1993 Season

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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1993 Season

The 1993 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

This article takes a look at the 1993 season as measured by Player won-lost records.

The Best of 1993

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	Barry Bonds	27.5	15.4	11.1	13.3	1	Barry Bonds	27.5	15.4	11.1	13.3
2	Larry Walker	22.7	14.8	7.1	9.0	2	Larry Walker	22.7	14.8	7.1	9.0
3	Jeff Blauser	24.0	17.8	6.9	8.9	3	Jeff Blauser	24.0	17.8	6.9	8.9
4	Matt D. Williams	22.1	15.2	6.5	8.3	4	Matt D. Williams	22.1	15.2	6.5	8.3
5	Roberto Alomar	23.3	17.6	6.3	8.3	5	Roberto Alomar	23.3	17.6	6.3	8.3
6	Kevin Appier	15.0	8.9	6.2	7.7	6	Frank E. Thomas	21.3	14.1	6.1	7.9
7	Frank E. Thomas	21.3	14.1	6.1	7.9	7	Kevin Appier	15.0	8.9	6.2	7.7
8	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	17.0	11.3	5.7	7.5	8	Ron Gant	24.1	17.4	5.6	7.6
9	Bill C. Swift	16.5	11.7	5.6	7.2	9	Lenny Dykstra	23.9	17.7	5.6	7.6
10	Ron Gant	24.1	17.4	5.6	7.6	10	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	17.0	11.3	5.7	7.5

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	26.8	16.1	9.7	11.8	1	Barry Bonds	26.8	16.1	9.7	11.8
2	Kevin Appier	14.9	9.0	6.1	7.5	2	Ken Griffey Jr.	21.5	15.4	5.8	7.7
3	Ken Griffey Jr.	21.5	15.4	5.8	7.7	3	Kevin Appier	14.9	9.0	6.1	7.5
4	John Olerud	20.2	13.5	5.6	7.3	4	Greg Maddux	17.9	13.6	5.6	7.3
5	Jose Rijo	15.7	11.2	5.6	7.0	5	John Olerud	20.2	13.5	5.6	7.3
6	Greg Maddux	17.9	13.6	5.6	7.3	6	Jose Rijo	15.7	11.2	5.6	7.0
7	Chris Hoiles	14.6	9.9	5.1	6.4	7	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	16.7	11.6	5.1	6.9
8	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	16.7	11.6	5.1	6.9	8	Roberto Alomar	22.5	18.3	4.8	6.8
9	Roberto Alomar	22.5	18.3	4.8	6.8	9	Chris Hoiles	14.6	9.9	5.1	6.4
10	Mike Piazza	17.9	13.7	4.5	6.1	10	Juan Gonzalez	21.0	16.1	4.4	6.3

I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 1993 at the end of this article.

1993 Postseason

The 1993 postseason was the last to feature only four playoff teams. In the National League, the 104-win Atlanta Braves managed to barely hold off the 103-win San Francisco Giants to win the National League West. With the introduction of wild cards, the Giants seem likely to go down in history as the last 100-win team to miss the playoffs. The Braves faced the surprising winners of the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite having won 7 fewer games in the regular season, the Phillies knocked off the Braves in six games. The AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays were also able to dispatch their West Division counterparts - the Chicago White Sox - in six games.

The 1993 World Series became the first (and, so far, only) World Series to end on a come-from-behind walkoff home run, by Joe Carter off of Phillies closer Mitch Williams with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6 with the Phillies leading 6-5, two outs away from forcing a Game 7.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1993 Postseason: Total

Paul Molitor	TOR	2.0	0.6	1.6
Lenny Dykstra	PHI	2.0	1.1	1.0
Curt Schilling	PHI	2.1	1.5	1.0
Fred McGriff	ATL	1.5	0.7	0.8
Devon White	TOR	1.9	1.3	0.7
John Olerud	TOR	1.5	0.8	0.7
Joe Carter	TOR	1.8	1.3	0.6
Juan Guzman	TOR	1.7	1.4	0.6
John Kruk	PHI	1.5	1.0	0.5
Duane Ward	TOR	0.7	0.2	0.5

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1993 World Series

Paul Molitor	TOR	1.3	0.3	1.0
Lenny Dykstra	PHI	1.0	0.5	0.5
Joe Carter	TOR	1.1	0.6	0.5
Devon White	TOR	1.2	0.7	0.4
Pat Hentgen	TOR	0.7	0.4	0.3

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1993 Postseason: League Championship Series

Fred McGriff	ATL	1.5	0.7	0.8
Mitch Williams	PHI	1.0	0.5	0.6
Juan Guzman	TOR	1.2	0.6	0.5
Curt Schilling	PHI	0.9	0.4	0.5
John Olerud	TOR	1.0	0.5	0.5

