Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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2001 Season

The 2001 Season as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

This article takes a look at the 2001 season as measured by Player won-lost records.

The 2001 season saw a number of historic events: a 116-win team, a team playing in its fourth consecutive World Series, and a team winning the World Series in only its fourth season of existence.

The 2001 season featured one player whose 57 home runs and 142 RBIs both finished third in the National League; a player who accumulated 425 total bases (the 7th-most of all-time), 64 home runs (5th-most all-time), 160 RBIs (2nd-most since 1938), and (deservedly) finished second in MVP voting. And, of course, not unrelated to those two players: it featured arguably the finest offensive season in major-league history.

On the pitching side, this season saw seven 20-game winners, a 50-save season, two players who tied and set the record for career Cy Young awards. Counting the postseason, one pitcher pitched over 300 innings; his teammate struck out over 400 batters (regular plus postseason).

It was the final season for two players who were elected to the Hall-of-Fame on their first ballot with more than 97% of the vote. It was the first season for two players who won the 2001 Rookie-of-the-Year awards and will almost certainly someday join Ripken and Gwynn in the Hall of Fame.

Looking over the 2001 season through Player won-lost records, in preparing this article, the theme that stood out to me was that the 2001 season was a season of great players playing great.

As usual, this table begins with a series of tables and concludes with some discussion of players of note. The concluding section will focus on this theme: "2001: Great Players Playing Great".

The Best of 2001

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
1Barry Bonds28.315.212.1
14.4
1Barry Bonds28.315.212.1
14.4
2Eric Chavez21.713.38.5
10.3
2Eric Chavez21.713.38.5
10.3
3Curt Schilling19.212.48.1
10.1
3Curt Schilling19.212.48.1
10.1
4Bret Boone24.116.87.8
10.0
4Bret Boone24.116.87.8
10.0
5Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson19.012.57.8
9.8
5Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson19.012.57.8
9.8
6Jason Giambi21.512.77.7
9.6
6Jason Giambi21.512.77.7
9.6
7Mike Cameron21.814.87.0
9.0
7Mike Cameron21.814.87.0
9.0
8Jeff Bagwell22.414.06.6
8.6
8Jeff Bagwell22.414.06.6
8.6
9Jim Edmonds22.315.56.5
8.5
9Jim Edmonds22.315.56.5
8.5
10Jim Thome18.811.76.1
7.7
10Alex Rodriguez22.817.66.1
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
1Barry Bonds28.415.211.6
13.9
1Barry Bonds28.415.211.6
13.9
2Alex Rodriguez23.916.58.2
10.3
2Alex Rodriguez23.916.58.2
10.3
3Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson18.513.17.1
9.1
3Sammy Sosa26.918.56.8
9.2
4Sammy Sosa26.918.56.8
9.2
4Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson18.513.17.1
9.1
5Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez26.918.56.7
9.1
5Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez26.918.56.7
9.1
6Todd Helton21.713.66.4
8.3
6Lance Berkman25.718.46.3
8.6
7Jason Giambi20.813.46.4
8.2
7Todd Helton21.713.66.4
8.3
8Lance Berkman25.718.46.3
8.6
8Jason Giambi20.813.46.4
8.2
9Larry Walker20.313.65.6
7.4
9Larry Walker20.313.65.6
7.4
10Javier Vazquez16.012.05.4
7.1
10Bret Boone22.718.25.2
7.3


I take a look at some of the most interesting players of 2001 at the end of this article.

2001 Postseason



2001 Postseason: Total
Player Team pWins pLosses pWORL
Curt SchillingARI3.51.52.6
Randy 'Big Unit' JohnsonARI3.51.72.4
Mariano RiveraNYA2.10.91.5
Bernie WilliamsNYA2.81.91.1
Steve FinleyARI2.11.40.9
Matt D. WilliamsARI2.71.90.9
Tom GlavineATL1.81.20.9
Roger ClemensNYA1.71.10.8
Danny BautistaARI1.20.60.7
Tony WomackARI2.52.20.7


Top postseason players by round were as follows.

2001 World Series
Player Team pWins pLosses Net Wins
Randy 'Big Unit' JohnsonARI1.50.51.0
Scott BrosiusNYA1.20.60.6
Danny BautistaARI0.90.40.5
Tony WomackARI1.30.80.5
Roger ClemensNYA0.90.50.4

2001 Postseason: League Championship Series
Player Team pWins pLosses Net Wins
Randy 'Big Unit' JohnsonARI1.50.51.0
Bernie WilliamsNYA1.30.31.0
Andy PettitteNYA1.20.40.7
Matt D. WilliamsARI1.00.50.6
Alfonso SorianoNYA0.90.30.6

2001 Postseason: Division Series
Player Team pWins pLosses Net Wins
Curt SchillingARI1.70.51.3
Mike CameronSEA1.20.60.6
Tom GlavineATL0.80.20.6
Mariano RiveraNYA0.70.20.6
Chipper JonesATL0.70.10.5


Best of 2001 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 2001 in wins over positional average (WOPA) by factor were as follows.

