1998 Season

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
Home List of Articles

1998 Season

The 1998 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

This article takes a look at the 1998 season as measured by Player won-lost records.

The 1998 season featured saw two new teams, a team switch leagues for the first time in the 20th century, and a team set the American League record (since broken) for regular-season wins as well as the major-league record (still held) for combined regular-season and postseason wins.

And, of course, 1998 was the season of the Great Home Run Chase that Saved Baseball, between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

The Best of 1998

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	24.7	16.6	7.4	9.5	1	Barry Bonds	24.7	16.6	7.4	9.5
2	Derek Jeter	23.1	16.8	7.3	9.3	2	Craig Biggio	25.1	18.0	7.2	9.4
3	Mark McGwire	21.7	12.9	7.3	9.0	3	Derek Jeter	23.1	16.8	7.3	9.3
4	Chipper Jones	23.6	15.9	7.3	9.3	4	Chipper Jones	23.6	15.9	7.3	9.3
5	Craig Biggio	25.1	18.0	7.2	9.4	5	Greg Vaughn	23.6	15.8	7.1	9.1
6	J. Kevin Brown	16.9	10.8	7.1	8.8	6	Mark McGwire	21.7	12.9	7.3	9.0
7	Greg Vaughn	23.6	15.8	7.1	9.1	7	J. Kevin Brown	16.9	10.8	7.1	8.8
8	Bernie Williams	20.3	13.6	6.6	8.3	8	Bernie Williams	20.3	13.6	6.6	8.3
9	Roger Clemens	15.7	9.4	6.5	8.2	9	Nomar Garciaparra	23.5	18.5	6.2	8.3
10	Scott Brosius	19.1	12.7	6.3	7.9	10	Roger Clemens	15.7	9.4	6.5	8.2

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	J. Kevin Brown	17.2	10.5	7.8	9.5	1	J. Kevin Brown	17.2	10.5	7.8	9.5
2	Mark McGwire	21.9	12.7	7.5	9.3	2	Mark McGwire	21.9	12.7	7.5	9.3
3	Greg Maddux	17.6	11.4	7.4	9.2	3	Greg Maddux	17.6	11.4	7.4	9.2
4	Barry Bonds	24.1	17.1	6.2	8.2	4	Barry Bonds	24.1	17.1	6.2	8.2
5	Ken Griffey Jr.	24.0	18.2	5.7	7.8	5	Ken Griffey Jr.	24.0	18.2	5.7	7.8
6	Alex Rodriguez	24.2	20.0	5.4	7.6	6	Alex Rodriguez	24.2	20.0	5.4	7.6
7	Greg Vaughn	22.7	16.7	5.4	7.4	7	Greg Vaughn	22.7	16.7	5.4	7.4
8	Mike Piazza	18.2	13.6	5.3	7.0	8	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	18.5	14.4	5.0	7.2
9	Roger Clemens	15.0	10.0	5.2	7.0	9	Derek Jeter	21.9	18.0	5.1	7.2
10	Derek Jeter	21.9	18.0	5.1	7.2	10	Mike Piazza	18.2	13.6	5.3	7.0

I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 1998 at the end of this article.

1998 Postseason

The 1998 postseason was dominated by the New York Yankees. Not surprisingly, then, Yankees players dominate the postseason leaderboards.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1998 Postseason: Total

Scott Brosius	NYA	2.3	1.0	1.5
David Wells	NYA	2.2	1.1	1.3
Paul O'Neill	NYA	2.4	1.2	1.3
Michael Tucker	ATL	1.7	0.5	1.2
Mariano Rivera	NYA	1.2	0.2	1.2
Sterling Hitchcock	SDN	1.8	1.0	1.1
David Cone	NYA	1.6	0.9	0.9
Orlando Hernandez	NYA	1.2	0.5	0.8
Chuck Knoblauch	NYA	2.1	1.5	0.8
J. Kevin Brown	SDN	2.7	2.4	0.8

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1998 World Series

Scott Brosius	NYA	0.9	0.2	0.7
Chuck Knoblauch	NYA	1.0	0.3	0.7
Tino Martinez	NYA	0.7	0.2	0.5
Ricky Ledee	NYA	0.7	0.3	0.4
Paul O'Neill	NYA	0.9	0.4	0.4

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1998 Postseason: League Championship Series