Best of 1993 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 1993 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	18.2	9.9	7.9	1	Barry Bonds	19.1	9.0	9.8
2	Frank E. Thomas	17.5	11.4	6.1	2	Frank E. Thomas	18.3	10.6	7.7
3	John Olerud	16.2	10.3	5.9	3	Juan Gonzalez	15.9	9.5	6.4
4	Juan Gonzalez	15.2	10.2	5.0	4	John Olerud	16.3	10.2	6.1
5	Ken Griffey Jr.	14.7	10.0	4.8	5	Larry Walker	15.1	9.0	5.7
6	Chris Hoiles	12.2	8.1	4.1	6	Ron Gant	17.1	11.1	5.6
7	Mike Piazza	14.8	10.5	4.0	7	David Justice	17.1	11.1	5.6
8	Fred McGriff	15.2	11.0	3.8	8	Paul Molitor	16.4	11.4	5.0
9	Paul Molitor	15.7	12.0	3.7	9	Chris Hoiles	12.6	7.7	4.9
10	Darren Daulton	14.2	10.3	3.5	10	Lenny Dykstra	15.5	10.3	4.9

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Kenny Lofton	2.4	1.3	1.2	1	Kenny Lofton	2.4	1.3	1.1
2	Devon White	1.9	0.8	1.1	2	Marquis Grissom	2.3	1.2	1.1
3	Roberto Alomar	2.3	1.2	1.0	3	Devon White	1.9	0.9	1.0
4	Marquis Grissom	2.2	1.3	0.8	4	Roberto Alomar	2.2	1.3	0.8
5	Rickey Henderson	2.2	1.4	0.8	5	Dave Hollins	1.4	0.6	0.8
6	Lance Johnson	1.9	1.2	0.7	6	Lenny Dykstra	2.3	1.5	0.8
7	Chuck Carr	2.5	1.8	0.7	7	Carlos Baerga	1.5	0.8	0.8
8	Lenny Dykstra	2.2	1.5	0.7	8	Jose Offerman	1.7	1.0	0.7
9	Tim Raines Sr.	1.4	0.8	0.7	9	David Hulse	1.4	0.7	0.7
10	Otis Nixon	2.1	1.4	0.6	10	Darren Lewis	2.1	1.4	0.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Kevin Appier	14.1	9.3	4.8	1	Kevin Appier	14.8	8.7	6.1
2	Greg Maddux	15.9	11.4	4.4	2	Greg Maddux	16.5	10.8	5.8
3	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	15.8	12.0	3.7	3	John Wetteland	10.0	4.5	5.5
4	Jose Rijo	13.3	9.8	3.5	4	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	16.6	11.1	5.5
5	Mark Langston	15.2	11.9	3.4	5	Bill C. Swift	14.6	9.6	4.9
6	Bill C. Swift	13.6	10.6	3.0	6	Jeff Montgomery	9.4	4.5	4.9
7	Jeff Montgomery	8.3	5.6	2.7	7	Rod Beck	8.0	3.3	4.7
8	John Wetteland	8.5	6.0	2.5	8	Jimmy Key	13.9	9.3	4.6
9	Bryan Harvey	6.8	4.3	2.4	9	Tom Glavine	15.2	10.7	4.5
10	Jimmy Key	12.8	10.4	2.3	10	Bryan Harvey	7.6	3.5	4.1

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Bob Tewksbury	1.0	0.4	0.6	1	Alex Fernandez	0.6	0.2	0.4
2	Alex Fernandez	0.6	0.2	0.4	2	Edwin Nunez	0.5	0.1	0.4
3	Gene Nelson	0.3	0.0	0.2	3	Ken Hill	0.6	0.2	0.3
4	Ken Hill	0.5	0.3	0.2	4	Tom Glavine	0.5	0.2	0.3
5	Edwin Nunez	0.4	0.2	0.2	5	Chris Hammond	0.6	0.3	0.3


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Rick Wilkins	2.1	1.5	0.6	1	Rick Wilkins	2.3	1.3	1.0
2	Ron Karkovice	1.9	1.4	0.4	2	Ron Karkovice	2.1	1.2	0.9
3	Kirt Manwaring	1.9	1.5	0.4	3	Kirt Manwaring	2.1	1.3	0.8
4	Chad Kreuter	1.7	1.4	0.4	4	Junior Ortiz	1.4	0.9	0.5
5	Ivan Rodriguez	2.0	1.8	0.2	5	Chad Kreuter	1.8	1.3	0.5


