2	Warren Spahn	187.0	157.3	20.4	35.1	2	Warren Spahn	187.0	157.3	20.4	35.1
3	Duke Snider	196.3	145.9	19.5	33.4	3	Duke Snider	196.3	145.9	19.5	33.4
4	Eddie Mathews	166.2	124.1	18.1	29.8	4	Robin Roberts	193.0	174.2	15.0	30.7
5	Willie Mays	169.1	124.1	17.5	29.2	5	Eddie Mathews	166.2	124.1	18.1	29.8
6	Ernie Banks	138.3	110.1	16.8	26.8	6	Stan Musial	195.1	151.3	15.6	29.5
7	Yogi Berra	160.4	129.8	16.7	28.4	7	Willie Mays	169.1	124.1	17.5	29.2
8	Ted Williams	149.1	105.4	16.4	26.8	8	Yogi Berra	160.4	129.8	16.7	28.4
9	Stan Musial	195.1	151.3	15.6	29.5	9	Ernie Banks	138.3	110.1	16.8	26.8
10	Robin Roberts	193.0	174.2	15.0	30.7	10	Ted Williams	149.1	105.4	16.4	26.8
11	Jackie Robinson	125.6	96.5	13.6	22.6	11	Early Wynn	174.5	160.8	12.1	26.4
12	Billy Pierce	157.7	141.1	12.9	25.7	12	Minnie Minoso	201.7	165.0	10.9	25.7
13	Gil Hodges	172.1	134.2	12.8	25.2	13	Billy Pierce	157.7	141.1	12.9	25.7
14	Larry Doby	171.8	136.9	12.7	25.2	14	Larry Doby	171.8	136.9	12.7	25.2
15	Early Wynn	174.5	160.8	12.1	26.4	15	Gil Hodges	172.1	134.2	12.8	25.2
16	Bob Rush	136.1	120.5	11.3	22.6	16	Bob Rush	136.1	120.5	11.3	22.6
17	Al Rosen	138.1	109.5	10.9	20.9	17	Jackie Robinson	125.6	96.5	13.6	22.6
18	Minnie Minoso	201.7	165.0	10.9	25.7	18	Nellie Fox	192.8	186.0	6.3	21.5
19	Roy Campanella	103.5	84.2	10.6	18.3	19	Pee Wee Reese	149.7	135.2	10.0	21.5
20	Hank Aaron	136.1	106.3	10.6	20.4	20	Al Rosen	138.1	109.5	10.9	20.9
21	Pee Wee Reese	149.7	135.2	10.0	21.5	21	Eddie Yost	176.2	153.6	7.6	20.9
22	E. Mike Garcia	126.5	114.6	9.3	20.1	22	Hank Aaron	136.1	106.3	10.6	20.4
23	Al Kaline	127.0	102.3	8.6	17.8	23	Jackie Jensen	181.9	157.6	6.4	20.1
24	Gil McDougald	149.1	133.7	8.5	19.9	24	E. Mike Garcia	126.5	114.6	9.3	20.1
25	Whitey Ford	99.3	88.5	8.3	16.4	25	Gil McDougald	149.1	133.7	8.5	19.9

Top Postseason Performers of the 1950s

		1950s World Series Record: eWins (sorted by eWORL)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWORL
1	Yogi Berra	6.2	5.1	0.551	1.1
2	Duke Snider	4.8	3.5	0.581	0.9
3	Whitey Ford	5.0	4.4	0.529	0.8
4	Mickey Mantle	5.2	4.2	0.553	0.7
5	Ed Lopat	2.9	2.1	0.580	0.7
6	Billy Martin	3.6	2.9	0.550	0.6
7	Gil McDougald	5.9	5.6	0.511	0.6
8	Hank Aaron	2.5	1.5	0.632	0.6
9	Vic Raschi	3.1	2.8	0.532	0.5
10	Gil Hodges	3.5	2.7	0.562	0.5

		1950s World Series Performance: pWins (sorted by pWORL)
		pWins	pLosses	pWinPct	pWORL
1	Yogi Berra	6.5	4.9	0.571	1.3
2	Duke Snider	5.1	3.2	0.617	1.2
3	Whitey Ford	5.5	4.3	0.558	1.1
4	Gil McDougald	6.2	5.1	0.549	1.0
5	Ed Lopat	2.9	1.7	0.636	0.9
6	Mickey Mantle	5.1	3.9	0.568	0.8
7	Lew Burdette	3.6	2.7	0.576	0.8
8	Allie Reynolds	4.0	3.4	0.544	0.8
9	Hank Bauer	6.3	5.4	0.539	0.7
10	Vic Raschi	3.4	2.7	0.562	0.7

Best of the 1950s 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 of the 1950s in eWOPA by factor were as follows.

		Batting
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mickey Mantle	130.1	80.7	0.617	22.8
2	Ted Williams	103.8	59.8	0.635	20.5
3	Duke Snider	144.0	100.7	0.588	19.3
4	Stan Musial	146.5	103.7	0.586	19.0
5	Eddie Mathews	120.8	82.3	0.595	17.3
6	Willie Mays	108.7	74.5	0.593	15.4
7	Gil Hodges	138.6	105.8	0.567	14.1
8	Larry Doby	113.8	83.2	0.578	13.5
9	Minnie Minoso	127.7	99.7	0.561	11.9
10	Hank Aaron	90.8	66.5	0.577	10.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense

		Baserunning
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mickey Mantle	11.3	6.6	0.634	2.2
2	Luis Aparicio	7.6	4.0	0.652	1.7
3	Willie Mays	11.8	8.8	0.574	1.3
4	Bill Bruton	8.7	6.0	0.592	1.2
5	Red Schoendienst	10.4	7.7	0.574	1.2
6	Jackie Robinson	9.5	7.0	0.576	1.1
7	Billy Goodman	9.2	6.8	0.576	1.1
8	Bobby Avila	11.2	8.8	0.561	1.0
9	Pee Wee Reese	10.9	8.5	0.561	1.0
10	Hank Bauer	9.0	6.8	0.571	1.0

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense

		Pitching
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Warren Spahn	146.6	123.4	0.543	23.3
2	Robin Roberts	159.3	139.9	0.532	19.4
3	Billy Pierce	128.1	111.0	0.536	17.1
4	Bob Rush	110.0	94.2	0.539	15.8
5	E. Mike Garcia	101.5	87.8	0.536	13.7
6	Early Wynn	136.5	124.4	0.523	12.1
7	Curt Simmons	85.4	74.8	0.533	10.6
8	Johnny Antonelli	90.1	80.3	0.529	9.8
9	Whitey Ford	80.0	71.0	0.530	9.0
10	Harvey Haddix	85.0	76.1	0.528	8.9

Next, we look at the major-league leaders in net fielding wins for the 1950s by fielding position.