David Wells	NYA	1.1	0.5	0.6
Orlando Hernandez	NYA	0.8	0.2	0.5
Paul O'Neill	NYA	1.0	0.5	0.5
Sterling Hitchcock	SDN	1.0	0.5	0.5
Michael Tucker	ATL	0.9	0.3	0.5

Player	Team	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1998 Postseason: Division Series

Michael Tucker	ATL	0.9	0.2	0.7
David Wells	NYA	0.9	0.2	0.7
Jim Leyritz	BOS	0.8	0.1	0.7
David Justice	CLE	0.8	0.2	0.6
Greg Maddux	ATL	0.8	0.2	0.6

Best of 1998 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 1998 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	Mark McGwire	18.0	8.7	9.0	1	Mark McGwire	18.4	8.4	9.7
2	Barry Bonds	16.6	10.6	5.6	2	Barry Bonds	17.2	10.0	6.9
3	Greg Vaughn	17.0	11.3	5.4	3	Chipper Jones	17.6	10.4	6.9
4	Sammy Sosa	17.1	11.5	5.2	4	Sammy Sosa	17.8	10.7	6.7
5	Andres Galarraga	16.1	10.9	4.9	5	Andres Galarraga	16.9	10.1	6.5
6	Albert Belle	16.7	11.8	4.8	6	Greg Vaughn	17.5	10.8	6.3
7	Ken Griffey Jr.	16.6	12.2	4.4	7	Craig Biggio	16.5	10.5	5.6
8	Vladimir Guerrero Sr.	17.3	12.5	4.3	8	Bernie Williams	15.0	9.4	5.5
9	Edgar Martinez	14.8	10.4	4.3	9	Moises Alou	16.5	10.8	5.3
10	Chipper Jones	16.3	11.7	4.3	10	John Olerud	15.7	10.2	5.1

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Craig Biggio	2.2	1.4	0.7	1	Craig Biggio	2.4	1.3	1.1
2	Tony Womack	1.9	1.2	0.7	2	Quilvio Veras	1.8	0.9	0.9
3	Derek Jeter	1.8	1.2	0.7	3	Paul Molitor	1.5	0.7	0.8
4	Jose Offerman	1.9	1.2	0.6	4	Jeff Bagwell	1.6	0.8	0.8
5	Paul Molitor	1.4	0.8	0.6	5	Ray Durham	1.8	1.1	0.7
6	Larry Walker	1.3	0.6	0.6	6	Darren Lewis	1.6	1.0	0.6
7	Darren Lewis	1.6	1.0	0.6	7	Mickey Morandini	1.3	0.7	0.6
8	Andruw Jones	1.4	0.8	0.6	8	Barry Larkin	1.5	0.9	0.6
9	Quilvio Veras	1.7	1.1	0.6	9	Jose Offerman	1.8	1.3	0.6
10	Alex Rodriguez	1.6	1.1	0.5	10	Raul Mondesi Sr.	1.7	1.1	0.6

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Greg Maddux	15.2	9.6	5.6	1	Roger Clemens	15.5	8.9	6.6
2	J. Kevin Brown	14.8	9.2	5.6	2	J. Kevin Brown	15.0	8.9	6.1
3	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	17.6	13.2	4.3	3	Greg Maddux	15.3	9.5	5.8
4	Roger Clemens	14.3	10.0	4.3	4	David Wells	13.2	7.4	5.8
5	Al Leiter	11.7	8.3	3.4	5	Al Leiter	12.9	7.2	5.7
6	Curt Schilling	15.8	12.4	3.3	6	John Smoltz	11.7	6.5	5.2
7	Pedro J. Martinez	14.3	11.3	3.0	7	Pedro J. Martinez	15.3	10.4	4.9
8	Tom Gordon	7.6	4.8	2.8	8	Trevor Hoffman	7.2	2.4	4.8
9	John Smoltz	10.5	7.7	2.7	9	David Cone	13.8	9.1	4.8
10	Tom Glavine	12.7	9.9	2.7	10	Tom Gordon	8.5	3.9	4.6

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Jamey Wright	0.7	0.4	0.3	1	Jamey Wright	0.9	0.3	0.6
2	Kenny Rogers	0.6	0.3	0.3	2	Steve Avery	0.8	0.3	0.5
3	Carlos Gross Perez	0.6	0.3	0.3	3	Scott Karl	0.5	0.2	0.3
4	Scott Karl	0.5	0.2	0.3	4	Mike Mussina	0.4	0.1	0.3
5	Steve Avery	0.7	0.4	0.3	5	Rolando Arrojo	0.5	0.2	0.3


