1992 Season

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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1992 Season

The 1992 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

From 1903 - 1952, Major-League Baseball was played by the same 16 teams, in the same 10 cities (counting Brooklyn as part of New York), for 50 consecutive seasons. In the 53 seasons immediately following that (1953 - 2005), Major-League Baseball added 14 new teams and expanded into 18 or 19 cities (depending on whether one views Anaheim as a different city than Los Angeles), with two teams having moved twice, one city having been home to three different teams and one city having gained and then lost its team during these years.

But for 16 seasons in the middle of this period of rapid relocation and expansion (which saw 25 team expansion/relocations in 53 years), Major-League Baseball experienced the second-longest stretch of franchise stability in its history, from 1977 through 1992.

For my next installment in my series on major-league seasons, I look at the last season in this era of stability: 1992.

The Lull Before the Silly-Ball Storm

Before getting to the usual player tables, I wanted to take a little detour.

The years immediately following 1992 saw big changes to Major-League Baseball: four new teams in the next six years, 50% more divisions, twice as many playoff teams, interleague play five years later. But perhaps the most dramatic change was an explosion in run-scoring levels. Run scoring levels in the years immediately following 1992 were the highest in more than 50 years. Exaggerating the magnitude of this growth, run-scoring levels in 1992 were actually below historical averages to that date.

Run-scoring levels affect the win value of various events. The relationship between run-scoring levels and net win values is explored in a separate article that compares net win values for 1968 and 2000.

The next table compares net win values for 1992 with the years before and the decade immediately after.

Net Win Values for Offensive Events

Runs/Game HR T D S/ROE W/HBP IW Out

1947 - 1991 4.64 0.1467 0.0776 0.0604 0.0369 0.0327 0.0069 -0.0232

1992 4.36 0.1491 0.0877 0.0663 0.0370 0.0295 0.0083 -0.0227

1993 - 2002 5.17 0.1328 0.0749 0.0563 0.0346 0.0285 0.0097 -0.0234
Runs are runs per 27 outs for games used in calculating Player Won-Lost records.

The Best of 1992

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	Gary Sheffield	25.6	18.0	7.1	9.1	1	Gary Sheffield	25.6	18.0	7.1	9.1
2	Barry Bonds	22.3	14.5	7.0	8.7	2	Barry Bonds	22.3	14.5	7.0	8.7
3	Carlos Baerga	23.9	17.5	6.6	8.5	3	Carlos Baerga	23.9	17.5	6.6	8.5
4	Greg Maddux	17.5	12.3	6.3	8.0	4	Greg Maddux	17.5	12.3	6.3	8.0
5	Barry Larkin	21.5	16.1	6.1	7.8	5	J. Kevin Brown	17.8	12.1	5.9	7.9
6	J. Kevin Brown	17.8	12.1	5.9	7.9	6	Barry Larkin	21.5	16.1	6.1	7.8
7	David Justice	18.9	12.5	5.7	7.2	7	Terry Pendleton	25.1	18.9	5.6	7.6
8	Roberto Alomar	23.0	17.7	5.6	7.4	8	Ryne Sandberg	24.6	18.9	5.5	7.5
9	Terry Pendleton	25.1	18.9	5.6	7.6	9	Roberto Alomar	23.0	17.7	5.6	7.4
10	Ryne Sandberg	24.6	18.9	5.5	7.5	10	David Justice	18.9	12.5	5.7	7.2

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	Barry Bonds	22.1	14.7	6.7	8.4	1	Ryne Sandberg	25.1	18.4	6.5	8.5
2	Ryne Sandberg	25.1	18.4	6.5	8.5	2	Barry Bonds	22.1	14.7	6.7	8.4
3	Darren Daulton	17.9	12.0	6.4	7.8	3	Greg Maddux	17.4	12.4	6.4	8.1
4	Greg Maddux	17.4	12.4	6.4	8.1	4	J. Kevin Brown	17.9	12.0	6.0	8.0
5	J. Kevin Brown	17.9	12.0	6.0	8.0	5	Darren Daulton	17.9	12.0	6.4	7.8
6	Roger Clemens	15.5	10.2	5.5	7.2	6	Roger Clemens	15.5	10.2	5.5	7.2
7	Charles Nagy	15.0	10.1	5.1	6.8	7	Charles Nagy	15.0	10.1	5.1	6.8
8	Frank E. Thomas	21.7	15.6	5.0	6.7	8	Frank E. Thomas	21.7	15.6	5.0	6.7
9	Mark McGwire	18.2	12.3	4.8	6.2	9	Barry Larkin	20.7	16.9	4.7	6.5
10	Barry Larkin	20.7	16.9	4.7	6.5	10	Gary Sheffield	24.3	19.3	4.3	6.3

I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 1992 at the end of this article.