Batting
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLoss eWOPA Player pWins pLoss pWOPA
1Barry Bonds18.67.6
10.7
1Barry Bonds19.27.111.8
2Sammy Sosa18.210.2
7.6
2Jason Giambi18.69.78.8
3Jason Giambi17.810.5
7.3
3Jim Thome16.58.97.6
4Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez18.311.3
6.6
4Sammy Sosa18.110.37.4
5Todd Helton18.011.1
6.4
5Ryan Klesko16.59.46.7
6Jim Thome15.79.7
6.0
6Jeff Bagwell17.911.16.3
7Lance Berkman17.210.8
6.0
7Lance Berkman17.310.76.2
8Alex Rodriguez16.410.7
5.7
8Shawn Green17.611.06.2
9Shawn Green17.311.3
5.5
9Bret Boone17.811.66.2
10Phil Nevin15.910.5
5.0
10Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez18.111.56.1
Positional Average excludes pitcher offense
Baserunning
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLoss eWOPA Player pWins pLoss pWOPA
1Pokey Reese1.40.5
0.9
1Ichiro Suzuki2.61.61.0
2Ichiro Suzuki2.51.7
0.9
2Derek Jeter1.70.80.9
3Roger Cedeno2.41.6
0.8
3Brian S. Giles1.80.80.9
4Derek Jeter1.60.9
0.8
4Jeff Bagwell1.81.00.8
5Jimmy Rollins2.11.3
0.8
5Jimmy Rollins2.11.30.7
6David Eckstein1.71.0
0.7
6Pokey Reese1.30.50.7
7Alex Rodriguez1.40.6
0.7
7David Eckstein1.71.00.7
8Craig Biggio1.81.1
0.6
8Cristian Guzman1.50.80.7
9Cliff Floyd1.50.9
0.6
9Roger Cedeno2.31.60.6
10Jose Cruz Jr.1.30.8
0.6
10Cliff Floyd1.50.80.6
Positional Average excludes pitcher offense
Pitching
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLoss Net eWins Player pWins pLoss Net pWins
1Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson17.311.6
5.7
1Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson18.310.57.8
2Mike Mussina14.610.9
3.7
2Curt Schilling18.210.47.8
3Javier Vazquez14.410.8
3.6
3Freddy Antonio Garcia13.58.25.3
4Greg Maddux14.010.5
3.5
4Greg Maddux14.79.85.0
5Curt Schilling16.012.6
3.4
5Roger Clemens13.68.84.8
6Mariano Rivera7.94.6
3.3
6Mark Mulder14.49.64.8
7Pedro J. Martinez7.34.1
3.2
7Mariano Rivera8.63.94.7
8Freddy Antonio Garcia12.59.3
3.1
8Jamie Moyer13.18.64.5
9Keith Foulke7.94.8
3.1
9Mike Mussina15.010.54.5
10Mark Mulder13.510.5
3.1
10Troy Percival7.02.64.5


Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Heath Murray0.50.0
0.5
1Heath Murray0.50.00.4
2Greg Maddux0.40.1
0.3
2Rick Reed0.40.10.3
3Chris Reitsma0.40.1
0.3
3Greg Maddux0.40.10.3
4Kirk Rueter0.50.2
0.3
4Randy Keisler0.30.00.3
5Rick Reed0.40.1
0.3
5Chris Reitsma0.40.10.3


Fielding, C
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Ivan Rodriguez1.71.0
0.6
1Ivan Rodriguez1.71.00.8
2Charles Johnson1.91.3
0.6
2Brad Ausmus1.71.10.6
3Brad Ausmus1.61.2
0.4
3Mike Matheny1.71.10.6
4Jason LaRue1.61.3
0.3
4Jason LaRue1.61.20.4
5Brandon Inge1.00.7
0.3
5Joe Girardi0.90.60.3


Fielding, 1B
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Todd Helton2.11.6
0.5
1Jeff Bagwell2.82.00.8
2Tino Martinez1.91.5
0.3
2Doug Mientkiewicz2.11.60.5
3Scott Spiezio1.51.2
0.3
3Matt Stairs1.30.80.5
4J.T. Snow1.41.1
0.3
4Mark Grace1.71.20.5
5Mark Grace1.61.3
0.3
5Carlos Delgado2.72.20.4


Fielding, 2B
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Ron Belliard3.52.8
0.6
1Bret Boone5.44.31.1
2Damian Jackson4.13.5
0.6
2Mark Grudzielanek4.63.60.9
3Frank Menechino5.04.5
0.5
3Frank Menechino5.24.30.9
4Mark Grudzielanek4.33.8
0.5
4Pokey Reese2.01.40.6
5Fernando Vina5.04.5
0.5
5Brent Abernathy2.92.30.6