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Ivan Rodriguez	2.0	1.4	0.6	1	Ivan Rodriguez	2.1	1.3	0.8
2	Charles Johnson	1.8	1.5	0.3	2	Javy Lopez	1.9	1.3	0.6
3	Javy Lopez	1.8	1.5	0.3	3	John Flaherty	1.1	0.8	0.3
4	Alberto T. Castillo	0.6	0.3	0.2	4	Alberto T. Castillo	0.6	0.3	0.3
5	Tom Prince	0.4	0.2	0.2	5	Joe Girardi	1.0	0.7	0.3


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	John Olerud	2.8	2.1	0.7	1	J.T. Snow	2.2	1.4	0.8
2	Todd Helton	3.1	2.6	0.6	2	John Olerud	2.9	2.0	0.8
3	J.T. Snow	2.0	1.6	0.4	3	Tino Martinez	3.0	2.3	0.7
4	Mark Grace	2.9	2.6	0.3	4	Wally Joyner	2.4	1.8	0.6
5	Carlos Delgado	2.7	2.4	0.3	5	Carlos Delgado	2.8	2.3	0.5


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Keith Lockhart	4.3	2.8	1.5	1	Quilvio Veras	6.9	4.8	2.1
2	Miguel Cairo	5.4	4.5	0.9	2	Keith Lockhart	4.6	2.5	2.1
3	Bret Boone	6.2	5.4	0.8	3	Chuck Knoblauch	6.6	5.1	1.5
4	Roberto Alomar	5.8	5.0	0.8	4	Mike Benjamin	3.2	2.3	0.9
5	Mike Benjamin	3.0	2.4	0.6	5	Craig Grebeck	3.7	2.9	0.8


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Robin Ventura	5.4	3.8	1.6	1	Scott Brosius	5.1	3.1	2.0
2	Gary Gaetti	3.3	2.6	0.7	2	John Valentin	4.2	3.0	1.2
3	Scott Brosius	4.4	3.8	0.7	3	Robin Ventura	5.2	4.0	1.2
4	Vinny Castilla	5.1	4.5	0.5	4	Vinny Castilla	5.2	4.4	0.8
5	John Valentin	3.8	3.4	0.5	5	Gary Gaetti	3.3	2.6	0.7


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Neifi Perez	7.3	6.5	0.8	1	Derek Jeter	6.0	4.8	1.2
2	Mike Bordick	6.3	5.6	0.7	2	Alex S. Gonzalez	7.1	6.2	0.9
3	Rey Sanchez	2.7	2.0	0.7	3	Walt Weiss	4.3	3.4	0.9
4	Gary DiSarcina	6.7	6.0	0.7	4	Kevin Stocker	5.0	4.2	0.9
5	Kevin Stocker	4.9	4.3	0.6	5	Rey Sanchez	2.8	1.9	0.8


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	B.J. Surhoff	5.7	5.0	0.7	1	Brian S. Giles	4.8	3.2	1.6
2	Mark Whiten	1.9	1.2	0.7	2	Moises Alou	5.2	4.2	1.0
3	Moises Alou	4.9	4.4	0.5	3	Chad Curtis	3.3	2.3	1.0
4	Chad Curtis	3.0	2.5	0.5	4	Greg Vaughn	5.1	4.3	0.8
5	Rickey Henderson	4.9	4.5	0.4	5	Mark Whiten	1.9	1.2	0.7


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Andruw Jones	7.8	5.8	2.0	1	Andruw Jones	8.0	5.5	2.5
2	Brian L. Hunter	6.0	4.6	1.3	2	Ryan Christenson	5.3	4.0	1.3
3	Kenny Lofton	5.5	4.5	1.1	3	Kenny Lofton	5.6	4.4	1.2
4	Ken Griffey Jr.	6.2	5.6	0.6	4	Mike Cameron	4.3	3.5	0.8
5	Armando Rios	0.6	0.1	0.6	5	Darryl Hamilton	5.0	4.2	0.8


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Bobby Abreu	6.1	4.6	1.5	1	Bobby Abreu	6.0	4.6	1.4
2	Derek Bell	4.9	3.9	1.0	2	Shawn Green	4.7	3.7	1.0
3	Brian Jordan	4.2	3.2	1.0	3	Mark Kotsay	4.7	3.8	0.9
4	Paul O'Neill	5.0	4.3	0.7	4	Derek Bell	4.9	4.0	0.9
5	Matt Lawton	3.9	3.3	0.7	5	Paul O'Neill	5.1	4.3	0.8

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1998 Major-League leaders by position. The figures shown here only include Player decisions earned while playing this particular position.


Catcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mike Piazza	17.0	13.2	4.5	1	Mike Piazza	17.6	12.7	5.6
2	Jason Kendall	15.8	13.1	3.4	2	Javy Lopez	15.6	10.9	5.3
3	Javy Lopez	14.4	12.0	3.0	3	Ivan Rodriguez	14.9	13.1	3.0
4	Ivan Rodriguez	14.5	13.5	2.1	4	Jason Kendall	15.5	13.3	2.8
5	Eddie Taubensee	11.8	10.8	1.6	5	Jorge Posada	8.5	6.2	2.8


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mark McGwire	21.6	12.9	7.1	1	Mark McGwire	21.6	12.9	7.2
2	Jeff Bagwell	19.0	13.7	3.4	2	Andres Galarraga	19.9	13.5	4.7
3	John Olerud	18.8	13.7	3.2	3	Jeff Bagwell	19.5	13.1	4.7
4	Carlos Delgado	17.0	12.8	2.9	4	John Olerud	19.3	13.3	4.1
5	Rafael Palmeiro	20.7	16.5	2.4	5	Tino Martinez	18.0	13.5	3.2


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Craig Biggio	23.2	19.5	3.9	1	Craig Biggio	24.8	17.9	7.0
2	Jeff Kent	20.6	16.8	3.9	2	Quilvio Veras	19.9	14.4	5.6
3	Jose Offerman	20.1	18.3	2.4	3	Chuck Knoblauch	21.7	17.2	5.0
4	Damion Easley	19.0	17.3	2.2	4	Jeff Kent	20.7	16.7	4.2
5	Eric Young Sr.	16.8	15.0	1.9	5	Eric Young Sr.	17.5	14.3	3.4


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Chipper Jones	22.2	17.3	4.4	1	Chipper Jones	23.6	15.9	7.3
2	Scott Rolen	21.7	17.5	3.7	2	Scott Brosius	19.0	12.6	6.4
3	Vinny Castilla	22.1	18.9	2.6	3	Ken Caminiti	17.4	12.9	4.1
4	Scott Brosius	17.2	14.5	2.6	4	Scott Rolen	21.7	17.5	3.7
5	Ken Caminiti	16.7	13.7	2.5	5	Vinny Castilla	22.6	18.5	3.5


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Alex Rodriguez	23.8	20.2	4.9	1	Derek Jeter	23.1	16.8	7.4
2	Derek Jeter	21.7	18.1	4.8	2	Nomar Garciaparra	23.5	18.5	6.2
3	Nomar Garciaparra	22.5	19.4	4.3	3	Alex Rodriguez	23.6	20.4	4.5
4	Barry Larkin	19.5	16.8	3.4	4	Barry Larkin	19.8	16.5	4.0
5	Jay Bell	17.8	16.4	2.1	5	Walt Weiss	12.1	10.5	2.0


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Barry Bonds	23.7	17.4	5.4	1	Barry Bonds	24.6	17.4	7.3
2	Greg Vaughn	21.7	16.3	4.6	2	Greg Vaughn	22.5	16.3	6.2
3	Albert Belle	23.5	19.0	4.1	3	Moises Alou	22.3	16.6	5.8
4	Moises Alou	21.5	16.6	4.1	4	Brian S. Giles	12.7	10.0	3.6
5	Henry Anderson Rodriguez	14.2	12.1	1.5	5	Albert Belle	22.9	19.0	3.1


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ken Griffey Jr.	23.5	18.1	5.3	1	Bernie Williams	19.5	13.3	6.1
2	Andruw Jones	21.6	17.3	3.8	2	Andruw Jones	22.2	16.8	4.9
3	Ray Lankford	19.5	15.5	3.6	3	Ken Griffey Jr.	23.2	18.5	4.7
4	Bernie Williams	17.9	14.9	3.0	4	Ray Lankford	19.6	15.3	3.9
5	Kenny Lofton	18.8	17.1	1.6	5	Jim Edmonds	20.1	17.7	2.3