1992 Postseason

The 26-year period of franchise stability that ended with the 1992 season began with the addition of two expansion teams in 1977. It was perhaps fitting, therefore, that the 1992 season ended with one of these two expansion teams winning its first World Series: the Toronto Blue Jays.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1992 Postseason: Total

Damon Berryhill	ATL	1.5	0.9	0.8
Joe Carter	TOR	1.7	1.1	0.8
John Smoltz	ATL	2.0	1.6	0.7
Tom Henke	TOR	0.9	0.3	0.7
Candy Maldonado	TOR	1.8	1.1	0.7
Dave Winfield	TOR	1.3	0.6	0.7
Jimmy Key	TOR	0.9	0.3	0.7
Juan Guzman	TOR	1.4	1.0	0.6
Ed Sprague Jr.	TOR	0.6	0.0	0.6
David Cone	NYN	1.6	1.4	0.6

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1992 World Series

Jimmy Key	TOR	0.8	0.3	0.6
Ed Sprague Jr.	TOR	0.5	0.0	0.5
Joe Carter	TOR	0.8	0.4	0.4
Pat Borders	TOR	0.9	0.5	0.4
Tom Henke	TOR	0.5	0.2	0.3

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1992 Postseason: League Championship Series

John Smoltz	ATL	1.4	0.8	0.6
Francisco Cabrera	ATL	0.5	0.0	0.5
Ron Gant	ATL	1.2	0.7	0.5
Don Slaught	PIT	0.6	0.2	0.5
John Olerud	TOR	0.8	0.4	0.5

Best of 1992 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 1992 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	Barry Bonds	15.5	8.6	6.6	1	Gary Sheffield	18.3	10.1	7.8
2	Frank E. Thomas	17.7	11.4	6.2	2	Barry Bonds	15.5	8.6	6.6
3	Mark McGwire	14.3	9.2	5.2	3	Frank E. Thomas	17.9	11.2	6.6
4	Darren Daulton	14.4	9.2	4.8	4	Mark McGwire	14.6	8.9	5.8
5	Gary Sheffield	16.7	11.7	4.6	5	Rickey Henderson	12.5	7.2	5.3
6	John Kruk	15.3	10.6	4.3	6	Ray Lankford	16.4	11.2	4.9
7	Fred McGriff	14.8	10.3	4.1	7	Dave Winfield	15.8	11.1	4.7
8	Ryne Sandberg	15.7	11.4	3.8	8	Terry Pendleton	16.3	11.3	4.6
9	Rickey Henderson	11.7	8.1	3.6	9	Jeff Bagwell	16.6	11.5	4.6
10	Ray Lankford	15.8	11.8	3.6	10	Roberto Alomar	15.2	10.8	4.5

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Tim Raines Sr.	2.2	1.1	1.1	1	Marquis Grissom	2.9	1.8	1.0
2	Pat Listach	2.6	1.6	1.0	2	Tim Raines Sr.	2.2	1.1	1.0
3	Roberto Alomar	2.1	1.3	0.8	3	Steve Finley	2.0	1.1	0.9
4	Marquis Grissom	2.8	1.9	0.8	4	Kirby Puckett	1.8	0.9	0.8
5	Steve Finley	2.0	1.2	0.8	5	Pat Listach	2.5	1.6	0.8
6	Roberto Kelly	1.4	0.7	0.7	6	Roberto Alomar	2.0	1.3	0.7
7	Paul Molitor	1.8	1.2	0.7	7	Barry Bonds	1.8	1.1	0.7
8	Otis Nixon	2.0	1.3	0.7	8	Brady Anderson	2.2	1.5	0.6
9	Kirby Puckett	1.7	1.1	0.6	9	Jerald Clark	1.2	0.5	0.6
10	Barry Bonds	1.7	1.1	0.6	10	Ron Gant	1.6	1.0	0.6