Fielding, 3B
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Eric Chavez4.73.4
1.3
1Eric Chavez5.12.92.1
2Placido Polanco2.61.8
0.8
2Placido Polanco2.81.71.1
3Scott Rolen4.74.0
0.7
3Corey Koskie4.53.51.0
4Jeff Cirillo3.73.0
0.7
4David Bell4.13.20.9
5Mike Lowell3.63.1
0.5
5Jeff Cirillo3.73.00.6


Fielding, SS
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Rey Sanchez6.04.5
1.5
1Rey Sanchez5.94.61.3
2Orlando Cabrera6.25.2
0.9
2Carlos Guillen4.53.21.3
3Alex S. Gonzalez6.35.6
0.8
3Royce Clayton5.24.21.0
4Carlos Guillen4.23.6
0.6
4Miguel Tejada6.35.40.9
5Placido Polanco1.20.8
0.4
5Alex S. Gonzalez6.45.50.9


Fielding, LF
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Geoff Jenkins5.34.3
1.0
1Tsuyoshi Shinjo2.71.21.5
2B.J. Surhoff5.54.6
1.0
2Albert Pujols2.31.11.2
3Tsuyoshi Shinjo2.41.5
0.9
3Terrence Long3.22.01.2
4Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez7.26.4
0.8
4Stan Javier2.41.41.0
5Lance Berkman5.34.6
0.7
5Marty Cordova4.23.31.0


Fielding, CF
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Andruw Jones8.06.3
1.8
1Andruw Jones8.16.21.9
2Torii Hunter7.86.3
1.5
2Darin Erstad6.74.91.8
3Darin Erstad6.35.4
0.9
3Jim Edmonds7.25.41.8
4Jim Edmonds6.75.8
0.9
4Mike Cameron5.94.11.7
5Mark Kotsay4.43.5
0.9
5Mark Kotsay4.53.31.2


Fielding, RF
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses Net eWins Player pWins pLosses Net pWins
1Ichiro Suzuki6.45.3
1.1
1Ichiro Suzuki7.04.82.2
2Larry Walker4.94.2
0.7
2Brian Jordan7.15.71.5
3Brian Jordan6.86.0
0.7
3Raul Mondesi Sr.7.56.21.3
4Jermaine Dye6.96.2
0.7
4Matt Lawton5.54.70.9
5Jose Guillen2.11.4
0.7
5Larry Walker5.04.10.8


Best by Position
Next, we look at 2001 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
1Mike Piazza15.713.0
3.7
1Mike Piazza16.012.74.2
2Ivan Rodriguez11.08.7
3.3
2Jorge Posada13.411.43.2
3Paul Lo Duca11.28.8
3.1
3Paul Lo Duca11.28.83.2
4Jorge Posada12.712.0
2.0
4Ivan Rodriguez10.39.41.9
5Charles Johnson11.010.5
1.4
5Wiki Gonzalez4.43.11.5


First Base
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Todd Helton21.513.7
6.1
1Jason Giambi19.311.56.9
2Jason Giambi18.512.3
5.1
2Jeff Bagwell22.314.06.5
3Jim Thome17.312.1
4.1
3Jim Thome18.111.45.7
4Jeff Bagwell20.915.4
3.6
4Ryan Klesko19.712.75.4
5Carlos Delgado18.213.9
3.1
5John Olerud18.813.34.3


Second Base
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Bret Boone22.418.0
4.9
1Bret Boone23.916.67.7
2Roberto Alomar20.517.6
3.4
2Roberto Alomar21.516.55.5
3Jeff Kent18.615.4
3.2
3Jeff Kent19.414.64.8
4Craig Biggio19.318.0
1.4
4Craig Biggio20.816.54.3
5Frank Menechino15.815.0
1.2
5Frank Menechino16.214.52.1


Third Base
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Phil Nevin21.116.3
4.5
1Eric Chavez21.713.08.7
2Eric Chavez19.515.2
4.4
2Chipper Jones19.914.84.7
3Scott Rolen20.215.8
4.0
3Corey Koskie20.816.34.6
4Chipper Jones19.515.3
3.8
4Scott Rolen20.415.64.5
5Troy Glaus20.517.3
3.3
5Phil Nevin20.416.93.1


Shortstop
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Alex Rodriguez23.416.8
7.5
1Alex Rodriguez22.817.56.2
2Rich Aurilia21.118.0
3.6
2Miguel Tejada22.518.05.5
3Derek Jeter19.817.8
2.9
3Rich Aurilia21.417.74.2
4Miguel Tejada20.819.8
2.0
4Derek Jeter20.117.43.6
5Cristian Guzman15.214.4
1.6
5Cristian Guzman15.913.72.9