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Vladimir Guerrero Sr.	24.1	19.0	3.4	1	Sammy Sosa	24.9	17.8	5.6
2	Sammy Sosa	23.8	18.9	3.3	2	Derek Bell	22.3	15.7	5.0
3	Larry Walker	16.6	12.7	2.7	3	Paul O'Neill	21.2	15.8	4.4
4	Derek Bell	21.0	17.0	2.2	4	Manny Ramirez	21.9	17.4	3.4
5	Manny Ramirez	21.3	18.0	2.2	5	Gerald Williams	7.1	4.0	2.7


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	J. Kevin Brown	15.2	9.6	5.7	1	Roger Clemens	15.7	9.3	6.5
2	Greg Maddux	15.8	10.3	5.7	2	J. Kevin Brown	15.5	9.3	6.4
3	Roger Clemens	14.5	10.5	4.2	3	Greg Maddux	16.0	10.1	6.0
4	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	17.9	13.9	4.2	4	David Wells	13.4	7.6	5.9
5	Al Leiter	11.9	8.4	3.6	5	Al Leiter	13.1	7.3	5.9
6	Curt Schilling	16.1	12.7	3.5	6	John Smoltz	11.9	6.6	5.4
7	Pedro J. Martinez	14.5	11.6	3.0	7	Pedro J. Martinez	15.5	10.6	5.0
8	Tom Glavine	13.1	10.3	3.0	8	David Cone	14.0	9.2	5.0
9	John Smoltz	10.7	7.9	2.9	9	Tom Glavine	14.0	9.3	4.8
10	Kenny Rogers	13.8	11.1	2.7	10	Curt Schilling	16.3	12.4	4.1


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Tom Gordon	7.6	4.8	2.7	1	Trevor Hoffman	7.3	2.4	4.8
2	Robb Nen	7.4	4.9	2.4	2	Tom Gordon	8.6	3.9	4.5
3	Trevor Hoffman	6.1	3.6	2.3	3	Mariano Rivera	6.4	1.9	4.3
4	John Wetteland	6.1	3.8	2.2	4	John Wetteland	6.9	2.9	3.9
5	Ugueth Urbina	5.5	3.5	1.9	5	Rod Beck	9.2	5.6	3.5
6	Mike R. Jackson	5.6	3.7	1.8	6	Robb Nen	7.7	4.7	2.9
7	Mariano Rivera	5.0	3.3	1.7	7	Ugueth Urbina	6.0	3.1	2.8
8	Mike Timlin	5.2	3.7	1.4	8	Mike R. Jackson	6.1	3.3	2.7
9	Jason Christiansen	4.0	2.7	1.2	9	Bob Wickman	8.6	5.8	2.7
10	Bob Wickman	7.8	6.5	1.2	10	Bobby Howry	5.0	2.4	2.6


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Edgar Martinez	14.7	11.3	2.5	1	Tim Salmon	11.6	8.3	2.6
2	Tim Salmon	11.4	8.5	2.2	2	Darryl Strawberry	7.3	4.7	2.2
3	Matt Stairs	11.7	9.8	1.1	3	Edgar Martinez	14.5	11.5	2.1

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


Pitcher Offense
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Steve Trachsel	1.2	1.3	0.6	1	Kevin Tapani	1.6	1.8	0.7
2	J. Kevin Brown	1.2	1.7	0.4	2	J. Kevin Brown	1.4	1.5	0.7
3	Mike Hampton	0.9	1.1	0.4	3	John Smoltz	1.1	1.0	0.7


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Glenallen Hill	1.2	0.5	0.8	1	Mike Lieberthal	1.2	0.1	1.1
2	Midre Cummings	1.2	0.7	0.6	2	Glenallen Hill	1.4	0.3	1.1
3	Ron Gant	0.9	0.4	0.5	3	Eric Davis	0.9	0.3	0.7


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Curtis Goodwin	0.4	0.2	0.2	1	Da Rond Stovall	0.2	0.0	0.2
2	Da Rond Stovall	0.2	0.1	0.2	2	Juan Samuel	0.4	0.2	0.2
3	Shawon Dunston	0.2	0.0	0.2	3	Shawon Dunston	0.2	0.1	0.1