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Roger Clemens	14.7	10.5	4.2	1	Greg Maddux	15.5	9.7	5.8
2	Greg Maddux	14.7	10.5	4.2	2	J. Kevin Brown	17.1	11.3	5.8
3	J. Kevin Brown	16.2	12.2	4.1	3	Roger Clemens	15.2	9.9	5.3
4	Charles Nagy	13.9	10.4	3.6	4	Dennis Eckersley	7.2	2.4	4.9
5	Melido Perez	14.2	11.1	3.1	5	Juan Guzman	12.9	8.1	4.8
6	Doug Drabek	14.2	11.4	2.9	6	Cal Eldred	8.0	3.4	4.6
7	Juan Guzman	11.9	9.1	2.8	7	Mike Mussina	13.3	8.9	4.4
8	Cal Eldred	7.0	4.3	2.7	8	Bill C. Swift	9.4	5.3	4.2
9	Kevin Appier	12.6	10.0	2.6	9	Kevin Appier	13.2	9.5	3.7
10	Dennis Martinez	13.0	10.5	2.5	10	Doug Jones	9.3	5.6	3.6

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	J. Kevin Brown	0.9	0.5	0.4	1	Dennis Martinez	0.6	0.2	0.4
2	Bret Saberhagen	0.3	0.1	0.3	2	Randy Tomlin	0.7	0.3	0.4
3	John Franco	0.3	0.0	0.3	3	Mike Mussina	0.6	0.3	0.3
4	Mike Mussina	0.6	0.3	0.2	4	Alex Fernandez	0.6	0.3	0.3
5	Charles Nagy	0.5	0.3	0.2	5	Bret Saberhagen	0.3	0.1	0.3


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Greg Olson	1.9	1.3	0.6	1	Greg Olson	2.0	1.2	0.7
2	Terry Steinbach	1.7	1.1	0.5	2	Terry Steinbach	1.7	1.1	0.6
3	Mickey Tettleton	1.7	1.3	0.5	3	Darren Daulton	2.5	1.9	0.5
4	Darren Daulton	2.4	2.0	0.4	4	Ron Karkovice	1.9	1.4	0.5
5	B.J. Surhoff	1.6	1.2	0.4	5	B.J. Surhoff	1.6	1.2	0.5


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Mark Grace	4.3	3.6	0.7	1	John Olerud	3.4	2.2	1.2
2	Wally Joyner	3.9	3.2	0.7	2	Jeff Bagwell	5.2	4.1	1.1
3	John Olerud	3.1	2.5	0.6	3	Wally Joyner	4.0	3.0	1.0
4	Tino Martinez	1.6	1.1	0.5	4	Mark Grace	4.4	3.4	1.0
5	Mark McGwire	2.8	2.3	0.5	5	Will Clark	3.2	2.5	0.8


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Ryne Sandberg	7.5	6.1	1.4	1	Carlos Baerga	8.4	5.5	3.0
2	Carlos Baerga	7.6	6.3	1.3	2	Ryne Sandberg	7.6	6.1	1.5
3	Scott Fletcher	4.3	3.6	0.7	3	Lance Blankenship	3.3	2.1	1.2
4	Robby Thompson	5.8	5.2	0.7	4	Mark Lemke	5.8	4.6	1.2
5	Lance Blankenship	3.0	2.4	0.6	5	Billy Ripken	4.6	3.7	0.8


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Robin Ventura	6.6	5.7	1.0	1	Robin Ventura	6.9	5.3	1.6
2	Damion Easley	2.5	1.6	0.9	2	Scott Leius	4.5	3.6	1.0
3	Matt D. Williams	6.0	5.2	0.8	3	Carney Lansford	4.2	3.4	0.8
4	Tim Wallach	4.2	3.5	0.7	4	Terry Pendleton	7.4	6.6	0.8
5	Scott Leius	4.4	3.7	0.7	5	Leo Gomez	5.7	4.9	0.8


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Craig Grebeck	3.6	2.7	0.9	1	Ozzie Smith	6.6	4.8	1.8
2	Ozzie Smith	6.1	5.3	0.8	2	Jay Bell	8.8	7.0	1.8
3	Cal Ripken	6.7	6.0	0.7	3	Cal Ripken	7.1	5.6	1.5
4	Rey Sanchez	2.9	2.3	0.5	4	Craig Grebeck	3.6	2.7	0.9
5	Dick Schofield Jr.	5.7	5.3	0.5	5	Manuel Lee	4.9	4.1	0.9


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Tim Raines Sr.	5.4	4.2	1.2	1	Jerald Clark	5.3	3.5	1.7
2	Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez	4.4	3.5	0.9	2	Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez	4.5	3.4	1.2
3	Bernard Gilkey	4.0	3.2	0.7	3	Tim Raines Sr.	5.4	4.3	1.1
4	Jerald Clark	4.7	4.1	0.6	4	Bernard Gilkey	4.1	3.1	1.1
5	Glenallen Hill	2.2	1.8	0.5	5	Moises Alou	2.4	1.5	0.9