Left Field
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Barry Bonds26.715.5
10.1
1Barry Bonds27.615.512.0
2Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez26.618.8
6.2
2Luis 'Gonzo' Gonzalez26.418.85.7
3Lance Berkman17.713.5
3.1
3Albert Pujols7.64.43.7
4Cliff Floyd21.717.4
2.9
4Gary Sheffield23.018.53.3
5Gary Sheffield22.818.5
2.9
5Lance Berkman17.813.53.2


Center Field
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Jim Edmonds21.016.4
4.2
1Mike Cameron21.814.77.0
2Bernie Williams20.717.4
3.3
2Jim Edmonds22.215.26.6
3Carlos Beltran22.019.0
3.0
3Bernie Williams21.516.55.0
4Andruw Jones22.919.8
2.6
4Andruw Jones23.319.53.3
5Mike Cameron19.317.2
2.1
5Mark Kotsay15.111.63.2


Right Field
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Sammy Sosa26.518.8
6.2
1Ichiro Suzuki24.417.55.8
2Larry Walker19.213.2
4.9
2Sammy Sosa26.219.25.6
3Shawn Green24.218.5
4.1
3Shawn Green24.318.44.4
4Ichiro Suzuki23.018.9
2.9
4Larry Walker18.713.73.7
5J.D. Drew14.611.1
2.5
5Raul Mondesi Sr.23.218.63.5


Starting Pitcher
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson16.811.5
5.6
1Curt Schilling18.410.58.2
2Mike Mussina15.011.0
4.2
2Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson17.810.57.7
3Greg Maddux14.410.6
4.1
3Freddy Antonio Garcia13.98.55.7
4Javier Vazquez14.710.9
4.1
4Greg Maddux15.29.95.6
5Curt Schilling16.212.8
3.7
5Roger Clemens13.98.95.3
6Freddy Antonio Garcia12.89.5
3.5
6Mark Mulder14.79.95.1
7Pedro J. Martinez7.34.1
3.3
7Mike Mussina15.410.65.0
8Mark Mulder13.810.8
3.3
8Jamie Moyer13.38.74.9
9John Burkett12.59.7
3.1
9Matt Morris15.310.94.7
10Matt Morris14.411.8
2.9
10Javier Vazquez14.910.84.4


Relief Pitcher
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Mariano Rivera8.14.7
3.1
1Mariano Rivera8.84.04.4
2Keith Foulke8.04.9
2.9
2Troy Percival7.12.64.2
3Arthur Rhodes4.92.9
1.8
3Bob Wickman6.32.23.9
4Bob Wickman5.23.4
1.6
4Jose Mesa7.43.63.6
5Octavio Dotel4.83.0
1.6
5Arthur Rhodes5.62.23.2
6Felix Rodriguez5.33.5
1.6
6Armando Benitez8.24.83.2
7Jeff Zimmerman5.84.0
1.6
7Robb Nen7.64.23.2
8Kazuhiro Sasaki6.64.9
1.6
8Keith Foulke8.14.83.0
9Byung-Hyun Kim7.35.5
1.5
9Eddie Guardado5.22.13.0
10Troy Percival5.74.0
1.5
10Jeff Shaw7.34.22.8


Designated Hitter
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Edgar Martinez13.19.5
3.1
1Edgar Martinez14.48.25.8
2Manny Ramirez10.27.2
2.7
2Ellis Burks10.47.32.8
3Ellis Burks10.07.6
2.1
3Manny Ramirez10.27.32.6


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
1Mike Hampton1.71.4
1.1
1Mike Hampton1.91.21.4
2Livan Hernandez1.61.7
0.8
2Kevin Jarvis1.31.40.7
3Kevin Jarvis1.31.5
0.6
3Robert Person1.21.50.6


Pinch Hitter
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Craig Wilson (2001)1.60.7
1.0
1David Dellucci1.91.01.0
2David Dellucci1.81.2
0.8
2Charles Johnson1.00.30.7
3Brian L. Hunter1.40.8
0.6
3Craig Paquette1.00.40.7


Pinch Runner
Context-Neutral Context-Dependent
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA Player pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Chris Singleton0.30.0
0.2
1Chris Singleton0.30.00.2
2Tom Goodwin0.30.1
0.2
2Tom Goodwin0.30.10.2
3Damian Rolls0.30.1
0.2
3Damian Rolls0.30.10.2


Noteworthy Players of 2001

Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds's 2001 season was legendary. He batted .328/.515/.863 with 411 total bases, 177 walks, 129 runs scored, and 137 RBI. He stole 13 bases in 16 attempts. He led the major leagues in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (obviously), and walks. And, of course, he set a major-league record with 73 home runs. This was one of the greatest seasons in major-league history. In fact, as measured by pWins over replacement level (pWORL), it was the greatest season since Babe Ruth's prime.