		Fielding, P
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Bobby Shantz	3.3	2.1	0.614	1.2
2	Ned Garver	3.7	3.0	0.549	0.7
3	Bob Purkey	1.9	1.3	0.595	0.6
4	Stu Miller	1.6	1.0	0.613	0.6
5	Warren Hacker	1.8	1.2	0.601	0.6
6	Turk Lown	2.1	1.5	0.578	0.6
7	Camilo Pascual	1.8	1.3	0.590	0.6
8	Billy Pierce	3.5	3.0	0.541	0.5
9	Art Houtteman	1.8	1.3	0.585	0.5
10	Johnny Kucks	1.5	1.0	0.602	0.5

		Fielding, C
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Del Crandall	10.6	8.3	0.559	2.2
2	Yogi Berra	14.3	12.5	0.534	1.8
3	Roy Campanella	10.4	8.8	0.542	1.6
4	Wes Westrum	7.9	6.8	0.535	1.0
5	Hal R. Smith	4.1	3.4	0.549	0.7
6	Elston Howard	2.2	1.6	0.572	0.6
7	Earl Battey	1.4	0.9	0.611	0.5
8	Ed Bailey	4.6	4.1	0.528	0.5
9	Hobie Landrith	4.4	3.9	0.530	0.5
10	Joe Astroth	4.9	4.4	0.524	0.5

		Fielding, 1B
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Gil Hodges	22.9	19.6	0.539	3.3
2	Vic Power	9.6	7.4	0.565	2.2
3	Walt Dropo	14.2	12.8	0.527	1.4
4	Bill Skowron	7.9	7.1	0.528	0.8
5	Joe Adcock	11.1	10.3	0.519	0.8
6	Bob Boyd	5.9	5.2	0.531	0.7
7	Johnny Mize	2.6	2.0	0.558	0.5
8	Earl Torgeson	16.2	15.7	0.507	0.4
9	Bill Glynn	3.0	2.6	0.537	0.4
10	Nippy Jones	1.8	1.4	0.561	0.4

		Fielding, 2B
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Nellie Fox	57.3	51.8	0.525	5.5
2	Red Schoendienst	46.5	43.3	0.518	3.2
3	Jackie Robinson	16.9	14.7	0.535	2.2
4	Don Blasingame	21.0	19.6	0.518	1.4
5	Charlie Neal	11.7	10.4	0.529	1.3
6	Billy Gardner	20.6	19.4	0.515	1.2
7	Danny O'Connell	23.3	22.1	0.513	1.2
8	Jim Gilliam	23.3	22.2	0.513	1.1
9	Gil McDougald	18.7	17.5	0.515	1.1
10	Frank Bolling	22.4	21.3	0.513	1.1

		Fielding, 3B
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Ken Boyer	20.2	17.6	0.535	2.6
2	George Kell	25.8	23.2	0.526	2.6
3	Al Rosen	26.4	24.3	0.520	2.0
4	Bobby Adams	20.8	19.1	0.521	1.7
5	Jackie Robinson	7.8	6.5	0.545	1.3
6	Andy Carey	20.4	19.2	0.515	1.2
7	Billy Cox	15.5	14.3	0.520	1.2
8	Brooks Robinson	9.1	8.0	0.534	1.2
9	Jim Davenport	6.4	5.2	0.550	1.2
10	Don Hoak	20.4	19.3	0.514	1.1

		Fielding, SS
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Pee Wee Reese	41.1	35.1	0.540	6.0
2	Roy McMillan	51.9	48.9	0.515	3.0
3	Chico Carrasquel	52.4	50.2	0.511	2.2
4	George Strickland	27.1	25.4	0.516	1.7
5	Willy Miranda	27.4	26.0	0.514	1.4
6	Luis Aparicio	26.2	24.7	0.514	1.4
7	Don Zimmer	10.8	9.4	0.535	1.4
8	Ernie Banks	37.2	36.0	0.509	1.3
9	Gil McDougald	11.9	10.7	0.527	1.2
10	Phil Rizzuto	31.3	30.2	0.509	1.1

		Fielding, LF
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Minnie Minoso	48.8	44.0	0.526	4.8
2	Hoot Evers	18.1	15.0	0.547	3.1
3	Sandy Amoros	12.6	10.1	0.556	2.5
4	Monte Irvin	20.2	17.8	0.532	2.5
5	Charlie Maxwell	25.5	23.2	0.523	2.2
6	Jim Gilliam	7.3	5.5	0.571	1.8
7	Gene Stephens	11.6	10.0	0.538	1.6
8	Jackie Brandt	7.0	5.5	0.558	1.5
9	Irv Noren	11.0	9.6	0.534	1.4
10	George Shuba	6.7	5.5	0.551	1.2

		Fielding, CF
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Duke Snider	44.5	38.3	0.537	6.2
2	Mickey Mantle	43.4	37.5	0.536	5.9
3	Jim Piersall	28.9	24.3	0.544	4.7
4	Willie Mays	44.6	41.0	0.521	3.6
5	Gino Cimoli	7.4	5.6	0.570	1.8
6	Bill Tuttle	32.5	30.7	0.514	1.8
7	Hal Jeffcoat	8.8	7.1	0.553	1.7
8	Bill Bruton	33.5	32.3	0.510	1.3
9	Curt Flood	7.4	6.2	0.545	1.2
10	Jim Busby	42.6	41.7	0.505	0.9

		Fielding, RF
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Carl Furillo	52.8	44.6	0.542	8.2
2	Al Kaline	30.1	25.0	0.546	5.1
3	Hank Bauer	36.2	32.6	0.526	3.5
4	Jim Piersall	12.5	9.6	0.564	2.8
5	Roberto Clemente	24.9	22.2	0.529	2.7
6	Hank Aaron	24.2	22.0	0.523	2.2
7	Bob Kennedy	12.7	11.0	0.535	1.7
8	Rocky Colavito	19.3	17.8	0.520	1.5
9	Al Pilarcik	9.3	8.1	0.535	1.2
10	Jim Rivera	16.0	14.9	0.518	1.1