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Darrin Jackson	6.6	4.8	1.8	1	Devon White	6.0	3.6	2.3
2	Kenny Lofton	5.5	4.0	1.5	2	Kenny Lofton	5.6	3.8	1.8
3	Devon White	5.4	4.1	1.3	3	Darrin Jackson	6.6	4.9	1.7
4	Lance Johnson	5.3	4.6	0.7	4	Marquis Grissom	5.5	4.0	1.4
5	Marquis Grissom	4.9	4.5	0.4	5	Otis Nixon	3.8	2.8	1.0


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	David Justice	4.6	3.6	1.1	1	David Justice	5.2	3.0	2.3
2	Tony Gwynn Sr.	4.3	3.5	0.9	2	Tony Gwynn Sr.	4.9	2.9	1.9
3	Larry Walker	4.4	3.6	0.8	3	Larry Walker	4.7	3.3	1.4
4	Joe Carter	4.3	3.8	0.6	4	Mark Whiten	5.3	4.1	1.2
5	Darryl Hamilton	2.2	1.6	0.5	5	Darryl Hamilton	2.4	1.4	1.0

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1992 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	Darren Daulton	17.5	12.0	5.9	1	Darren Daulton	17.1	12.4	5.2
2	Mickey Tettleton	11.2	9.3	2.6	2	Terry Steinbach	12.0	10.2	2.5
3	Chris Hoiles	9.0	7.3	2.3	3	Mickey Tettleton	10.9	9.6	2.0
4	Terry Steinbach	11.7	10.5	2.0	4	Ron Karkovice	8.8	7.4	1.9
5	Don Slaught	7.0	5.8	1.4	5	Brian Harper	12.6	11.6	1.8


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Frank E. Thomas	21.4	15.5	4.7	1	Frank E. Thomas	21.6	15.3	5.2
2	Mark McGwire	17.9	12.5	4.5	2	Mark McGwire	17.9	12.5	4.5
3	John Kruk	15.4	11.4	2.7	3	Jeff Bagwell	22.6	16.7	4.2
4	Fred McGriff	19.2	15.3	2.3	4	Will Clark	17.3	13.0	2.8
5	Will Clark	17.0	13.3	2.2	5	John Olerud	15.2	11.6	2.7


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ryne Sandberg	24.8	18.7	6.0	1	Carlos Baerga	23.9	17.4	6.7
2	Carlos Baerga	22.3	19.0	3.6	2	Ryne Sandberg	24.6	18.9	5.5
3	Roberto Alomar	21.3	19.0	2.6	3	Roberto Alomar	22.8	17.6	5.5
4	Robby Thompson	18.2	15.5	2.6	4	Chuck Knoblauch	20.4	18.4	2.3
5	Lou Whitaker	15.9	14.4	1.8	5	Delino DeShields Sr.	19.7	17.7	1.9


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Gary Sheffield	24.0	19.4	4.0	1	Gary Sheffield	25.5	17.9	6.9
2	Robin Ventura	21.5	17.9	3.4	2	Terry Pendleton	25.1	18.9	5.6
3	Dave Hollins	21.6	17.9	3.1	3	Robin Ventura	21.9	17.6	4.1
4	Edgar Martinez	15.3	12.3	2.9	4	Leo Gomez	17.3	14.7	2.4
5	Terry Pendleton	23.0	20.9	1.4	5	Carney Lansford	15.2	12.9	2.1


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Barry Larkin	20.6	17.0	4.4	1	Barry Larkin	21.5	16.1	6.1
2	Jeff Blauser	10.0	8.5	2.0	2	Jay Bell	22.4	19.0	4.2
3	Ozzie Smith	18.1	17.0	1.9	3	Jeff Blauser	10.6	7.9	3.1
4	Travis Fryman	18.4	17.9	1.8	4	Ozzie Smith	18.5	16.7	2.6
5	Craig Grebeck	9.6	8.6	1.6	5	Pat Listach	20.6	19.5	2.5


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Barry Bonds	21.7	14.9	6.0	1	Barry Bonds	22.3	14.9	7.2
2	Rickey Henderson	16.7	12.3	4.0	2	Rickey Henderson	17.6	12.3	5.8
3	Tim Raines Sr.	18.1	14.3	3.3	3	Tim Raines Sr.	18.6	14.3	4.2
4	Brady Anderson	21.4	18.3	2.5	4	Bip Roberts	10.2	6.8	3.7
5	Bip Roberts	9.4	6.8	2.2	5	Brady Anderson	21.9	18.3	3.6