The next table shows the top 10 player seasons, ranked by pWORL, across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

pWins over Replacement Level
Top 10 Players
Player Season pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL
1Babe Ruth192731.414.815.618.1
2Babe Ruth192328.412.814.717.0
3Babe Ruth192129.114.413.615.9
4Barry Bonds200128.315.212.114.4
5Babe Ruth192829.116.011.914.4
6Ted Williams194628.515.211.914.2
7Sandy Koufax196525.014.511.714.1
8Lou Gehrig192725.812.911.813.9
9Lefty Grove193122.811.611.813.9
10Joe DiMaggio193729.217.411.313.9


Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling
Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were the two best pitchers in baseball. They finished 1-2 in NL Cy Young voting. They finished 10th and 11th in NL MVP voting (in the opposite order as they finished in Cy Young voting). And they were voted co-MVPs of the 2001 World Series.

The next table shows the top 10 player seasons, ranked by postseason pWORL, across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records. The list is, of course, biased toward more modern players, who have more playoff rounds over which to accumulate player wins. That said, the number of playoff rounds in which Johnson and Schilling participated have now existed for more than 20 years.

Postseason pWins over Replacement Level
Top 10 Players
Player Season pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL
1Curt Schilling20013.51.52.32.6
2Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson20013.51.72.12.4
3Cliff P. Lee20092.80.92.02.2
4Luis Tiant Jr.19752.81.11.92.1
5Corey Kluber20163.11.51.82.1
6Madison Bumgarner20143.82.31.72.1
7Cole Hamels20082.61.01.72.0
8Cody Ross20103.11.31.71.9
9Stephen Strasburg20192.81.21.71.9
10Tim Lincecum20103.21.71.61.9


Best Players by Position
Outside, perhaps, of Barry Bonds, the set of tables above which best highlighted the "great players playing great" theme were the tables showing the best players by position, particularly the positional leaders in eWins over positional average. The best of these players are highlighted below.
Catcher: Mike Piazza
The top catcher in major-league baseball in 2001, as measured by eWins over positional average (eWOPA), was Hall-of-Famer Mike Piazza.

The next table shows the top 10 players in career eWOPA at catcher across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Top 10 Catchers, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Mike Piazza192.1154.943.8
2Johnny Bench193.0154.241.8
3Carlton Fisk227.2196.141.7
4Yogi Berra189.0158.034.9
5Mickey Cochrane155.4126.234.6
6Gabby Hartnett173.9144.634.3
7Gary Carter219.9190.634.2
8Bill Dickey173.5146.533.0
9Jorge Posada147.5131.226.6
10Ted Simmons192.0171.524.0


First Base: Todd Helton
The top first baseman in major-league baseball in 2001, as measured by eWins over positional average (eWOPA), was Todd Helton. Helton isn't quite as high up the list of first basemen as Piazza is on the catcher list. So, I have to cheat a little bit here.

The next table shows the top 10 players in career eWOPA at first base since MLB integration (i.e., since 1947).

Top 10 First Basemen, career eWOPA
(since 1947)
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Albert Pujols238.3177.944.0
2Jeff Bagwell271.0203.043.7
3Mark McGwire212.4154.243.0
4Willie McCovey244.2186.835.1
5Frank E. Thomas125.188.328.9
6Will Clark225.4177.927.9
7Joey Votto199.3157.327.0
8Todd Helton248.4200.026.0
9Norm Cash211.1166.124.8
10Gil Hodges200.1162.524.8


Second Base: Roberto Alomar
Second base also requires a bit of a cheat. The top second baseman in eWOPA in 2001 was Bret Boone. Boone was legitimately great in 2001 and for a couple of years before and after 2001. But he's not exactly one of the greatest second baseman in major-league history.

But the man who was second in MLB in eWOPA at second base in 2001 is.

Top 10 Second Basemen, career eWOPA
(since 1947)
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Joe L. Morgan357.9294.772.2
2Rogers Hornsby212.2156.455.6
3Charlie Gehringer297.1254.246.4
4Lou Whitaker290.6261.638.8
5Bobby Grich220.7191.837.1
6Ryne Sandberg270.5237.735.1
7Joe Gordon205.7177.930.8
8Bobby Doerr253.3226.830.7
9Chase Utley226.2196.129.5
10Jeff Kent269.7242.929.0


Third Base: Eric Chavez
Third base is a bit of a deviation. The best third baseman in eWOPA was not really an all-time great. But shifting to pWOPA, Eric Chavez's 2001 season was an all-time great season by a third baseman.

The top 10 single-season performances in pWOPA earned purely at third base.