Noteworthy Players of 1998

MVP Winners

Neither of the two MVP winners in 1998 appear among the top 10 players in either pWins or eWins over either positional average or replacement level. Here's how Juan Gonzalez's and Sammy Sosa's 1998 seasons look in terms of Player won-lost records.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Juan Gonzalez	154	19.3	16.6	1.6	3.5	19.6	16.2	2.4	4.3
Sammy Sosa	159	25.7	18.3	5.9	8.1	24.6	19.4	3.4	5.7

Historic Seasons

The 1998 season saw several individual performances that were among the best ever, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Batting

One doesn't need Player won-lost records to understand that Mark McGwire had an historic batting season in 1998. One needs to only look at the home runs - 70. And the rest of his traditional statistics were pretty impressive, too: 162 walks, 147 RBI, 130 runs scored, a batting line of .299/.470/.752 (that's an OPS of 1.222). Player won-lost records can be helpful, however, in identifying just how historic those numbers are when put into context.

The next table shows the top 10 seasons in batting eWins over non-pitcher average since World War II (i.e., since 1946).


	Top 10 Seasons, Batting eWins over Non-Pitcher Average
	Player	Season	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA
1	Barry Bonds	2001	18.6	7.6	10.7
2	Barry Bonds	2004	16.5	6.4	10.0
3	Barry Bonds	2002	17.6	7.5	9.9
4	Ted Williams	1947	19.1	9.6	9.2
5	Mickey Mantle	1961	19.0	9.5	9.1
6	Ted Williams	1946	19.2	9.7	9.0
7	Mark McGwire	1998	18.0	8.7	9.0
8	Mickey Mantle	1957	17.1	8.2	8.5
9	Norm Cash	1961	19.2	10.3	8.5
10	Dick Allen	1972	19.0	10.2	8.4

Pitching

While Mark McGwire's season stands out as historic on its own merits, there were two historic pitching seasons that were, perhaps, less obviously great. Which is not to say that they weren't great seasons, just, they were even greater when put into the context of the high run scoring of 1998.

Greg Maddux led the National League in ERA (2.22), WHIP (0.980), and shutouts (5) while pitching 251 innings with a traditional won-lost record of 18-9.

Kevin Brown led the National League in FIP (2.23), while amassing a traditional won-lost record of 18-7 WHIP, with a 2.38 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.066 in 257 innings.

Both great records. But it may take Player won-lost records to fully appreciate just how great.

The next table shows the top 25 seasons in net pitching eWins since World War II.


	Top 25 Seasons, Net Pitching eWins
	Player	Season	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA
1	Pedro J. Martinez	2000	15.5	7.7	7.7
2	Roger Clemens	1997	17.3	10.1	7.2
3	Greg Maddux	1995	13.7	6.8	6.9
4	Pedro J. Martinez	1999	14.7	7.9	6.8
5	Dean Chance	1964	17.3	11.0	6.3
6	Jake Arrieta	2015	15.5	9.2	6.3
7	Robin Roberts	1953	21.4	15.2	6.1
8	Greg Maddux	1994	12.5	6.5	6.0
9	Pedro J. Martinez	1997	16.5	10.5	5.9
10	Ron Guidry	1978	16.6	10.7	5.9
11	Greg Maddux	1996	14.9	9.0	5.9
12	Mike Scott	1986	17.0	11.2	5.8
13	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	2004	15.0	9.3	5.8
14	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	2001	17.3	11.6	5.7
15	Zack Greinke	2009	15.6	9.9	5.7
16	Steve Carlton	1972	19.9	14.3	5.7
17	Juan Marichal	1969	18.0	12.4	5.7
18	J. Kevin Brown	1996	14.4	8.7	5.7
19	Dwight Gooden	1985	16.6	11.0	5.6
20	Greg Maddux	1998	15.2	9.6	5.6
21	J. Kevin Brown	1998	14.8	9.2	5.6
22	Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson	1995	14.5	8.9	5.6
23	Pedro J. Martinez	2003	13.0	7.6	5.5
24	Juan Marichal	1965	19.1	13.7	5.4
25	Bob Gibson	1968	18.7	13.3	5.4

Fielding

In addition to batting and pitching, the 1998 season featured top-10 all-time fielding seasons - measured by net fielding eWins - at two positions: third base and center field.