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Andy Van Slyke	21.3	17.2	3.3	1	Andy Van Slyke	21.4	17.0	3.6
2	Kirby Puckett	20.4	17.7	2.4	2	Ray Lankford	22.8	18.9	3.0
3	Ken Griffey Jr.	18.1	15.5	2.3	3	Marquis Grissom	23.0	19.2	2.8
4	Ray Lankford	22.2	19.6	1.7	4	Steve Finley	21.9	18.7	2.3
5	Steve Finley	21.5	19.1	1.5	5	Kirby Puckett	20.4	17.7	2.3


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Larry Walker	19.6	15.4	3.5	1	David Justice	18.9	12.5	5.7
2	David Justice	17.6	13.8	3.2	2	Larry Walker	20.5	14.5	5.2
3	Joe Carter	18.0	15.0	2.7	3	Joe Carter	19.0	14.0	4.7
4	Darryl Hamilton	10.2	7.8	2.3	4	Felix Jose	18.6	15.0	2.9
5	Rob Deer	13.7	11.2	2.3	5	Darryl Hamilton	10.4	7.6	2.6


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	J. Kevin Brown	17.2	12.7	4.6	1	J. Kevin Brown	17.8	12.1	5.9
2	Greg Maddux	15.4	11.0	4.5	2	Greg Maddux	16.1	10.4	5.8
3	Roger Clemens	14.9	10.8	4.2	3	Roger Clemens	15.5	10.2	5.3
4	Charles Nagy	14.5	10.6	3.9	4	Juan Guzman	13.1	8.3	4.8
5	Melido Perez	14.4	11.3	3.2	5	Mike Mussina	13.9	9.2	4.8
6	Dennis Martinez	13.5	10.8	2.8	6	Cal Eldred	8.1	3.5	4.6
7	Cal Eldred	7.1	4.4	2.8	7	Kevin Appier	13.5	9.7	3.9
8	Juan Guzman	12.0	9.3	2.8	8	Charles Nagy	14.4	10.7	3.8
9	Doug Drabek	14.6	12.0	2.7	9	Jack Morris	14.5	10.9	3.7
10	Kevin Appier	12.9	10.3	2.6	10	Tom Glavine	13.9	10.3	3.7


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dennis Eckersley	5.9	3.9	1.9	1	Dennis Eckersley	7.4	2.4	4.9
2	Joe Grahe	5.4	3.7	1.6	2	Doug Jones	9.4	5.7	3.6
3	Doug Jones	8.4	6.7	1.6	3	Duane Ward	7.8	4.7	3.0
4	Rusty Meacham	5.6	3.9	1.6	4	Tom Henke	5.4	2.5	2.8
5	Duane Ward	7.0	5.4	1.5	5	Joe Grahe	5.9	3.2	2.6
6	Rod Beck	5.5	4.0	1.5	6	Jeff Russell	6.9	4.2	2.6
7	Steve Farr	4.5	2.9	1.4	7	John Wetteland	7.8	5.1	2.6
8	Rob Dibble	6.4	4.9	1.4	8	Jeff Montgomery	7.4	4.7	2.6
9	Jeff Montgomery	6.8	5.3	1.4	9	Mel Rojas	5.3	2.8	2.4
10	Mel Rojas	4.8	3.3	1.4	10	Lee Smith	7.1	4.7	2.3


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Brian Downing	8.3	6.4	1.5	1	Paul Molitor	12.1	8.6	3.0
2	Dave Winfield	12.8	10.7	1.5	2	Dave Winfield	13.2	10.3	2.4
3	Paul Molitor	11.3	9.4	1.4	3	Harold Baines	10.4	8.1	1.8

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	Dwight Gooden	1.7	1.9	0.8	1	Dwight Gooden	1.8	1.8	1.0
2	Tom Glavine	1.2	1.6	0.5	2	Tom Glavine	1.5	1.4	0.8
3	Ken Hill	1.1	1.5	0.4	3	Chris Hammond	1.1	0.9	0.7


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mitch Webster	2.2	1.3	1.0	1	Eric Karros	1.1	0.2	0.9
2	Eric Karros	1.0	0.3	0.7	2	Jeff Branson	1.4	0.7	0.7
3	Orlando Merced	1.2	0.8	0.5	3	Orlando Merced	1.3	0.7	0.6


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Jacob Brumfield	0.2	0.0	0.2	1	Deion Sanders	0.3	0.1	0.2
2	Deion Sanders	0.3	0.2	0.1	2	Skeeter Barnes	0.3	0.2	0.2
3	Chuck Carr	0.1	0.0	0.1	3	Wayne Kirby	0.2	0.1	0.1

Noteworthy Players of 1992

Great Players Coming and Going in Chicago

The 1992 Chicago Cubs were one in a long line of mostly forgettable Cubs teams, finishing with a record of 76-86.