Top 10 Third Base, single-season pWOPA
Player Season pWins pLosses pWOPA
1Eric Chavez200121.713.08.7
2Scott Rolen200423.013.88.5
3Al Rosen195326.717.18.4
4Alex Rodriguez200724.616.08.3
5Joe Torre197126.217.18.2
6George Brett198018.310.18.2
7Alex Rodriguez200525.217.08.1
8Robin Ventura199923.315.37.7
9Adrian Beltre200424.716.37.6
10Chipper Jones199922.615.07.3


This one seems like it may warrant a bit of explanation / justification. Eric Chavez's 2001 season was certainly very good but not exactly "best season in 100 years" good. He batted .288/.338/.540 with 43 doubles, 32 home runs, 91 runs scored, and 114 RBI. He also won a Gold Glove - which Player won-lost records agree he deserved. That's a good season, perhaps even great. But best all-time? In context, yes. But context is doing a lot of work here.

By leverage, Chavez batted .333/.393/.543 in high-leverage situations compared to .265/.309/.537 in low-leverage plate appearances. He batted .333/.402/.552 in late and close situations, .325/.384/.587 in tie games, .320/.366/.584 in one-run games, but .239/.307/.582 when the A's were either leading or trailing by four or more runs. And here's the most remarkable split: in A's wins, Chavez batted .339/.378/.670 with 98 RBI in 94 games. In A's losses, Chavez batted .199/.268/.313 with 16 RBI in 57 games. All of which led to Eric Chavez's performance translating into 1.9 more wins for the Oakland A's than would have been expected if Chavez's performance had been more evenly distributed across all situations.

Shortstop: Alex Rodriguez
At shortstop, we are back to a legitimate all-time great being the best in 2001: Alex Rodriguez. The next table shows the top 10 players in career eWOPA at shortstop across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Top 10 Shortstops, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Cal Ripken306.7278.248.5
2Arky Vaughan231.6192.643.6
3Alex Rodriguez179.5144.443.1
4Barry Larkin281.8252.639.1
5Alan Trammell266.5247.637.9
6Pee Wee Reese271.8241.637.8
7Joe Cronin266.8238.136.0
8Ernie Banks167.2137.335.7
9Derek Jeter347.4330.533.9
10Lou Boudreau215.6188.033.4


The above table only shows player decisions while playing shortstop, so it ignores all but eight innings of A-Rod's 12-year career with the New York Yankees.

Left Field: Barry Bonds
The next table shows the top 10 players in career eWOPA at left field across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Top 10 Left Fielders, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Barry Bonds424.6296.0110.0
2Ted Williams335.6232.083.8
3Rickey Henderson344.8285.745.3
4Babe Ruth151.9103.541.3
5Indian Bob Johnson241.5197.531.6
6Carl Yastrzemski279.9234.428.5
7Charlie Keller139.0104.326.3
8Al Simmons208.0172.024.6
9Willie Stargell178.0141.224.5
10Matt Holliday235.1202.322.5


Center Field: Jim Edmonds
The 2001 MLB leader in eWOPA in center field, Jim Edmonds, is not necessarily thought of by many as an all-time great player. But he was.

The next table shows the top 10 players in career eWOPA at center field across all seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Top 10 Center Fielders, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Willie Mays435.6331.982.6
2Mickey Mantle271.4181.677.7
3Joe DiMaggio258.5195.653.8
4Mike Trout156.5108.746.7
5Ken Griffey Jr.292.1246.842.1
6Duke Snider216.7166.039.7
7Jim Edmonds234.0194.236.9
8Larry Doby191.0152.528.8
9Carlos Beltran217.9187.028.5
10Jimmy Wynn175.2139.527.6


Right Field: Sammy Sosa
I would guess that the 2001 MLB leader in eWOPA in right field, Sammy Sosa, is viewed as more of an all-time great (*) than Edmonds in center field. But, in fact, I have to cheat a little bit in two ways here.

The next table shows the top 11 players in career eWOPA at right field since 1947.

(*) - It probably goes without saying, but I'm taking all of the numbers that were put up in 2001 at face value here. I'll leave the discounting to others.

Top 10 Right Fielders, career eWOPA
(since 1947)
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Hank Aaron344.5260.861.1
2Reggie Jackson280.3226.341.2
3Al Kaline278.9223.936.1
4Frank Robinson193.1144.635.0
5Larry Walker238.7192.932.0
6Dwight Evans272.7233.928.3
7Darryl Strawberry186.5148.427.8
8Vladimir Guerrero Sr.242.1202.526.5
9Bobby Abreu273.2232.826.2
10Roberto Clemente338.5289.923.4
11Dave Winfield263.1226.023.3


Measuring against average may be a bit unfair to Sosa, who was below average for the first 3 - 4 years and final 2 - 3 years of his career. The next table shifts from eWOPA to eWORL (eWins over replacement level) for all right fielders for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records.