Best by Position

Next, we look at Major-League leaders in eWOPA by position for the 1950s. 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	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Yogi Berra	142.9	117.0	0.550	14.4
2	Roy Campanella	101.7	83.8	0.548	9.8
3	Sherm Lollar	101.9	93.1	0.523	5.5
4	Stan Lopata	57.4	51.2	0.529	3.7
5	Gus Triandos	47.4	41.7	0.532	3.5
6	Smoky Burgess	67.2	62.0	0.520	3.4
7	Del Crandall	79.8	75.7	0.513	3.1
8	Andy Seminick	57.4	52.7	0.522	2.9
9	Wes Westrum	54.3	49.6	0.523	2.8
10	Ed Bailey	45.1	41.5	0.521	2.4

		First Base
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Gil Hodges	160.8	126.1	0.560	11.5
2	Stan Musial	85.7	67.2	0.561	5.9
3	Ted Kluszewski	128.1	106.9	0.545	5.8
4	Joe Adcock	78.2	66.0	0.542	3.3
5	Earl Torgeson	116.1	101.4	0.534	3.0
6	Bill Skowron	60.2	49.6	0.549	2.9
7	Ferris Fain	76.1	65.5	0.537	2.5
8	Mickey Vernon	123.2	109.0	0.531	2.5
9	Vic Wertz	50.2	41.9	0.545	2.1
10	Luke Easter	46.8	39.7	0.541	1.8

		Second Base
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Jackie Robinson	69.7	53.1	0.568	8.8
2	Nellie Fox	194.0	188.2	0.508	5.8
3	Bobby Avila	140.8	134.4	0.512	5.2
4	Gil McDougald	64.6	57.9	0.527	4.4
5	Red Schoendienst	154.6	150.1	0.507	4.4
6	Eddie Stanky	41.4	34.7	0.544	3.6
7	Pete Runnels	59.9	55.4	0.520	3.5
8	Charlie Neal	40.9	36.3	0.530	3.1
9	Billy Goodman	74.7	71.6	0.511	2.7
10	Jim Gilliam	85.0	82.5	0.507	2.6

		Third Base
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Eddie Mathews	164.8	124.8	0.569	17.1
2	Al Rosen	118.7	94.8	0.556	9.2
3	Eddie Yost	176.5	153.8	0.534	7.5
4	Ken Boyer	79.6	67.8	0.540	4.6
5	Ray Boone	67.0	55.0	0.549	4.3
6	George Kell	107.3	95.7	0.529	3.3
7	Hank Thompson	78.4	67.7	0.537	3.3
8	Bobby Thomson	23.2	18.6	0.554	1.9
9	Jackie Robinson	29.7	25.5	0.538	1.4
10	Bob Elliott	47.2	42.2	0.528	1.2

		Shortstop
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Ernie Banks	129.4	106.0	0.550	14.5
2	Pee Wee Reese	141.4	126.0	0.529	10.5
3	Eddie Joost	69.7	61.7	0.530	5.1
4	Alvin Dark	148.1	146.1	0.503	3.9
5	Johnny Logan	150.2	149.8	0.501	3.2
6	Solly Hemus	58.8	54.8	0.518	3.0
7	Gil McDougald	36.3	32.3	0.530	2.8
8	Phil Rizzuto	90.4	88.5	0.505	2.5
9	Chico Carrasquel	146.0	148.6	0.496	1.6
10	Vern Stephens	26.9	24.6	0.522	1.5

		Left Field
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Ted Williams	141.1	103.2	0.578	13.6
2	Minnie Minoso	163.7	133.4	0.551	8.6
3	Charlie Maxwell	78.4	65.1	0.546	3.4
4	Stan Musial	48.4	38.3	0.558	3.2
5	Gene Woodling	120.2	104.4	0.535	3.1
6	Ralph Kiner	108.8	95.3	0.533	2.8
7	Sid Gordon	71.0	60.3	0.541	2.6
8	Sandy Amoros	40.8	33.0	0.553	2.4
9	Roy Sievers	89.9	78.1	0.535	2.3
10	Jackie Robinson	21.2	16.3	0.567	1.8

		Center Field
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mickey Mantle	173.1	115.4	0.600	23.9
2	Duke Snider	189.9	143.4	0.570	17.8
3	Willie Mays	164.8	124.0	0.571	15.5
4	Larry Doby	158.8	126.6	0.556	11.7
5	Stan Musial	18.7	14.4	0.565	1.8
6	Al Kaline	23.0	18.2	0.558	1.7
7	Joe DiMaggio	33.6	29.6	0.532	1.3
8	Frank Robinson	13.6	10.3	0.568	1.2
9	Andy Pafko	30.3	26.7	0.532	1.1
10	Sam Jethroe	57.4	53.2	0.519	0.9

		Right Field
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Hank Aaron	93.5	70.7	0.569	8.2
2	Al Kaline	101.3	83.1	0.549	6.1
3	Carl Furillo	164.9	144.7	0.533	6.1
4	Rocky Colavito	71.0	56.2	0.558	5.0
5	Hank Bauer	131.1	113.8	0.535	4.9
6	Jackie Jensen	147.9	129.2	0.534	4.7
7	Stan Musial	43.1	34.0	0.559	3.7
8	Vic Wertz	75.6	66.2	0.533	3.2
9	Wally Post	98.7	89.6	0.524	1.5
10	Hank Sauer	28.5	24.8	0.535	1.4

		Starting Pitcher
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Warren Spahn	147.3	123.7	0.544	11.8
2	Robin Roberts	159.8	141.2	0.531	9.3
3	Billy Pierce	127.6	110.7	0.535	8.4
4	Bob Rush	107.7	93.7	0.535	7.0
5	E. Mike Garcia	96.8	82.9	0.539	6.9
6	Early Wynn	136.4	124.8	0.522	5.8
7	Curt Simmons	85.7	74.5	0.535	5.6
8	Whitey Ford	78.5	67.9	0.536	5.3
9	Johnny Antonelli	87.5	78.7	0.527	4.4
10	Frank Sullivan	69.7	62.1	0.529	3.8

		Relief Pitcher
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Ellis Kinder	28.0	22.6	0.554	2.7
2	Don Mossi	18.1	13.9	0.566	2.1
3	Roy Face	27.2	23.1	0.541	2.1
4	Sandy Consuegra	18.7	15.0	0.555	1.9
5	Gerry Staley	25.9	22.6	0.534	1.6
6	Larry Jackson	11.4	8.5	0.571	1.4
7	Bobby Shantz	17.1	14.5	0.542	1.3
8	Joe Nuxhall	14.1	11.6	0.547	1.2
9	Hoyt Wilhelm	40.0	37.7	0.514	1.1
10	Mike Fornieles	20.2	18.1	0.528	1.1

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 the 1950s in context, in terms of pWins and pWOPA.

