Al Rosen

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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Al Rosen

Al Rosen as Seen Through Player Won-Lost Records

In honor of Leap Day (February 29, 2020), I have updated an article I wrote several years ago about the best player in MLB history who was born on February 29th: Al Rosen. A very nice biography of Al Rosen, including his considerable post-playing as an MLB executive, can be found here.

The first two tables below present Al Rosen's career as measured by Player won-lost records, in and out of context.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWORL	pWOPA

Basic Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1947	CLE	23	7	0.2	0.2	0.0	-0.0
1948	CLE	24	5	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1
1949	CLE	25	23	1.2	1.6	-0.3	-0.5
1950	CLE	26	155	22.7	15.7	8.3	6.3
1951	CLE	27	154	21.8	16.2	6.7	4.8
1952	CLE	28	148	22.9	15.8	8.5	6.5
1953	CLE	29	155	26.7	17.2	11.0	8.6
1954	CLE	30	137	19.5	13.0	7.6	5.8
1955	CLE	31	139	16.3	13.5	3.5	2.0
1956	CLE	32	121	13.9	13.0	1.8	0.4
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			1,044	145.1	106.4	47.0	33.9
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			4	0.2	0.5	-0.3	-0.4
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			1,048	145.3	106.9	46.7	33.5

Season	Team	Age	Games	eWins	eLosses	eWORL	eWOPA

Expected Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1947	CLE	23	7	0.2	0.2	-0.0	-0.0
1948	CLE	24	5	0.0	0.1	-0.0	-0.1
1949	CLE	25	23	1.2	1.6	-0.3	-0.5
1950	CLE	26	155	21.9	16.4	6.7	4.7
1951	CLE	27	154	20.9	17.0	5.0	3.0
1952	CLE	28	148	22.0	16.7	6.7	4.7
1953	CLE	29	155	26.4	17.5	10.4	8.0
1954	CLE	30	137	18.4	14.2	5.2	3.5
1955	CLE	31	139	15.1	14.7	1.6	0.1
1956	CLE	32	121	13.7	13.3	1.3	-0.1
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			1,044	139.8	111.7	36.5	23.3
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			4	0.3	0.4	-0.1	-0.2
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			1,048	140.1	112.1	36.4	23.1

From 1950 through 1954, Al Rosen was one of the best players in major-league baseball. Over those five seasons, Rosen played in 749 games (one game shy of exactly 150 per season) and batted .298/.396/.528 with per-season averages of 31 home runs, 114 RBI, and 95 runs scored. He won the American League MVP award in 1953, when he fell one hit short of winning a Triple Crown.

The next table shows the top 10 players in pWins over positional average and replacement level over this five-year stretch.

		pWins over Positional Average Top 10 Players, 1950 - 1954						pWins over Replacement Level Top 10 Players, 1950 - 1954
	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Larry Doby	111.3	74.7	32.6	42.4	1	Robin Roberts	105.8	80.5	31.0	42.5
2	Al Rosen	113.5	77.8	32.0	42.1	2	Larry Doby	111.3	74.7	32.6	42.4
3	Jackie Robinson	104.6	72.6	31.1	40.4	3	Al Rosen	113.5	77.8	32.0	42.1
4	Robin Roberts	105.8	80.5	31.0	42.5	4	Jackie Robinson	104.6	72.6	31.1	40.4
5	Yogi Berra	88.8	60.2	30.0	37.8	5	Pee Wee Reese	103.2	77.6	28.4	38.0
6	Pee Wee Reese	103.2	77.6	28.4	38.0	6	Yogi Berra	88.8	60.2	30.0	37.8
7	Duke Snider	108.3	75.8	28.1	37.8	7	Duke Snider	108.3	75.8	28.1	37.8
8	Gil Hodges	97.0	65.2	26.1	34.6	8	E. Mike Garcia	87.5	66.1	25.1	34.8
9	Mickey Mantle	80.2	51.5	25.9	32.9	9	Stan Musial	116.7	86.5	24.1	34.8
10	E. Mike Garcia	87.5	66.1	25.1	34.8	10	Gil Hodges	97.0	65.2	26.1	34.6