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Mark Grace	3.0	2.3	0.7	1	Wally Joyner	3.4	2.5	0.9
2	Kevin Young	2.4	1.8	0.6	2	Mark Grace	3.0	2.3	0.8
3	Rafael Palmeiro	2.8	2.2	0.6	3	Rafael Palmeiro	2.9	2.2	0.7
4	John Olerud	3.0	2.4	0.6	4	John Olerud	3.0	2.4	0.6
5	Wally Joyner	3.2	2.8	0.4	5	Fred McGriff	3.1	2.5	0.6


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Delino DeShields Sr.	5.4	4.6	0.8	1	Mark Lemke	6.2	5.0	1.1
2	Robby Thompson	4.6	3.8	0.8	2	Robby Thompson	4.7	3.7	1.0
3	Scott Fletcher	4.9	4.2	0.7	3	Delino DeShields Sr.	5.5	4.5	1.0
4	Jody Reed	5.6	4.9	0.6	4	Scott Fletcher	4.9	4.2	0.8
5	Craig Biggio	6.2	5.7	0.5	5	Mickey Morandini	4.0	3.3	0.7


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Robin Ventura	4.3	3.5	0.8	1	Matt D. Williams	5.3	3.4	1.9
2	Mike Lansing	2.9	2.1	0.8	2	Terry Pendleton	6.3	4.7	1.7
3	Tim Hulett	3.0	2.3	0.7	3	Robin Ventura	4.5	3.3	1.1
4	Matt D. Williams	4.7	4.0	0.7	4	Mike Lansing	2.9	2.1	0.8
5	Tim Wallach	3.7	3.0	0.7	5	Tim Hulett	3.0	2.3	0.7


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Jay Bell	7.1	6.1	1.0	1	Royce Clayton	7.1	5.6	1.5
2	Omar Vizquel	7.0	6.3	0.7	2	Jeff Blauser	7.1	5.7	1.4
3	Cal Ripken	6.1	5.4	0.7	3	Jay Bell	7.3	5.9	1.4
4	Royce Clayton	6.7	6.1	0.5	4	Greg Gagne	6.3	5.2	1.1
5	Rey Sanchez	4.1	3.5	0.5	5	Cal Ripken	6.2	5.3	0.9


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Barry Bonds	6.7	5.0	1.7	1	Barry Bonds	7.1	4.5	2.6
2	Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez	6.7	5.6	1.0	2	Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez	6.9	5.4	1.5
3	Ron Gant	5.8	5.1	0.7	3	Brian Jordan	1.3	0.5	0.9
4	Mike Felder	3.1	2.5	0.6	4	Joe Orsulak	2.7	2.1	0.6
5	Eric Davis	3.8	3.2	0.6	5	Willie Canate	0.8	0.2	0.6


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Darren Lewis	4.8	3.7	1.1	1	Ray Lankford	4.9	3.5	1.4
2	Kenny Lofton	6.3	5.3	0.9	2	Darren Lewis	4.9	3.7	1.2
3	Marquis Grissom	5.8	4.9	0.9	3	Brian McRae	6.7	5.7	1.0
4	Chuck Carr	5.7	4.8	0.9	4	Lance Johnson	6.0	5.0	1.0
5	Steve Finley	4.8	4.1	0.7	5	Devon White	6.2	5.3	1.0


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Wayne Kirby	4.8	3.5	1.3	1	Wayne Kirby	5.2	3.1	2.1
2	Larry Walker	6.0	5.0	1.0	2	Ellis Burks	5.2	3.4	1.8
3	Eric Anthony	4.6	3.7	1.0	3	Larry Walker	6.1	4.8	1.3
4	Tim Salmon	6.1	5.3	0.8	4	Sammy Sosa	5.5	4.4	1.1
5	Sammy Sosa	5.3	4.7	0.5	5	Jim Eisenreich	3.9	2.8	1.1

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1993 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	Chris Hoiles	14.2	10.0	4.6	1	Chris Hoiles	14.6	9.6	5.5
2	Darren Daulton	17.0	13.0	4.2	2	Mike Piazza	18.1	13.1	5.2
3	Mike Piazza	17.6	13.6	4.2	3	Rick Wilkins	14.5	9.7	4.9
4	Rick Wilkins	14.0	10.3	3.9	4	Darren Daulton	17.3	12.6	4.9
5	Mike Stanley	12.1	9.9	2.7	5	Mike Stanley	12.6	9.4	3.6


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	John Olerud	18.2	11.9	5.3	1	John Olerud	18.4	11.7	5.7
2	Frank E. Thomas	19.4	14.4	3.7	2	Frank E. Thomas	20.2	13.6	5.4
3	Fred McGriff	19.5	14.6	3.2	3	Fred McGriff	19.7	14.3	3.7
4	Rafael Palmeiro	18.7	14.5	2.9	4	Gregg Jefferies	18.5	13.9	3.0
5	Jeff Bagwell	17.5	13.4	2.5	5	Rafael Palmeiro	18.6	14.6	2.8