Player	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL
	Top Relief Pitchers of the 1950s, based on pWORL
Ellis Kinder	52.1	39.6	0.568	7.3	12.6
Hoyt Wilhelm	58.5	53.1	0.524	3.8	10.3
Clem Labine	56.3	53.1	0.514	2.5	9.1
Marv Grissom	45.3	41.0	0.525	3.0	8.0
Ray Narleski	46.0	41.9	0.524	2.9	7.6
Jim Konstanty	38.6	33.8	0.533	3.0	7.4
Al Brazle	37.6	34.1	0.525	2.5	6.7
Tom Morgan	42.7	42.8	0.499	0.9	5.6
Hersh Freeman	20.1	15.7	0.561	2.5	4.8
Roy Face	36.1	36.4	0.498	0.4	4.8

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	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Don Newcombe	14.6	13.5	0.519	4.2
2	Warren Spahn	17.1	21.9	0.438	2.8
3	Bob Lemon	13.2	15.2	0.465	2.7
4	Early Wynn	15.7	20.2	0.437	2.5
5	Don Larsen	8.6	8.4	0.507	2.4
6	Tommy Byrne	8.4	7.7	0.522	2.4
7	Jack Harshman	8.3	8.1	0.505	2.3
8	Mickey McDermott	9.2	9.7	0.489	2.2
9	Ned Garver	10.9	14.2	0.434	1.6
10	Joe Nuxhall	7.9	9.8	0.447	1.5

		Pinch Hitter
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Earl Torgeson	4.0	2.8	0.588	0.8
2	Ted Williams	3.0	1.7	0.643	0.8
3	George Crowe	5.1	4.3	0.547	0.7
4	Duke Snider	2.0	1.0	0.660	0.6
5	Bob Cerv	3.5	2.7	0.561	0.6
6	Joe Cunningham	2.1	1.2	0.633	0.5
7	Jim Delsing	2.8	2.0	0.581	0.5
8	Mickey Vernon	3.6	2.8	0.556	0.5
9	Smoky Burgess	5.3	4.9	0.523	0.5
10	Elmer Valo	5.3	4.9	0.523	0.5

		Pinch Runner
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Dick Schofield Sr.	0.9	0.7	0.577	0.2
2	Felix Mantilla	0.4	0.2	0.701	0.1
3	Al Pilarcik	0.3	0.1	0.806	0.1
4	Jim Rivera	0.6	0.4	0.589	0.1
5	Putsy Caballero	0.6	0.4	0.592	0.1
6	Wally Westlake	0.2	0.0	0.843	0.1
7	Chuck Harmon	0.4	0.3	0.595	0.1
8	Bobby Avila	0.2	0.0	0.809	0.1
9	Gil Coan	0.3	0.1	0.676	0.1
10	Eddie Miksis	0.3	0.2	0.614	0.1

Interesting or Noteworthy Players of the 1950s

I have written several articles about players whose careers overlapped at least partly with the 1950s. These players include Luis Aparicio, Rocky Colavito, Gil McDougald, and Camilo Pascual.

In addition, I previously wrote an article that looked at perhaps the most significant feature of major-league baseball in the 1950s, the integration of the white major leagues.

Next, I take a look at six players who figure prominently in several of the tables above and were, in my opinion, among the most noteworthy players of the 1950s.

Mickey Mantle

Player won-lost records leaves fairly little doubt about who it views as the best player of the 1950s. Mickey Mantle led the major leagues in batting wins over non-pitcher average, baserunning wins over non-pitcher average, and fielding wins in center field. The player with the second-highest (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) wins over positional average at a single position was Dodgers' center fielder Duke Snider. Mantle beat Snider in eWOPA - at the same position - by 6.1. Mantle's only "weakness" is that he is only seventh in World Series pWORL for the 1950s.

And Mickey Mantle's career didn't end in 1959. In fact, Mickey Mantle led the major leagues in pWins over replacement level (pWORL) in the first two seasons of the 1960s as well, and finished in the top 7 in pWOPA and pWORL for the overall decade of the 1960s.

The next two tables show Mickey Mantle's career record, as measured by Player won-lost records, followed by the top 10 players in career pWOPA and pWORL among all players for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Mickey Mantle Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1951	NYA	19	96	12.8	9.0	0.587	1.7	2.6	12.0	9.8	0.552	1.0	1.8
1952	NYA	20	142	22.3	14.8	0.600	3.3	4.8	21.7	15.4	0.585	2.8	4.3
1953	NYA	21	127	20.2	13.0	0.609	3.1	4.5	19.4	13.7	0.586	2.4	3.8
1954	NYA	22	145	24.0	15.2	0.612	3.6	5.2	23.1	16.1	0.590	2.7	4.3
1955	NYA	23	147	24.6	14.1	0.636	4.5	6.1	23.8	14.8	0.616	3.7	5.3
1956	NYA	24	150	24.9	15.1	0.623	4.2	5.9	25.3	14.7	0.633	4.6	6.3
1957	NYA	25	144	24.8	12.8	0.660	5.3	6.9	24.1	13.4	0.643	4.7	6.2
1958	NYA	26	150	23.0	15.9	0.590	2.8	4.3	23.7	15.2	0.610	3.6	5.0
1959	NYA	27	144	20.3	15.0	0.575	2.0	3.4	20.5	14.7	0.582	2.3	3.7
1960	NYA	28	153	23.3	13.5	0.633	4.2	5.6	21.7	15.1	0.590	2.6	4.0
1961	NYA	29	153	25.8	14.9	0.635	4.8	6.6	25.4	15.2	0.625	4.4	6.2
1962	NYA	30	123	19.9	11.3	0.638	3.8	5.0	19.5	11.7	0.625	3.4	4.6
1963	NYA	31	65	9.0	4.9	0.645	1.8	2.4	8.4	5.5	0.604	1.3	1.8
1964	NYA	32	143	21.0	13.8	0.604	3.1	4.5	20.4	14.4	0.587	2.5	3.9
1965	NYA	33	122	13.4	13.1	0.505	-0.4	0.7	14.3	12.3	0.538	0.5	1.5
1966	NYA	34	108	12.4	11.4	0.521	0.1	1.0	13.5	10.3	0.566	1.2	2.1
1967	NYA	35	144	15.7	11.9	0.570	1.1	2.3	15.9	11.7	0.576	1.3	2.5
1968	NYA	36	144	14.3	10.8	0.571	1.1	2.1	14.2	10.9	0.565	0.9	2.0
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,400	351.7	230.4	0.604	50.3	73.9	347.2	234.9	0.596	45.8	69.5
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			65	9.1	7.0	0.565		1.4	8.9	6.9	0.563		1.4
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,465	360.7	237.4	0.604		75.4	356.1	241.8	0.596		70.8