Top 10 Right Fielders, career eWORL
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA eWORL
1Mel Ott346.2247.277.3108.8
2Hank Aaron344.5260.861.191.4
3Babe Ruth194.5117.267.583.9
4Reggie Jackson280.3226.341.266.5
5Al Kaline278.9223.936.161.8
6Roberto Clemente338.5289.923.455.0
7Paul Waner337.6293.020.053.6
8Larry Walker238.7192.932.053.2
9Dwight Evans272.7233.928.352.5
10Frank Robinson193.1144.635.052.0
11Bobby Abreu273.2232.826.250.5
12Sammy Sosa279.0239.023.348.7
13Vladimir Guerrero Sr.242.1202.526.548.5
14Dave Winfield263.1226.023.346.8
15Darryl Strawberry186.5148.427.843.4


Starting Pitcher: Randy Johnson
Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson was legitimately one of the greatest starting pitchers of the past 100 years.

Top 10 Starting Pitchers, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Roger Clemens303.5235.971.0
2Greg Maddux302.2239.965.7
3Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson262.9214.651.2
4Pedro J. Martinez175.8127.949.8
5J. Kevin Brown195.2154.742.5
6Mike Mussina216.8178.840.5
7Gaylord Perry297.7259.039.5
8Lefty Grove203.0160.639.4
9Clayton Kershaw139.8104.038.3
10Tom Seaver274.9239.036.8


Relief Pitcher: Mariano Rivera
And, of course, Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera was such a dominant relief pitcher, relative to his peers, that he was the first unanimous Hall-of-Fame electee.

Top 10 Relief Pitchers, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Mariano Rivera112.767.242.8
2Billy Wagner75.154.818.5
3Trevor Hoffman91.271.118.2
4Rich Gossage109.489.417.8
5Rollie Fingers103.685.317.3
6Hoyt Wilhelm107.892.715.9
7Joe Nathan61.144.714.5
8Tom Henke62.347.013.9
9Kent Tekulve81.665.913.8
10Jonathan Papelbon59.043.613.5


Designated Hitter: Edgar Martinez
MLB named its Designated Hitter of the Year award after the man who led MLB in eWOPA by a DH in 2001.

Top 10 Designated Hitters, career eWOPA
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1David Ortiz210.9167.534.9
2Edgar Martinez138.9106.326.2
3Frank E. Thomas126.6101.718.2
4Jim Thome80.961.715.5
5Travis Hafner99.480.414.8
6Edwin Encarnacion71.556.613.0
7Nelson R. Cruz69.255.511.9
8Brian Downing75.261.911.1
9Hal McRae125.2112.78.6
10Chili Davis106.192.48.2


Pitcher Offense: Mike Hampton
Even the best hitting pitcher of 2001, Mike Hampton, was an all-time great hitting pitcher. Although this one also comes with a bit of a caveat. Most of the best-hitting pitchers of all-time played before World War II.

The next table shows the top 10 players in career offensive eWOPA as a pitcher since MLB integration (i.e., since 1947).

Top 10 Pitcher Offense, career eWOPA
(since 1947)
Player eWins eLosses eWOPA
1Bob Lemon18.419.07.2
2Earl Wilson15.315.47.1
3Don Newcombe15.714.97.0
4Bob Gibson22.028.17.0
5Warren Spahn27.336.46.5
6Mike Hampton12.414.65.6
7Early Wynn22.629.75.4
8Don Drysdale18.925.35.3
9Jim Kaat19.227.04.9
10Steve Carlton24.537.44.8


2001 Seattle Mariners: most regular-season wins ever
The 2001 Seattle Mariners won a major-league record 116 regular-season games. The Mariners were mostly a good team from 1995 through 2003. Even so, outside of 2001, the team never won more than 93 games in a season (which it did in 2002 and 2003). Winning 116 games in one season seems like something of a fluke. So how did the Mariners do that?

Basically, they compiled a group of players who were almost all at least pretty good, but mostly not great, and who all had one of the best seasons of their careers. One thing I found in building Player won-lost records is that a team of players who are all a bit above-average will tend to win a lot of games - probably more than you'd think. And this effect is, essentially, multiplicative: surrounding better players with better players magnifies everybody's wins.

The table below shows everybody on the 2001 Mariners who had at least ten player decisions (pWins + pLosses). The first four columns show their Player won-lost record for the 2001 Mariners. Next to their pWORL I show two more numbers: their eWORL in 2001 and their highest career pWORL outside of 2001.

2001 Seattle Mariners
Player pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL eWORL Best non-2001
pWORL
Bret Boone24.116.87.8
10.0
7.3
8.8
Mike Cameron21.814.87.0
9.0
4.1
5.5
Ichiro Suzuki25.018.05.9
8.2
5.4
6.9
Freddy Antonio Garcia14.08.65.8
7.3
6.0
4.4
Edgar Martinez14.58.45.6
7.3
4.9
8.3
Jamie Moyer13.38.84.8
6.3
4.0
6.0
John Olerud18.813.54.2
5.9
2.8
7.1
Mark T. McLemore15.911.74.3
5.7
3.1
3.0
Aaron Sele13.19.63.8
5.3
3.1
4.2
Carlos Guillen14.011.82.9
4.3
2.5
6.8
Paul Abbott10.68.62.3
3.6
1.1
1.5
Kazuhiro Sasaki6.94.62.1
3.3
2.9
3.2
David Bell13.712.11.6
3.0
0.6
3.0
Al Martin10.18.41.2
2.3
0.1
1.2
Stan Javier9.57.91.3
2.2
1.1
3.0
Dan A. Wilson7.67.51.0
1.8
1.2
3.3
John Halama6.66.9-0.2
0.8
0.4
2.2
------------------------------
Total (Players shown)239.7177.961.4
86.3
50.6
78.4