The next two tables show the top 10 seasons in net fielding eWins at third base and center field, across all seasons for which I have calculated player won-lost records (i.e., since 1916).


	Top 10 Seasons, Net Fielding eWins, Third Base
	Player	Season	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA
1	Brooks Robinson	1967	6.3	4.2	2.1
2	Ossie Vitt	1916	8.1	6.1	2.0
3	Matt Chapman	2018	6.2	4.4	1.8
4	Terry Pendleton	1986	6.2	4.4	1.8
5	Steve Mesner	1945	6.3	4.5	1.8
6	Aurelio Rodriguez	1970	6.0	4.3	1.7
7	Robin Ventura	1998	5.4	3.8	1.6
8	Mike Schmidt	1975	6.4	4.8	1.5
9	Clete Boyer	1961	5.7	4.2	1.5
10	Manny Machado	2013	5.3	3.8	1.5


	Top 10 Seasons, Net Fielding eWins, Center Field
	Player	Season	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA
1	Ben Chapman	1935	7.6	5.0	2.6
2	Willie Davis	1964	6.6	4.5	2.1
3	Dom DiMaggio	1942	7.4	5.3	2.1
4	Franklin Gutierrez	2009	6.8	4.8	2.0
5	Andruw Jones	1998	7.8	5.8	2.0
6	Jigger Statz	1923	8.1	6.1	2.0
7	B.J. Upton	2008	7.2	5.3	1.9
8	Willie Davis	1963	6.7	4.8	1.9
9	Darrin Jackson	1992	6.6	4.8	1.8
10	Andruw Jones	2001	8.0	6.3	1.8

Farewell Seasons

Finally, the 1998 season was the final season for two Hall-of-Famers: Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley. Their career Player won-lost records are shown in the final table here.

Season	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL	Games	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA	pWORL
	Paul Molitor					Dennis Eckersley
1975						34	12.1	9.6	2.5	3.9
1976						36	11.8	10.6	1.2	2.5
1977						34	14.5	10.8	3.8	5.6
1978	125	16.0	15.1	1.8	3.3	35	16.5	12.5	4.0	5.7
1979	140	20.7	16.5	5.0	6.8	33	16.3	11.7	4.6	6.4
1980	111	15.4	14.2	2.0	3.4	30	11.5	11.5	0.2	1.5
1981	64	7.0	7.0	-0.2	0.6	23	8.2	7.1	1.2	2.2
1982	160	22.3	17.7	4.3	6.1	33	13.1	12.0	1.5	3.0
1983	152	17.4	17.3	-0.2	1.4	28	10.2	12.4	-2.1	-0.7
1984	13	1.1	1.2	-0.2	-0.1	33	13.2	12.5	1.3	2.8
1985	140	17.6	16.7	0.9	2.5	26	10.2	7.8	3.0	4.0
1986	105	14.2	11.6	2.3	3.5	33	9.8	12.0	-1.4	-0.2
1987	118	15.3	10.4	4.8	6.1	54	7.6	6.1	1.2	2.5
1988	154	20.6	16.4	4.1	6.1	60	6.8	3.5	3.2	4.2
1989	155	19.4	16.9	2.5	4.2	51	5.3	2.0	3.1	3.7
1990	103	11.7	11.8	-0.2	0.9	63	6.2	2.1	4.1	4.9
1991	158	18.8	15.1	2.6	4.5	67	7.6	5.3	2.1	3.3
1992	158	17.9	13.5	3.6	5.4	69	7.4	2.4	4.9	5.8
1993	160	18.4	12.7	5.1	7.2	64	5.9	4.6	1.3	2.2
1994	115	11.3	9.4	1.1	2.6	45	4.6	3.5	1.1	1.9
1995	130	10.7	11.0	-1.3	0.3	52	4.0	3.8	0.2	1.0
1996	161	16.7	14.3	1.3	3.3	63	5.2	4.5	0.6	1.6
1997	135	13.0	12.9	-0.6	1.1	57	5.1	5.0	0.0	1.0
1998	126	11.3	11.6	-1.4	0.2	50	2.4	2.0	0.4	0.9
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER RECORDS	2,683	316.7	273.4	37.6	69.5	1,073	215.6	175.2	42.0	69.9

Article last updated: November 11, 2019

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 1998 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.

Home List of Articles