		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	Barry Bonds	462.0	314.9	61.0	91.4	1	Barry Bonds	462.0	314.9	61.0	91.4
2	Babe Ruth	306.0	177.8	54.4	74.2	2	Willie Mays	460.1	334.7	49.8	82.0
3	Mickey Mantle	351.7	230.4	50.3	73.9	3	Hank Aaron	491.8	372.1	42.2	77.9
4	Willie Mays	460.1	334.7	49.8	82.0	4	Roger Clemens	318.1	228.1	46.3	74.6
5	Joe L. Morgan	373.8	292.1	46.4	72.8	5	Babe Ruth	306.0	177.8	54.4	74.2
6	Roger Clemens	318.1	228.1	46.3	74.6	6	Mickey Mantle	351.7	230.4	50.3	73.9
7	Lefty Grove	254.8	176.5	44.7	63.9	7	Joe L. Morgan	373.8	292.1	46.4	72.8
8	Ted Williams	368.9	253.1	44.4	69.7	8	Ted Williams	368.9	253.1	44.4	69.7
9	Hank Aaron	491.8	372.1	42.2	77.9	9	Stan Musial	420.8	311.5	40.1	69.6
10	Alex Rodriguez	374.0	297.2	42.1	69.1	10	Alex Rodriguez	374.0	297.2	42.1	69.1

Warren Spahn

The one possible argument that could be made against Mickey Mantle as the best player of the 1950s is that the National League is generally considered to have been stronger than the American League this decade. If you were to downgrade Mantle a bit for playing in the weaker league, the player who might conceivably then have a counter-claim as the best player in baseball in the 1950s, according to Player won-lost records, would be Braves pitcher Warren Spahn.

I discussed Warren Spahn a bit in my article on the 1958 season. Spahn was a double threat: he ranks among the top 10 pitchers (among those for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records) in both pitching and hitting wins over positional average for his career. The top 10 in both of these are shown in the table below.

		Pitching Wins over Positional Average Top 10 Players						Batting Wins over Positional Average Top 10 Players
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA		Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA
1	Roger Clemens	273.3	211.2	0.564	30.2	1	Wes Ferrell	20.3	18.4	5.5
2	Greg Maddux	263.6	209.4	0.557	28.3	2	Bob Lemon	20.8	21.3	5.2
3	Pedro J. Martinez	159.8	117.0	0.577	21.4	3	Bob Gibson	23.1	29.6	4.7
4	Lefty Grove	192.1	149.7	0.562	21.0	4	Red Ruffing	26.6	30.9	4.6
5	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	234.3	189.9	0.552	20.8	5	Don Newcombe	16.8	16.4	4.6
6	J. Kevin Brown	174.9	139.0	0.557	18.0	6	Warren Spahn	30.3	40.6	4.5
7	Warren Spahn	271.2	238.3	0.532	17.4	7	Early Wynn	28.2	36.1	4.5
8	Gaylord Perry	280.9	245.6	0.534	17.4	8	Earl Wilson	14.6	14.7	4.5
9	Mike Mussina	192.6	159.4	0.547	17.2	9	Mike Hampton	13.4	16.0	4.1
10	Tom Seaver	251.1	219.8	0.533	16.9	10	Red Lucas	17.9	17.7	4.1

Warren Spahn's career record, as measured by Player won-lost records, is shown next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Warren Spahn Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1942	BSN	21	4	0.5	1.1	0.307	-0.3	-0.2	0.6	0.9	0.393	-0.1	-0.1
1946	BSN	25	24	7.9	6.3	0.555	1.0	1.7	7.5	6.7	0.527	0.6	1.3
1947	BSN	26	41	21.3	13.9	0.605	4.2	5.7	20.1	15.1	0.572	3.1	4.5
1948	BSN	27	37	17.3	13.5	0.561	2.4	3.7	16.8	14.1	0.543	1.8	3.1
1949	BSN	28	40	21.1	17.4	0.548	2.4	3.9	19.9	18.5	0.518	1.3	2.7
1950	BSN	29	41	19.5	19.3	0.502	0.7	2.4	20.5	18.2	0.530	1.8	3.5
1951	BSN	30	42	22.1	15.8	0.584	3.7	5.3	20.9	16.9	0.553	2.5	4.1
1952	BSN	31	52	17.9	17.1	0.512	0.9	2.5	18.8	16.1	0.539	1.9	3.5
1953	MLN	32	38	20.0	12.3	0.620	4.5	5.8	18.7	13.6	0.579	3.2	4.5
1954	MLN	33	41	19.9	15.1	0.569	3.0	4.6	18.8	16.2	0.537	1.9	3.5
1955	MLN	34	40	17.3	14.5	0.543	1.8	3.1	16.7	15.1	0.526	1.3	2.5
1956	MLN	35	39	18.5	14.6	0.560	2.5	4.0	18.5	14.6	0.559	2.5	4.0
1957	MLN	36	39	17.9	14.2	0.557	2.3	3.5	16.8	15.3	0.523	1.2	2.5
1958	MLN	37	41	18.6	15.5	0.545	2.2	3.5	18.5	15.6	0.542	2.1	3.4
1959	MLN	38	40	18.8	15.7	0.546	2.2	3.7	18.7	15.8	0.542	2.1	3.5
1960	MLN	39	40	19.0	15.0	0.558	2.6	4.0	17.7	16.3	0.521	1.3	2.7
1961	MLN	40	39	19.4	15.0	0.563	2.8	4.2	18.7	15.7	0.543	2.2	3.5
1962	MLN	41	36	17.2	16.0	0.518	1.2	2.6	18.0	15.2	0.543	2.0	3.4
1963	MLN	42	33	19.6	13.5	0.592	3.7	5.1	17.3	15.7	0.524	1.4	2.9
1964	MLN	43	39	9.0	13.0	0.408	-1.7	-0.5	9.3	12.7	0.421	-1.4	-0.3
+– 1965		44	37	11.4	14.8	0.436	-1.3	-0.1	11.2	15.0	0.426	-1.6	-0.4
	NYN		21	7.9	10.9	0.421	-1.2	-0.4	7.7	11.0	0.411	-1.4	-0.6
	SFN		16	3.5	3.9	0.473	-0.1	0.2	3.4	4.0	0.464	-0.2	0.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			783	353.9	293.4	0.547	40.8	68.5	344.0	303.3	0.531	30.9	58.6
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			8	3.1	2.9	0.512		0.4	3.7	3.4	0.521		0.6
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			791	357.0	296.3	0.547		68.9	347.8	306.7	0.531		59.1