Two somewhat remarkable facts emerge. First, outside of 5th-starter John Halama, everybody else in the above table was above average. Second, if (virtually) everybody (of significance) on the 2001 Seattle Mariners had matched their best non-2001 season, the Mariners would have accumulated 8 fewer pWORL, i.e., they would have won 8 fewer games than they actually did.

Rookies-of-the-Year
Since Major-League Baseball began awarding separate Rookie-of-the-Year awards for the two leagues in 1949, there have been three seasons for which the two winners of the Rookie-of-the-Year award went on to have Hall-of-Fame careers: 1956, 1967, and 1977.

It seems all but certain that 2001 will be the fourth such year. The next table shows the career records for the two 2001 Rookies-of-the-Year.

Albert Pujols Ichiro Suzuki
Season Games pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL Games pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL
2001
16123.617.74.6
6.8
15725.018.05.98.2
2002
15723.617.74.7
6.8
15721.320.10.02.2
2003
15723.214.87.1
9.0
15924.618.84.86.9
2004
15421.913.47.2
9.0
16122.021.10.22.4
2005
16120.714.45.0
6.5
16221.121.4-1.10.7
2006
14323.212.69.2
10.9
16121.821.00.32.3
2007
15820.214.34.6
6.2
16122.219.13.25.0
2008
14819.212.55.5
6.9
16221.922.6-1.20.8
2009
16025.214.88.5
10.3
14622.118.62.84.6
2010
15922.314.76.0
7.7
16220.721.7-2.0-0.1
2011
14719.713.35.0
6.6
16119.123.2-5.4-3.4
2012
15418.214.92.6
4.4
16217.319.9-3.1-1.3
2013
999.79.5-0.0
1.2
15016.315.9-0.31.3
2014
15917.814.42.6
4.2
14310.811.0-0.50.5
2015
15717.815.31.4
3.2
15310.713.0-2.9-1.8
2016
15216.414.31.4
3.4
1429.410.6-1.3-0.4
2017
14913.214.0-0.6
1.3
1365.25.20.10.7
2018
11711.811.8-0.6
0.8
150.81.1-0.4-0.3
2019
13112.212.9-1.1
0.3
20.10.1-0.0-0.0
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS2,823359.9267.372.9
105.3
2,652312.4302.4-1.128.5


Farewell to Icons of Two Cities
Finally, 2001 was the final season for two players who spent their entire careers in one city - one on each coast - and amassed 3,000 hits, the adoration of millions, and easy election into the Hall of Fame on their first ballot in 2007.

Cal Ripken Tony Gwynn
Season Games pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL Games pWins pLosses pWOPA pWORL
1981
230.60.9-0.2
-0.2
1982
16021.618.04.3
6.1
545.76.4-1.0-0.4
1983
16224.819.46.5
8.4
8611.09.70.81.7
1984
16225.919.48.4
10.5
15825.418.15.67.6
1985
16123.120.44.3
6.4
15422.019.81.13.1
1986
16222.020.03.7
5.6
16022.220.00.72.7
1987
16219.321.4-0.6
1.2
15721.119.10.62.4
1988
16119.919.71.2
3.1
13318.915.42.34.0
1989
16222.419.64.3
6.2
15821.018.91.53.3
1990
16120.418.43.3
5.0
14118.119.7-2.8-1.2
1991
16223.220.24.1
6.1
13418.615.42.03.5
1992
16219.718.72.4
4.2
12816.614.11.83.2
1993
16220.419.42.2
4.2
12216.615.50.31.9
1994
11214.912.83.1
4.5
11014.914.6-0.70.8
1995
14417.618.30.7
2.4
13519.316.71.23.0
1996
16320.619.42.3
4.2
11614.113.4-0.40.9
1997
16219.417.12.3
4.0
14919.817.11.23.0
1998
16116.417.5-1.1
0.6
12714.112.10.92.2
1999
8610.09.30.7
1.6
11113.113.0-1.20.1
2000
838.77.71.2
2.0
363.74.2-0.7-0.3
2001
12811.514.0-2.5
-1.1
713.23.2-0.00.3
------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
CAREER RECORDS3,001382.3351.650.5
85.1
2,440319.4286.113.141.8


Article last updated: October 25, 2019

Wins over positional average and replacement level are calculated using data only for the 2001 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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