There were two members of the Cubs, however, for whom the 1992 season was notable.

Breakthrough to Greatness: Greg Maddux

In 1992, Greg Maddux led the National League in pitcher wins for the first of three times in his career, led the league in ERA+ for the first of five times in his career, and won the first of his four Cy Young awards. Likewise, 1992 was the first season in Greg Maddux's career where his Player won-lost record rose from pretty good to among the best in the league. The next table presents Greg Maddux's career Player won-lost record by season.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Greg Maddux Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1986	CHN	20	6	1.6	2.3	-0.5	-0.3	1.8	2.2	-0.2	0.0
1987	CHN	21	34	9.9	13.6	-2.9	-1.6	10.2	13.3	-2.3	-0.9
1988	CHN	22	37	17.2	12.5	5.7	7.4	15.8	13.9	3.0	4.7
1989	CHN	23	35	15.9	14.0	3.0	4.8	15.6	14.3	2.6	4.4
1990	CHN	24	35	15.6	14.9	1.7	3.5	16.4	14.1	3.8	5.5
1991	CHN	25	39	15.7	14.0	2.7	4.4	15.5	14.2	2.5	4.1
1992	CHN	26	35	17.5	12.3	6.3	8.0	17.4	12.4	6.4	8.1
1993	ATL	27	36	17.9	13.5	5.4	7.1	17.9	13.6	5.6	7.3
1994	ATL	28	25	14.4	8.0	7.0	8.4	14.4	8.0	7.4	8.8
1995	ATL	29	28	16.5	7.4	10.0	11.4	15.9	7.9	9.2	10.7
1996	ATL	30	35	16.2	11.7	5.6	7.4	17.2	10.7	7.8	9.5
1997	ATL	31	33	14.2	9.2	6.0	7.4	14.4	9.1	6.4	7.8
1998	ATL	32	34	17.0	12.0	6.2	8.0	17.6	11.4	7.4	9.2
1999	ATL	33	33	15.7	12.9	3.7	5.4	15.5	13.1	3.5	5.2
2000	ATL	34	35	17.0	12.2	6.0	7.7	16.6	12.6	5.3	7.1
2001	ATL	35	35	16.0	11.7	5.6	7.3	15.8	11.9	5.2	6.9
2002	ATL	36	35	13.5	10.1	4.3	5.9	13.0	10.6	3.4	4.9
2003	ATL	37	37	13.3	14.0	0.4	2.1	14.0	13.3	1.9	3.6
2004	CHN	38	34	14.6	13.1	2.5	4.2	14.6	13.1	2.7	4.4
2005	CHN	39	35	12.3	14.8	-1.2	0.3	13.4	13.8	0.7	2.3
2006	CHN	40	34	13.3	12.4	2.1	3.6	13.4	12.2	2.4	3.8
2007	SDN	41	35	11.7	11.3	1.4	2.8	11.5	11.5	1.1	2.6
2008	LAN	42	34	10.1	13.8	-2.8	-1.3	11.1	12.8	-0.8	0.7
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			759	327.2	271.7	78.2	114.0	329.0	269.9	85.1	120.9
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			37	12.5	12.5		2.4	13.7	11.3		4.8
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			796	339.6	284.2		116.4	342.7	281.2		125.7

Last Great Season: Ryne Sandberg

While 1992 was the first truly great season in Greg Maddux's career (and, sadly, his only one in a Cubs uniform), it was the last great season for Maddux's teammate, second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

Maddux and Sandberg were actually teammates for six seasons, starting in 1986. But 1992 was really the only one where they were both playing at the level of play that ultimately put both men in the Hall of Fame.