Yogi Berra

Finally, using Player won-lost records, one more player might have a case for best player of the 1950s: top 3 in pWins over either positional average or replacement level and at a position, catcher, where players typically earn fewer pWORL than at other positions. And he tops it off by leading all players in World Series wins over replacement level (eWORL and pWORL) for the decade.

The next table shows the top 10 catchers in (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) wins over positional average.

		Top 10 Catchers (ranked by career eWOPA)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mike Piazza	185.1	149.4	0.553	21.5
2	Carlton Fisk	223.6	192.3	0.538	21.4
3	Johnny Bench	184.8	147.7	0.556	20.2
4	Yogi Berra	180.0	150.2	0.545	17.0
5	Gary Carter	214.4	186.0	0.535	16.7
6	Bill Dickey	157.1	131.6	0.544	15.6
7	Mickey Cochrane	139.3	114.7	0.548	14.8
8	Gabby Hartnett	153.9	129.6	0.543	14.5
9	Jorge Posada	146.7	130.6	0.529	13.9
10	Roy Campanella	121.7	101.1	0.546	11.6

The table above only includes player decisions earned while playing catcher. This under-rates Berra somewhat as he played 260 games in the outfield (mostly in the 1960s). Berra also looks considerably better in context. The next table shows the top 10 players in pWins over replacement level (pWORL) who earned at least half of their player wins at catcher.

	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL
		Top 10 Catchers (ranked by career pWORL)
1	Yogi Berra	245.3	182.3	0.574	32.6	50.1
2	Johnny Bench	245.9	197.3	0.555	24.6	42.3
3	Carlton Fisk	250.8	219.8	0.533	21.2	39.9
4	Mike Piazza	213.0	174.2	0.550	22.7	38.6
5	Bill Dickey	170.3	127.1	0.573	24.6	37.1
6	Mickey Cochrane	149.5	109.8	0.577	22.4	33.2
7	Gary Carter	241.4	215.9	0.528	14.6	32.1
8	Gabby Hartnett	165.3	131.0	0.558	19.5	32.0
9	Jorge Posada	172.0	146.8	0.540	18.3	31.3
10	Ted Simmons	248.2	231.8	0.517	8.6	28.5

Finally, Yogi Berra's career record, as measured by Player won-lost records, is shown next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Yogi Berra Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1946	NYA	21	7	0.7	0.5	0.618	0.2	0.2	0.7	0.5	0.593	0.1	0.2
1947	NYA	22	83	9.1	7.3	0.555	0.9	1.6	8.8	7.7	0.533	0.6	1.2
1948	NYA	23	125	14.0	11.7	0.543	1.1	2.1	13.3	12.4	0.519	0.5	1.5
1949	NYA	24	116	12.2	8.8	0.581	1.8	2.6	11.3	9.7	0.537	0.9	1.7
1950	NYA	25	151	18.0	11.7	0.606	3.2	4.4	16.7	13.1	0.561	1.9	3.0
1951	NYA	26	141	16.4	13.1	0.557	1.8	2.9	16.4	13.1	0.557	1.8	2.9
1952	NYA	27	142	18.1	11.8	0.605	3.2	4.4	17.2	12.6	0.576	2.4	3.6
1953	NYA	28	137	17.2	11.2	0.606	3.3	4.5	15.9	12.6	0.558	1.9	3.1
1954	NYA	29	151	19.0	12.3	0.607	3.4	4.7	18.0	13.3	0.575	2.4	3.7
1955	NYA	30	147	18.2	12.8	0.588	3.0	4.3	16.3	14.7	0.526	1.1	2.4
1956	NYA	31	140	18.0	12.1	0.598	3.0	4.2	17.4	12.8	0.575	2.3	3.5
1957	NYA	32	134	15.3	12.6	0.549	1.6	2.8	14.6	13.3	0.523	0.9	2.0
1958	NYA	33	122	13.3	11.3	0.539	0.9	1.9	12.9	11.7	0.525	0.6	1.5
1959	NYA	34	131	15.6	12.0	0.566	2.1	3.2	14.9	12.6	0.542	1.5	2.6
1960	NYA	35	120	11.8	9.3	0.559	1.2	2.1	11.0	10.0	0.523	0.5	1.4
1961	NYA	36	119	14.4	12.0	0.545	0.9	2.1	13.9	12.5	0.528	0.4	1.6
1962	NYA	37	85	8.4	7.3	0.533	0.4	1.0	7.7	8.1	0.487	-0.3	0.3
1963	NYA	38	64	5.4	4.1	0.566	0.7	1.1	5.0	4.5	0.525	0.3	0.7
1965	NYN	40	4	0.1	0.4	0.269	-0.1	-0.1	0.2	0.3	0.307	-0.1	-0.1
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,119	245.3	182.3	0.574	32.6	50.1	232.1	195.5	0.543	19.5	37.0
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			75	8.5	7.3	0.537		1.3	8.4	7.5	0.527		1.1
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,194	253.8	189.7	0.574		51.4	240.5	203.0	0.543		38.1

Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts was the second best pitcher of the 1950s. Roberts' career, as measured by Player won-lost records, is shown next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Robin Roberts Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1948	PHI	21	21	9.7	9.8	0.497	0.2	1.0	9.8	9.7	0.503	0.3	1.2
1949	PHI	22	43	14.1	13.5	0.511	0.6	1.7	14.0	13.7	0.505	0.5	1.6
1950	PHI	23	40	19.8	14.4	0.579	3.1	4.7	18.2	16.0	0.532	1.5	3.1
1951	PHI	24	44	20.9	16.8	0.555	2.5	4.2	21.0	16.7	0.558	2.6	4.3
1952	PHI	25	39	20.7	13.5	0.606	4.3	5.7	18.6	15.6	0.545	2.2	3.7
1953	PHI	26	44	24.8	18.0	0.580	4.1	5.9	24.8	17.9	0.580	4.1	5.9
1954	PHI	27	45	20.7	17.5	0.541	2.2	4.0	20.7	17.5	0.541	2.2	4.0
1955	PHI	28	51	21.8	17.7	0.552	2.6	4.1	20.7	18.8	0.523	1.5	3.0
1956	PHI	29	43	19.0	19.1	0.499	0.5	2.3	18.3	19.8	0.481	-0.2	1.6
1957	PHI	30	39	14.2	20.1	0.413	-2.5	-1.1	16.0	18.3	0.467	-0.6	0.7
1958	PHI	31	36	18.1	15.0	0.547	2.1	3.4	17.2	15.9	0.520	1.2	2.5
1959	PHI	32	35	17.8	17.4	0.506	0.7	2.2	17.5	17.7	0.498	0.5	1.9
1960	PHI	33	35	14.0	14.9	0.484	-0.0	1.2	14.2	14.7	0.493	0.2	1.4
1961	PHI	34	26	5.1	8.1	0.385	-1.4	-0.8	5.6	7.5	0.430	-0.8	-0.2
1962	BAL	35	27	10.3	8.8	0.539	1.0	1.9	10.1	9.1	0.527	0.8	1.6
1963	BAL	36	35	14.6	15.8	0.480	-0.1	1.3	15.0	15.4	0.493	0.3	1.7
1964	BAL	37	31	13.6	11.2	0.548	1.6	2.8	12.2	12.6	0.491	0.2	1.4
+– 1965		38	30	11.0	10.8	0.505	0.5	1.5	11.6	10.3	0.529	1.0	2.0
	BAL		20	6.4	7.6	0.459	-0.3	0.3	6.6	7.4	0.473	-0.1	0.5
	HOU		10	4.6	3.2	0.588	0.9	1.2	4.9	2.9	0.630	1.2	1.5
+– 1966		39	24	6.7	7.2	0.483	-0.1	0.6	6.1	7.9	0.437	-0.7	-0.1
	CHN		11	2.6	2.6	0.497	0.0	0.3	2.3	3.0	0.432	-0.3	-0.1
	HOU		13	4.2	4.6	0.475	-0.1	0.3	3.8	4.9	0.439	-0.4	-0.0
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			688	296.9	269.7	0.524	22.1	46.6	291.6	275.0	0.515	16.8	41.3
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			2	0.4	0.7	0.406		-0.0	0.9	0.8	0.541		0.2
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			690	297.3	270.3	0.524		46.5	292.5	275.7	0.515		41.4

Roberts had his last really good season in 1955 (although he had three more pretty good seasons peppered over the last decade of his career). The top 10 players in pWins over positional average and replacement level from 1950 - 1955 are shown in the next tables.

		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	Robin Roberts	128.6	97.9	18.8	28.6	1	Robin Roberts	128.6	97.9	18.8	28.6
2	Yogi Berra	107.0	72.9	17.9	25.2	2	Duke Snider	131.8	91.5	16.7	25.7
3	Jackie Robinson	116.3	81.1	16.8	24.7	3	Pee Wee Reese	122.7	93.9	16.5	25.2
4	Duke Snider	131.8	91.5	16.7	25.7	4	Yogi Berra	107.0	72.9	17.9	25.2
5	Pee Wee Reese	122.7	93.9	16.5	25.2	5	Al Rosen	129.6	91.0	16.2	25.1
6	Mickey Mantle	103.8	66.1	16.3	23.2	6	Jackie Robinson	116.3	81.1	16.8	24.7
7	Al Rosen	129.6	91.0	16.2	25.1	7	Larry Doby	128.5	90.5	15.8	24.6
8	Larry Doby	128.5	90.5	15.8	24.6	8	Warren Spahn	116.6	94.0	14.6	23.8
9	Warren Spahn	116.6	94.0	14.6	23.8	9	Mickey Mantle	103.8	66.1	16.3	23.2
10	E. Mike Garcia	102.5	79.0	14.4	22.4	10	Stan Musial	136.1	102.1	13.0	22.6

Eddie Mathews

I was born in 1968 and became a big baseball fan in the late 1970s. At that time, the best third baseman in major-league history was generally considered to be Pie Traynor; although, since I lived in Maryland, a case was sometimes made for Brooks Robinson. A few years later, Mike Schmidt won three MVP awards and hit 548 career home runs and became the consensus "best third baseman in major-league history".

Meanwhile, all poor Eddie Mathews did was hit 512 career home runs, be named an All-Star in 9 seasons, and finish as MVP runner-up twice and not only didn't people recognize that he was a better player than Pie Traynor, but it took five ballots for him to even be elected to the Hall of Fame. I've always been fascinated and confused by the perception of Eddie Mathews: how did people not realize that he was an obvious slam-dunk Hall-of-Famer and probably the best third baseman in major-league history when he retired? I honestly don't know.

The top 10 players in career (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) wins over positional average as third basemen, among players for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records, are shown next..

		Top 10 Third Basemen (ranked by career eWOPA)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	307.0	234.3	0.567	31.2
2	Eddie Mathews	294.8	229.8	0.562	27.7
3	Chipper Jones	259.7	209.3	0.554	21.7
4	Ron Santo	278.4	237.0	0.540	16.1
5	George Brett	223.4	189.7	0.541	15.8
6	Wade Boggs	276.7	244.3	0.531	15.8
7	Scott Rolen	249.3	213.9	0.538	14.9
8	Adrian Beltre	327.1	295.5	0.525	13.7
9	Alex Rodriguez	153.0	125.7	0.549	12.9
10	Ron Cey	243.1	210.5	0.536	12.0

The next table shows the top 10 players in pWins over replacement level among players who earned at least 50% of their career wins at third base.