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Roberto Alomar	22.2	18.6	4.2	1	Roberto Alomar	23.2	17.5	6.3
2	Robby Thompson	16.9	12.9	4.0	2	Robby Thompson	17.2	12.6	4.7
3	Craig Biggio	21.6	18.7	3.1	3	Craig Biggio	21.3	19.0	2.5
4	Carlos Baerga	20.2	17.9	2.9	4	Delino DeShields Sr.	16.6	14.3	2.4
5	Lou Whitaker	14.4	12.5	2.3	5	Carlos Baerga	19.9	18.2	2.3


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Matt D. Williams	20.5	16.8	3.2	1	Matt D. Williams	22.1	15.2	6.5
2	Dave Hollins	18.5	15.7	2.4	2	Terry Pendleton	20.9	17.1	3.3
3	Travis Fryman	9.3	7.3	2.1	3	Dave Hollins	18.9	15.3	3.2
4	Robin Ventura	18.3	16.5	1.7	4	Mike Blowers	14.0	11.0	3.1
5	Dean Palmer	17.2	15.8	1.3	5	Jeff King	20.7	17.9	2.3


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Jeff Blauser	22.2	19.3	3.5	1	Jeff Blauser	23.9	17.6	6.9
2	Jay Bell	20.8	18.2	3.2	2	Travis Fryman	12.0	9.3	3.3
3	Cal Ripken	20.2	19.5	1.9	3	Royce Clayton	19.0	17.1	2.5
4	John Valentin	17.0	16.4	1.6	4	Cal Ripken	20.4	19.4	2.2
5	Travis Fryman	11.1	10.1	1.5	5	Jay Bell	20.2	18.8	2.0


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Barry Bonds	26.3	16.5	8.8	1	Barry Bonds	27.5	16.5	11.3
2	Juan Gonzalez	20.1	15.4	4.2	2	Ron Gant	24.1	18.3	5.5
3	Ron Gant	23.1	18.3	3.5	3	Juan Gonzalez	20.7	15.4	5.5
4	Rickey Henderson	18.0	14.2	3.3	4	Pete Incaviglia	12.8	9.9	3.6
5	Greg Vaughn	13.5	10.8	2.3	5	Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez	20.3	17.0	2.6


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ken Griffey Jr.	19.0	14.3	4.5	1	Lenny Dykstra	23.9	17.7	5.6
2	Lenny Dykstra	22.7	18.8	3.3	2	Marquis Grissom	22.9	17.7	4.6
3	Marquis Grissom	22.1	18.5	2.9	3	Devon White	20.6	16.6	3.7
4	Kenny Lofton	19.6	17.1	2.4	4	Lance Johnson	19.4	16.2	3.1
5	Devon White	19.5	17.7	1.7	5	Ken Griffey Jr.	18.0	15.3	2.6


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Tim Salmon	19.8	15.9	3.6	1	Larry Walker	21.5	14.5	6.3
2	Larry Walker	20.1	15.8	3.5	2	David Justice	24.8	18.6	5.3
3	David Justice	23.1	20.2	2.0	3	Tim Salmon	19.5	16.2	2.9
4	Jay Buhner	18.7	16.4	2.0	4	Wayne Kirby	14.1	10.9	2.9
5	Paul O'Neill	11.5	9.6	1.6	5	Paul O'Neill	12.0	9.1	2.7


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Kevin Appier	14.3	9.6	4.8	1	Kevin Appier	15.0	8.9	6.2
2	Greg Maddux	16.6	12.4	4.4	2	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	16.7	11.3	5.6
3	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	15.9	12.1	3.9	3	Greg Maddux	17.2	11.8	5.5
4	Jose Rijo	13.7	10.0	3.8	4	Bill C. Swift	15.2	10.2	5.1
5	Mark Langston	15.6	12.3	3.4	5	Tom Glavine	15.8	11.0	4.8
6	Bill C. Swift	14.1	11.3	2.9	6	Jimmy Key	14.2	9.6	4.6
7	Erik Hanson	12.6	10.3	2.4	7	Steve Avery	13.7	9.5	4.3
8	Jimmy Key	13.1	10.8	2.4	8	Jose Rijo	13.9	9.7	4.3
9	Ben McDonald	13.6	11.4	2.3	9	Wilson Alvarez	13.5	9.6	4.0
10	David Cone	15.1	13.0	2.2	10	Alex Fernandez	15.1	11.2	3.9