The next table presents Ryne Sandberg's career.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Ryne Sandberg Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1981	PHI	21	13	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0
1982	CHN	22	156	18.2	19.5	-2.1	-0.4	18.8	18.8	-0.7	1.0
1983	CHN	23	158	19.3	20.8	-1.2	0.6	20.4	19.7	1.0	2.8
1984	CHN	24	156	25.1	19.3	6.3	8.3	24.5	19.9	4.9	7.0
1985	CHN	25	153	23.9	19.2	4.5	6.5	23.5	19.6	3.6	5.7
1986	CHN	26	154	19.5	18.6	1.4	3.2	19.6	18.5	1.6	3.4
1987	CHN	27	132	16.6	16.0	1.1	2.6	17.2	15.4	2.2	3.7
1988	CHN	28	155	20.1	18.8	1.6	3.5	20.2	18.7	1.8	3.7
1989	CHN	29	157	21.2	18.3	2.7	4.5	21.5	18.1	3.0	4.8
1990	CHN	30	155	22.1	18.7	3.4	5.2	23.1	17.6	5.5	7.3
1991	CHN	31	158	22.7	17.0	5.3	7.1	22.5	17.2	4.9	6.7
1992	CHN	32	158	24.6	18.9	5.5	7.5	25.1	18.4	6.5	8.5
1993	CHN	33	117	13.0	13.8	-0.6	0.7	13.5	13.3	0.3	1.6
1994	CHN	34	57	6.9	7.1	-0.1	0.6	7.0	6.9	0.2	0.9
1996	CHN	36	150	19.6	16.9	3.4	5.2	19.3	17.2	2.9	4.6
1997	CHN	37	135	12.6	13.8	-1.0	0.3	13.0	13.4	-0.1	1.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,164	285.5	256.7	30.3	55.5	289.4	252.8	37.8	63.0
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			10	1.4	1.3		0.1	1.6	1.0		0.7
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,174	286.9	258.0		55.6	291.1	253.8		63.7

One More 1992 Breakthrough: Gary Sheffield

As measured by pWins over either positional average or replacement level, the most valuable player in the major leagues in 1992 was a young third baseman having a breakout season.

Gary Sheffield was the first major-league player who was younger than me (by just over five months) when he debuted in 1988 at the age of 19. His 1992 season, at age 23, was his first truly great season (but far from his last) and arguably the greatest season of his career. His career is presented next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Gary Sheffield Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1988	MIL	19	24	2.7	3.0	-0.2	0.1	2.7	3.0	-0.2	0.1
1989	MIL	20	95	10.8	12.6	-1.1	-0.0	11.1	12.3	-0.5	0.5
1990	MIL	21	125	16.2	14.5	1.9	3.3	16.1	14.6	1.7	3.0
1991	MIL	22	50	4.5	6.4	-1.9	-1.4	4.7	6.1	-1.5	-0.9
1992	SDN	23	146	25.6	18.0	7.1	9.1	24.3	19.3	4.3	6.3
1993	FLO	24	139	16.4	16.9	-0.9	0.7	16.9	16.4	0.1	1.7
1994	FLO	25	87	12.6	11.1	0.8	2.0	13.0	10.7	1.7	2.9
1995	FLO	26	63	8.8	8.6	-0.3	0.5	10.0	7.3	2.0	2.9
1996	FLO	27	161	24.7	19.7	3.6	5.6	25.5	18.8	5.7	7.7
1997	FLO	28	135	18.8	15.5	2.0	3.6	18.9	15.4	2.1	3.7
1998	FLO	29	130	16.2	14.9	0.0	1.6	16.9	14.1	1.6	3.2
1999	LAN	30	152	18.7	16.5	1.3	3.0	19.3	15.8	2.6	4.3
2000	LAN	31	141	21.5	15.9	4.5	6.2	21.3	16.1	3.9	5.7
2001	LAN	32	143	23.0	18.5	3.2	5.3	22.8	18.6	2.9	5.0
2002	ATL	33	135	20.7	14.4	5.2	7.0	18.8	16.2	1.3	3.1
2003	ATL	34	155	24.2	16.6	6.3	8.3	24.0	16.8	5.7	7.7
2004	NYA	35	154	23.0	16.6	5.8	7.9	21.4	18.2	2.8	4.9
2005	NYA	36	154	20.4	15.2	4.5	6.2	19.7	15.9	3.1	4.7
2006	NYA	37	39	4.0	4.7	-0.9	-0.5	4.6	4.2	0.2	0.6
2007	DET	38	133	13.8	10.3	2.7	4.2	13.4	10.7	1.9	3.4
2008	DET	39	114	8.1	9.6	-2.1	-0.9	8.6	9.1	-0.9	0.3
2009	NYN	40	100	8.5	8.7	-0.5	0.3	8.8	8.5	0.1	0.9
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,575	343.2	288.0	40.9	72.3	342.8	288.4	40.4	71.8
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			44	5.5	5.5		0.3	5.6	5.4		0.5
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,619	348.7	293.5		72.6	348.5	293.7		72.3

Hall of Famers Coming and Going

Two player who debuted in 1992 have gone on to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: catcher Mike Piazza and pitcher Pedro Martinez.

Two players who played their final season in 1992 have also been elected to the Hall of Fame and they were also a catcher and a pitcher: Gary Carter and Bert Blyleven.