	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL
		Top 10 Third Basemen (ranked by career pWORL)
1	Chipper Jones	336.7	258.5	0.566	33.8	57.0
2	Eddie Mathews	320.9	240.8	0.571	34.3	57.0
3	Mike Schmidt	337.5	257.5	0.567	34.0	56.8
4	George Brett	328.1	274.9	0.544	22.4	47.3
5	Brooks Robinson	354.6	310.5	0.533	17.0	43.7
6	Adrian Beltre	357.5	317.9	0.529	17.4	43.5
7	Wade Boggs	291.9	254.4	0.534	18.0	39.3
8	Graig Nettles	309.0	270.4	0.533	16.2	39.1
9	Scott Rolen	265.8	221.1	0.546	19.5	38.3
10	Darrell Evans	302.6	259.1	0.539	15.0	37.6

Eddie Mathews's career record, as measured by Player won-lost record, is presented next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Eddie Mathews Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1952	BSN	20	145	16.5	16.3	0.504	-0.0	1.3	17.4	15.4	0.531	0.9	2.2
1953	MLN	21	157	24.6	15.9	0.607	3.7	5.4	23.9	16.6	0.590	3.0	4.7
1954	MLN	22	138	20.8	13.9	0.599	2.8	4.2	20.8	13.8	0.601	2.8	4.3
1955	MLN	23	141	20.7	14.2	0.593	2.8	4.3	20.6	14.3	0.589	2.7	4.1
1956	MLN	24	151	20.3	15.4	0.568	2.2	3.6	19.7	15.9	0.554	1.7	3.1
1957	MLN	25	147	20.8	14.7	0.587	3.0	4.5	20.4	15.1	0.574	2.5	4.0
1958	MLN	26	149	21.9	15.6	0.584	3.0	4.4	20.9	16.7	0.556	2.0	3.4
1959	MLN	27	148	22.8	15.8	0.591	2.9	4.5	22.4	16.2	0.580	2.5	4.1
1960	MLN	28	153	22.5	14.8	0.603	3.4	4.9	21.6	15.7	0.578	2.5	4.0
1961	MLN	29	152	19.4	14.7	0.569	2.2	3.7	20.0	14.1	0.587	2.8	4.3
1962	MLN	30	152	20.2	15.5	0.567	2.3	3.6	20.4	15.3	0.571	2.4	3.7
1963	MLN	31	158	22.6	16.9	0.572	2.5	4.0	22.7	16.9	0.573	2.5	4.0
1964	MLN	32	141	17.6	13.6	0.564	1.7	2.9	17.2	14.1	0.550	1.3	2.5
1965	MLN	33	156	19.7	15.6	0.558	1.6	3.0	19.4	15.9	0.549	1.3	2.7
1966	ATL	34	134	14.7	12.8	0.535	0.6	1.7	14.3	13.2	0.521	0.3	1.3
+– 1967		35	137	14.4	13.8	0.511	-0.3	0.9	14.8	13.4	0.523	0.1	1.3
	DET		36	4.5	3.5	0.559	0.3	0.7	4.3	3.7	0.542	0.2	0.5
	HOU		101	9.9	10.3	0.492	-0.6	0.2	10.4	9.8	0.516	-0.1	0.7
1968	DET	36	30	1.2	1.3	0.483	-0.1	0.1	1.3	1.2	0.524	0.0	0.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,389	320.9	240.8	0.571	34.3	57.0	317.8	243.9	0.566	31.2	53.9
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			16	2.4	1.5	0.616		0.6	2.0	1.5	0.566		0.4
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,405	323.3	242.3	0.571		57.6	319.8	245.4	0.566		54.3

Jackie Robinson

Finally, Jackie Robinson retired following the 1956 season. Despite missing the last three seasons of the 1950s, Robinson just misses the top 10 players of the decade in pWins over positional average and ranks as the best second baseman of the decade.

The next table shows the top 10 players in pWOPA and pWORL from 1937 (the first season for which I have complete play-by-play data) through 1956.

		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	Ted Williams	306.0	203.4	40.6	61.3	1	Ted Williams	306.0	203.4	40.6	61.3
2	Joe DiMaggio	262.9	180.9	35.8	53.8	2	Stan Musial	325.3	232.0	35.7	58.1
3	Stan Musial	325.3	232.0	35.7	58.1	3	Pee Wee Reese	286.0	223.6	35.2	55.8
4	Pee Wee Reese	286.0	223.6	35.2	55.8	4	Joe DiMaggio	262.9	180.9	35.8	53.8
5	Warren Spahn	203.2	160.7	26.9	42.5	5	Bob Feller	252.6	214.6	25.3	46.0
6	Bobby Doerr	263.7	215.6	26.3	45.5	6	Bobby Doerr	263.7	215.6	26.3	45.5
7	Jackie Robinson	195.9	140.1	26.1	39.7	7	Warren Spahn	203.2	160.7	26.9	42.5
8	Bob Feller	252.6	214.6	25.3	46.0	8	Jackie Robinson	195.9	140.1	26.1	39.7
9	Yogi Berra	161.0	113.3	24.9	36.0	9	Lou Boudreau	230.7	191.6	22.7	39.6
10	Joe Gordon	216.5	172.7	23.5	39.1	10	Vern Stephens	247.5	208.2	21.3	39.5

Jackie Robinson's career record, as measured by Player won-lost records, is presented next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Jackie Robinson Basic Player Won-Lost Records
												Value Decomposition
1947	BRO	28	151	18.5	16.1	0.535	0.3	1.7	18.3	16.3	0.528	0.1	1.5
1948	BRO	29	147	21.6	15.6	0.581	3.1	4.6	20.3	16.9	0.545	1.8	3.3
1949	BRO	30	156	25.4	16.6	0.604	4.4	6.1	24.4	17.6	0.581	3.4	5.1
1950	BRO	31	144	19.9	15.6	0.561	2.3	3.7	19.3	16.1	0.544	1.7	3.1
1951	BRO	32	153	25.7	15.2	0.628	5.3	6.9	24.2	16.6	0.593	3.9	5.5
1952	BRO	33	149	23.0	14.8	0.609	4.3	5.8	22.7	15.1	0.601	4.0	5.5
1953	BRO	34	136	21.6	14.1	0.604	3.1	4.6	20.5	15.3	0.573	2.0	3.5
1954	BRO	35	124	14.6	12.2	0.545	0.8	1.9	15.0	11.9	0.557	1.1	2.2
1955	BRO	36	105	11.6	9.2	0.558	1.0	1.8	10.6	10.1	0.512	0.0	0.9
1956	BRO	37	117	14.1	10.7	0.568	1.6	2.6	13.4	11.4	0.540	0.9	1.9
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			1,382	195.9	140.1	0.583	26.1	39.7	188.6	147.4	0.561	18.8	32.4
			------	------	------				------	------
PostSeason (career)			38	4.2	4.7	0.468		0.0	4.4	4.2	0.512		0.4
			------	------	------	------		------	------	------	------		------
COMBINED			1,420	200.1	144.8	0.583		39.7	193.0	151.6	0.561		32.7

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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