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Jeff Montgomery	8.5	5.7	2.7	1	John Wetteland	10.1	4.7	5.3
2	Bryan Harvey	6.9	4.4	2.4	2	Jeff Montgomery	9.6	4.5	5.0
3	John Wetteland	8.6	6.2	2.3	3	Rod Beck	8.2	3.4	4.7
4	Duane Ward	5.8	3.8	1.9	4	Bryan Harvey	7.7	3.5	4.0
5	Jeff Russell	5.0	3.2	1.8	5	Randy Myers	7.2	4.1	3.0
6	Jim Gott	6.9	5.1	1.7	6	Jim Gott	7.5	4.4	3.0
7	Greg McMichael	5.7	4.0	1.6	7	Tom Henke	7.5	4.4	2.9
8	Roberto M. Hernandez	6.7	5.2	1.4	8	Greg McMichael	6.4	3.4	2.9
9	Tom Henke	6.6	5.2	1.3	9	Duane Ward	6.2	3.4	2.8
10	Pedro J. Martinez	6.5	5.1	1.3	10	Roberto M. Hernandez	7.2	4.7	2.4


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Paul Molitor	13.9	11.3	2.3	1	Paul Molitor	14.6	10.6	3.8
2	Danny Tartabull	9.1	6.9	2.0	2	Danny Tartabull	9.9	6.1	3.7
3	Harold Baines	10.3	8.7	1.4	3	Harold Baines	10.4	8.6	1.6

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	Orel Hershiser	1.7	1.8	0.8	1	Tommy Greene	1.4	1.4	0.7
2	Tommy Greene	1.3	1.5	0.6	2	Jose Rijo	1.5	1.8	0.6
3	Chris Hammond	1.0	1.1	0.5	3	Chris Hammond	1.1	1.1	0.6


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Gerald Perry	2.8	1.9	1.1	1	Dave Hansen	2.6	1.6	1.1
2	Dave Hansen	2.5	1.8	0.8	2	Gerald Perry	2.8	1.9	1.1
3	Glenallen Hill	1.3	0.6	0.8	3	Glenallen Hill	1.3	0.6	0.7


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Gary Thurman	0.3	0.1	0.2	1	Manuel Lee	0.2	0.0	0.2
2	Jacob Brumfield	0.2	0.0	0.2	2	Jacob Brumfield	0.2	0.0	0.2
3	Fernando Vina	0.3	0.1	0.2	3	Gary Thurman	0.3	0.1	0.2

Noteworthy Players of 1993

The 1993 season was a transitional year in baseball history. After 26 seasons with 26 major-league teams, 1993 saw expansion into Colorado and Florida, a transitional step toward the 30 MLB teams that have existed since 1998.

The 1993 season was the 25th season with divisions and League Championship Series. It was also the last season with only 4 playoff teams.

Looking at the above tables, the 1993 season also represented a transition to the stars of the 1990s and 2000s: Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Jr., Roberto Alomar, Larry Walker, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson.

The Atlanta Braves won 104 regular-season games only to lose in the playoffs to the 97-win Philadelphia Phillies, setting up two themes that would run through the 1990s and early 2000s for the Braves: brilliant starting pitching and disappointing playoff losses.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the 1993 season was a transitional season between the relatively low-scoring baseball of the 1970s and 1980s and the high-scoring offenses of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The next table compares runs scored per 27 outs in 1993 with the 10 years before and after.

	Runs per 27 Outs
1983 - 1992	4.57
1993	4.90
1994 - 2003	5.18

I take a look at a couple of the players from the first tables in this article next.

Barry Bonds

The 1993 season was Barry Bonds's finest season before his late-career surge that started eight years later. The next table shows the top 25 seasons from 1962 through 1997, the 36 seasons between 60-home run seasons, as measured by pWins over replacement level.

	Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
			pWins over Replacement Level Top 25 Single Seasons, 1962 - 1997
1	Sandy Koufax	1965	25.0	14.5	11.7	14.1
2	Steve Carlton	1972	25.0	14.9	11.0	13.4
3	Barry Bonds	1993	27.5	15.4	11.1	13.3
4	Willie Mays	1962	29.6	18.1	10.6	13.1
5	Dwight Gooden	1985	21.1	11.0	11.1	13.0
6	Sandy Koufax	1963	22.5	13.3	10.2	12.4
7	Joe L. Morgan	1972	25.7	16.1	10.2	12.3
8	Joe L. Morgan	1973	26.8	17.2	9.7	11.9
9	Greg Maddux	1995	16.5	7.4	10.0	11.4
10	Juan Marichal	1966	22.6	14.3	9.2	11.3
11	Willie Mays	1964	26.2	16.3	9.1	11.2
12	Darryl Strawberry	1988	26.7	16.2	9.1	11.2
13	Dick Allen	1972	23.3	12.1	9.4	11.1
14	Dean Chance	1964	19.7	11.7	8.9	11.1
15	Joe L. Morgan	1976	23.2	14.4	9.2	11.0
16	Jim Rice	1978	26.5	16.9	8.9	11.0
17	Roger Clemens	1997	18.6	9.7	9.0	10.9
18	Joe L. Morgan	1975	24.3	15.4	9.0	10.8
19	Bob Gibson	1970	21.5	13.6	9.0	10.8
20	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	1995	16.4	7.4	9.1	10.7
21	Kevin Mitchell	1989	27.1	17.1	8.6	10.7
22	Fergie Jenkins	1974	22.7	14.4	8.4	10.6
23	Ron Guidry	1978	18.5	9.6	8.8	10.5
24	Rickey Henderson	1990	23.9	14.5	8.8	10.5
25	Harmon Killebrew	1969	24.6	15.2	8.4	10.5