The career records of these four Hall-of-Famers, as measured by Player won-lost records, are shown in the next two table: comparing the catchers to each other first and then the pitchers.

Age	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Mike Piazza					Gary Carter
20						9	1.0	0.6	0.5	0.5
21						144	16.2	15.8	-0.4	1.1
22						91	8.7	9.8	-1.1	-0.2
23	21	1.2	1.8	-0.6	-0.5	153	15.6	13.7	1.5	3.0
24	149	18.1	13.5	4.9	6.4	157	16.1	14.3	2.0	3.4
25	107	12.5	9.7	3.2	4.3	140	15.2	13.3	2.0	3.3
26	112	14.6	10.2	4.7	5.9	154	16.7	13.7	3.2	4.6
27	148	19.5	12.9	6.9	8.5	100	12.4	9.8	2.8	4.0
28	152	18.1	13.4	5.0	6.5	154	18.8	15.4	3.6	5.2
29	151	18.6	13.2	6.1	7.7	145	15.5	13.8	2.0	3.4
30	141	17.9	14.0	4.6	6.1	159	19.8	16.2	4.0	5.7
31	136	17.9	11.8	6.4	7.9	149	20.1	14.0	6.4	8.0
32	141	16.7	13.3	4.4	6.0	132	17.9	13.3	4.9	6.4
33	135	13.6	13.2	1.4	2.8	139	13.2	13.7	0.5	1.7
34	67	6.4	6.4	0.3	0.9	130	12.4	11.6	1.2	2.4
35	129	11.2	11.9	-0.9	0.3	50	3.6	4.7	-0.8	-0.4
36	113	9.7	10.6	-0.4	0.5	91	6.0	6.1	-0.0	0.5
37	126	10.9	10.6	0.6	1.7	101	6.2	7.1	-0.5	0.1
38	83	6.6	7.1	-0.9	-0.0	95	7.3	8.2	-0.5	0.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	1,911	213.7	173.6	45.7	65.1	2,293	242.7	215.2	31.1	52.7

Age	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Pedro Martinez					Bert Blyleven
19						27	10.5	10.3	0.7	1.9
20	2	0.2	0.4	-0.1	-0.0	38	18.0	15.5	3.4	5.3
21	65	7.3	5.5	1.8	3.0	39	17.9	17.1	1.6	3.7
22	24	9.6	8.0	2.2	3.3	40	18.7	13.6	5.1	7.0
23	30	11.5	11.4	1.0	2.4	37	15.8	12.8	3.0	4.7
24	33	13.1	13.2	1.0	2.6	35	15.0	11.9	3.1	4.8
25	31	17.8	12.0	6.8	8.7	36	17.5	14.5	3.1	4.9
26	33	15.5	10.7	5.0	6.8	30	13.3	10.8	2.7	4.3
27	31	16.3	6.5	9.9	11.4	37	15.3	13.5	2.6	4.2
28	29	16.4	7.1	9.5	11.0	38	12.7	12.5	1.1	2.5
29	18	7.4	4.0	3.6	4.3	37	11.4	12.9	-0.7	0.7
30	30	14.8	7.5	7.6	9.2	20	8.0	6.8	1.2	2.2
31	29	13.7	7.3	6.6	8.0	4	1.3	1.6	-0.2	-0.0
32	33	14.6	10.9	3.9	5.5	24	8.9	8.5	0.5	1.5
33	31	13.3	11.0	3.3	4.7	33	14.1	9.3	5.0	6.4
34	23	8.4	9.9	-0.9	0.2	37	17.5	15.2	2.5	4.6
35	5	2.3	1.5	1.0	1.2	36	17.5	16.9	0.6	2.8
36	20	6.5	8.0	-0.9	-0.0	37	16.7	15.9	1.1	3.1
37	9	3.8	2.7	1.2	1.6	33	11.7	14.5	-2.7	-1.0
38						33	13.7	9.4	4.6	6.1
39						23	6.7	8.4	-1.6	-0.6
40
41						25	7.1	9.7	-2.6	-1.4
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	476	192.4	137.8	62.4	83.9	699	289.2	261.4	34.3	67.8

Article last updated: December 15, 2019

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 1992 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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	Runs/Game	HR	T	D	S/ROE	W/HBP	IW	Out
1947 - 1991	4.64	0.1467	0.0776	0.0604	0.0369	0.0327	0.0069	-0.0232
1992	4.36	0.1491	0.0877	0.0663	0.0370	0.0295	0.0083	-0.0227
1993 - 2002	5.17	0.1328	0.0749	0.0563	0.0346	0.0285	0.0097	-0.0234