Kevin Appier

Two all-time great pitchers, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson show up in at least some of the first four top 10 tables of this article. But the top pitcher in MLB in 1993, as measured by any of pWins or eWins over either positional average or replacement level, was Kevin Appier.

For the first half of the 1990's, Kevin Appier was very much in contention for the title of "Best Pitcher of the 1990's". The next table shows the top five pitchers in eWins over both positional average and replacement level from 1990 through 1996.

	Top Pitchers, 1990 - 1996 eWins over Positional Average					Top Pitchers, 1990 - 1996 eWins over Replacement Level
Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Greg Maddux	114.8	80.8	42.6	54.2	Greg Maddux	114.8	80.8	42.6	54.2
Roger Clemens	94.8	67.5	28.0	38.6	Roger Clemens	94.8	67.5	28.0	38.6
Kevin Appier	89.4	65.8	24.3	34.5	Kevin Appier	89.4	65.8	24.3	34.5
J. Kevin Brown	90.3	72.2	19.9	30.4	J. Kevin Brown	90.3	72.2	19.9	30.4
Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	89.7	72.3	17.9	28.6	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	89.7	72.3	17.9	28.6

Unfortunately for Appier, he was only able to pitch in 3 games in 1998 and was never as good after the injury as before. And Kevin Appier ended up largely forgotten behind the elite pitchers of the 1990s.

The next table presents the career of Kevin Appier, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Kevin Appier Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1989	KCA	21	6	1.3	2.8	-1.4	-1.2	1.5	2.5	-1.0	-0.7
1990	KCA	22	32	10.5	9.4	1.3	2.6	10.6	9.3	1.4	2.7
1991	KCA	23	34	13.3	10.6	2.8	4.3	13.2	10.6	2.8	4.3
1992	KCA	24	30	13.5	9.7	3.9	5.5	13.2	9.9	3.4	4.9
1993	KCA	25	34	15.0	8.9	6.2	7.7	14.9	9.0	6.1	7.5
1994	KCA	26	23	9.2	6.9	2.3	3.4	9.4	6.7	2.7	3.8
1995	KCA	27	31	13.7	11.2	2.5	4.2	14.4	10.5	3.9	5.6
1996	KCA	28	32	13.4	10.0	3.6	5.2	13.6	9.8	4.0	5.6
1997	KCA	29	34	12.7	11.5	1.4	3.0	13.3	10.9	2.4	4.0
1998	KCA	30	3	0.9	1.5	-0.6	-0.4	1.1	1.3	-0.2	-0.0
1999	KCA	31	34	13.4	14.1	-0.6	1.2	13.1	14.4	-1.1	0.6
2000	OAK	32	31	11.4	11.8	-0.2	1.4	11.5	11.7	0.0	1.6
2001	NYN	33	33	12.9	12.3	1.7	3.2	12.8	12.3	1.5	3.1
2002	ANA	34	32	11.7	10.6	1.4	2.9	11.3	10.9	0.6	2.1
2003	ANA	35	23	7.6	8.9	-1.1	-0.0	7.0	9.4	-2.3	-1.2
2004	KCA	36	2	0.2	0.5	-0.3	-0.3	0.3	0.4	-0.1	-0.1
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			414	160.6	140.3	22.9	42.8	161.3	139.6	24.2	44.0
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			7	1.7	1.8		0.1	1.6	1.9		-0.0
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			421	162.3	142.2		42.9	163.0	141.5		44.0

Tim Salmon

Tim Salmon is sometimes mentioned as the best major-league player since the advent of the All-Star game (in 1933) to never be selected to an All-Star team. Tim Salmon's name appears above as the best right fielder in the major leagues, as measured by eWOPA earned exclusively as a right fielder.

Certainly, the best right fielder in the major leagues should probably have earned an All-Star berth. And, in fact, 1993 was not the only season in which Tim Salmon was the best right fielder in baseball, nor was it his best season: that was probably 1995 (either that or possibly 1997). You can't even blame it on Salmon getting off to slow starts: for his career, his 1st-half OPS was .883 vs. a 2nd-half OPS of .884. Just one of those odd, inexplicable things.

Tim Salmon's career, as measured by Player won-lost records, is presented next.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Tim Salmon Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1992	CAL	23	23	1.9	2.7	-0.9	-0.6	2.1	2.5	-0.5	-0.3
1993	CAL	24	141	19.8	16.4	3.1	4.9	20.2	16.0	3.9	5.7
1994	CAL	25	100	13.5	11.5	1.5	2.7	13.8	11.2	2.1	3.3
1995	CAL	26	143	20.8	16.1	3.8	5.6	21.1	15.8	4.5	6.3
1996	CAL	27	156	19.0	17.9	0.3	2.0	20.0	17.0	2.3	4.0
1997	ANA	28	157	23.3	18.6	3.6	5.6	23.0	18.8	3.2	5.2
1998	ANA	29	136	14.1	10.6	2.7	4.3	14.2	10.5	3.0	4.6
1999	ANA	30	98	12.5	11.8	-0.0	1.1	12.9	11.4	0.8	2.0
2000	ANA	31	158	21.0	18.7	1.6	3.5	21.5	18.2	2.6	4.6
2001	ANA	32	137	15.5	17.7	-3.3	-1.5	16.9	16.4	-0.4	1.4
2002	ANA	33	138	17.5	14.3	2.5	4.2	17.2	14.6	1.8	3.6
2003	ANA	34	148	15.8	14.9	0.0	1.8	15.7	15.0	0.2	1.9
2004	ANA	35	60	4.0	4.0	-0.1	0.4	3.6	4.4	-0.9	-0.3
2006	ANA	37	76	4.8	5.1	-0.6	0.1	5.1	4.7	0.1	0.8
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			1,671	203.5	180.3	14.0	34.1	207.4	176.4	22.6	42.7
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			16	2.5	1.8		0.9	2.4	1.9		0.6
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			1,687	206.0	182.1		35.0	209.8	178.3		43.3

Notable Debuts

Two player who debuted in 1993 have gone on to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame: long-time Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones and San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. The career records of Chipper Jones and Trevor Hoffman, as measured by Player won-lost records, are shown in the next table.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Chipper Jones					Trevor Hoffman
1993	7	0.0	0.0	-0.0	-0.0	67	5.4	5.0	0.4	1.3
1994						47	4.6	2.9	1.7	2.5
1995	140	20.3	15.5	4.2	5.9	55	4.8	3.8	1.0	1.9
1996	157	22.8	17.2	5.2	7.1	70	9.7	4.7	5.0	6.4
1997	157	21.6	17.9	3.1	5.0	70	6.6	4.1	2.4	3.4
1998	160	23.6	15.9	7.3	9.3	66	7.3	2.4	4.8	5.7
1999	157	22.6	15.0	7.3	9.1	63	6.9	3.7	3.1	4.2
2000	156	21.2	16.7	4.5	6.2	70	7.7	4.8	2.7	4.0
2001	159	21.0	16.3	4.3	6.2	62	6.1	4.5	1.4	2.5
2002	158	23.6	16.4	5.9	7.9	61	5.2	3.8	1.3	2.3
2003	153	21.5	17.0	3.1	5.0	9	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
2004	137	17.1	12.8	3.5	5.1	55	5.6	3.2	2.2	3.1
2005	109	16.0	10.5	5.2	6.3	60	6.4	3.6	2.7	3.8
2006	110	13.1	12.1	0.3	1.5	65	6.8	3.4	3.2	4.2
2007	134	19.2	14.3	4.3	5.8	61	6.1	3.7	2.1	3.2
2008	128	15.5	12.2	2.9	4.1	48	4.1	3.2	0.8	1.6
2009	143	15.9	14.2	1.5	2.9	55	4.9	2.3	2.5	3.2
2010	95	12.1	9.4	2.5	3.6	50	2.0	3.6	-1.7	-1.1
2011	126	14.9	12.7	2.4	3.7
2012	112	14.1	11.5	2.2	3.4
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,498	336.2	257.6	69.6	98.3	1,034	100.2	62.7	35.7	52.5

Farewell Seasons

The 1993 season was the final season for four Hall-of-Famers, three of whom were elected in their first year of eligibility with the fourth being elected in his second year on the ballot: George Brett, Carlton Fisk, Nolan Ryan, and Robin Yount. The final two tables of this article compare the career Player won-lost records of these four players.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	George Brett					Robin Yount
1973	13	0.6	1.0	-0.4	-0.3
1974	133	13.0	14.6	-1.8	-0.5	107	10.5	13.4	-1.8	-0.7
1975	159	20.9	17.9	3.0	4.8	147	16.0	20.0	-2.1	-0.4
1976	159	22.3	17.2	5.0	7.0	161	18.8	22.6	-2.0	0.1
1977	139	21.2	15.7	5.3	7.2	154	17.5	20.9	-1.1	0.9
1978	128	16.5	14.2	2.2	3.6	127	18.3	16.4	3.1	4.8
1979	154	21.2	16.8	4.2	6.0	149	18.5	17.7	2.5	4.2
1980	117	18.5	10.3	8.1	9.5	143	21.6	18.1	5.1	6.9
1981	89	10.6	10.5	-0.2	1.0	96	14.6	10.7	4.8	6.2
1982	144	18.6	15.1	3.1	4.6	156	24.9	17.9	8.3	10.2
1983	123	16.8	13.8	2.7	4.1	149	21.2	16.5	5.6	7.3
1984	104	14.9	10.9	4.1	5.3	160	20.0	19.4	1.8	3.8
1985	155	22.2	15.4	6.8	8.6	122	15.6	15.4	-0.3	1.2
1986	123	15.6	13.2	2.0	3.4	140	16.9	15.9	0.6	2.2
1987	115	12.6	11.8	-0.2	1.0	158	20.9	17.9	2.5	4.3
1988	157	18.2	15.0	2.3	4.0	162	24.2	19.5	4.2	6.4
1989	124	14.5	12.5	0.8	2.1	160	22.2	18.3	3.9	5.8
1990	142	15.3	14.2	0.2	1.6	158	18.7	18.7	-0.6	1.1
1991	131	11.0	11.3	-1.1	0.3	130	16.0	14.8	1.1	2.5
1992	152	11.3	12.2	-1.5	-0.1	150	18.2	17.0	0.9	2.5
1993	145	11.9	12.4	-0.8	0.9	127	12.1	14.7	-2.8	-1.4
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,706	327.7	275.9	43.8	73.8	2,856	366.7	345.7	33.9	67.8

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Nolan Ryan					Carlton Fisk
1966	2	0.1	0.5	-0.4	-0.3
1967
1968	21	7.7	9.9	-1.8	-0.9
1969	25	5.1	4.9	0.5	1.2	2	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1
1970	27	8.6	11.2	-2.1	-0.9
1971	30	11.6	14.8	-2.7	-1.1	14	1.1	1.2	-0.1	0.0
1972	39	21.1	20.1	1.9	4.4	131	14.8	10.6	4.4	5.6
1973	41	22.8	15.7	7.0	9.4	135	13.7	12.7	1.8	3.1
1974	42	21.8	18.4	3.3	5.7	52	5.8	4.4	1.6	2.1
1975	28	12.6	12.1	0.5	2.0	79	8.4	6.5	2.1	2.8
1976	39	20.2	17.9	2.3	4.6	134	12.5	12.8	0.5	1.7
1977	37	19.8	16.6	3.4	5.9	152	18.4	12.0	6.4	8.0
1978	31	15.3	13.3	1.9	3.6	157	18.4	13.0	6.0	7.5
1979	34	16.1	13.6	2.6	4.4	91	7.3	6.6	0.8	1.6
1980	35	14.7	13.9	1.6	3.2	131	12.6	11.1	1.9	3.0
1981	21	10.7	7.7	3.7	4.8	95	9.5	9.3	0.5	1.5
1982	35	16.2	15.8	1.6	3.3	135	13.1	12.4	1.3	2.4
1983	29	13.2	11.5	2.6	4.0	138	15.4	11.4	4.6	5.8
1984	30	11.7	13.0	-0.5	0.9	102	8.0	9.4	-0.8	-0.0
1985	35	13.5	13.9	0.5	2.1	153	17.7	13.4	4.8	6.4
1986	30	12.5	11.8	1.4	2.8	125	11.0	14.3	-3.0	-1.8
1987	34	13.3	13.8	0.7	2.2	135	13.1	12.2	2.1	3.2
1988	33	13.8	15.2	-0.5	1.2	76	7.5	6.9	1.1	1.8
1989	32	16.1	11.6	4.9	6.7	103	10.8	9.4	2.2	3.2
1990	30	12.3	10.1	2.3	3.7	137	14.5	10.7	4.3	5.5
1991	27	10.7	8.0	2.9	4.1	134	12.8	12.8	0.8	2.0
1992	27	9.6	9.4	0.3	1.5	62	4.8	4.5	0.6	1.1
1993	13	3.8	4.8	-1.0	-0.5	25	0.7	1.4	-0.7	-0.6
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	807	354.6	329.6	36.9	77.9	2,498	251.9	219.3	43.1	65.8

Article last updated: December 8, 2019

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 1993 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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