These five seasons were Al Rosen's age-26 through age-30 season. The next table shows the top 25 players in pWins over positional average and replacement level from age 26 through age 30, for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records (most games since 1916).

		pWins over Positional Average Top 25 Players, ages 26 - 30						pWins over Replacement Level Top 25 Players, ages 26 - 30
	Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Babe Ruth	132.8	73.2	54.9	65.4	1	Babe Ruth	132.8	73.2	54.9	65.4
2	Al Simmons	122.5	75.4	41.4	51.7	2	Al Simmons	122.5	75.4	41.4	51.7
3	Mickey Mantle	112.9	69.6	39.0	48.2	3	Mel Ott	123.2	79.6	38.8	49.4
4	Sandy Koufax	97.9	64.3	38.9	48.9	4	Sandy Koufax	97.9	64.3	38.9	48.9
5	Mel Ott	123.2	79.6	38.8	49.4	5	Mickey Mantle	112.9	69.6	39.0	48.2
6	Ted Williams	109.0	65.1	38.7	47.6	6	Ted Williams	109.0	65.1	38.7	47.6
7	Barry Bonds	118.2	75.3	38.2	47.5	7	Barry Bonds	118.2	75.3	38.2	47.5
8	Lou Gehrig	111.4	68.0	35.7	45.0	8	Duke Snider	112.8	72.6	35.4	45.1
9	Pedro J. Martinez	70.4	35.9	35.7	43.1	9	Lou Gehrig	111.4	68.0	35.7	45.0
10	Duke Snider	112.8	72.6	35.4	45.1	10	Lefty Grove	94.9	64.1	34.2	44.3
11	Greg Maddux	82.4	53.0	34.5	42.9	11	Joe L. Morgan	118.4	86.7	33.8	43.8
12	Lefty Grove	94.9	64.1	34.2	44.3	12	Willie Mays	127.1	89.4	32.4	43.4
13	Albert Pujols	110.1	68.9	33.9	42.3	13	Pedro J. Martinez	70.4	35.9	35.7	43.1
14	Joe L. Morgan	118.4	86.7	33.8	43.8	14	Greg Maddux	82.4	53.0	34.5	42.9
15	Larry Doby	111.3	74.7	32.6	42.4	15	Larry Doby	111.3	74.7	32.6	42.4
16	Willie Mays	127.1	89.4	32.4	43.4	16	Albert Pujols	110.1	68.9	33.9	42.3
17	Al Rosen	113.5	77.8	32.0	42.1	17	Al Rosen	113.5	77.8	32.0	42.1
18	Hack Wilson	123.0	88.2	30.9	41.8	18	Hack Wilson	123.0	88.2	30.9	41.8
19	Juan Marichal	95.6	70.9	30.2	40.2	19	Juan Marichal	95.6	70.9	30.2	40.2
20	Stan Musial	117.5	81.6	29.8	40.1	20	Stan Musial	117.5	81.6	29.8	40.1
21	Yogi Berra	89.1	61.3	29.3	37.2	21	Frank Robinson	123.0	86.4	28.7	39.0
22	Chipper Jones	112.0	80.3	28.9	38.5	22	Chipper Jones	112.0	80.3	28.9	38.5
23	Mike Schmidt	113.5	81.7	28.8	38.3	23	Carl Yastrzemski	124.4	88.9	27.8	38.4
24	Frank Robinson	123.0	86.4	28.7	39.0	24	Mike Schmidt	113.5	81.7	28.8	38.3
25	Rogers Hornsby	106.3	77.8	28.4	37.7	25	Rogers Hornsby	106.3	77.8	28.4	37.7

Finally, Al Rosen has one other claim to fame as a baseball player. He is the best player in major-league history who was born on February 29th. The final table shows all of the players in major-league history who were born on February 29th for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records, ranked by pWins over replacement level (pWORL).

Player	Birth Year	Debut Year	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Major League Baseball Players Born on February 29th (sorted by pWORL)
Al Rosen	1924	1947	1044	145.1	106.4	33.9	47.0	139.8	111.7	23.3	36.5
Pepper Martin	1904	1928	1189	141.8	121.9	15.4	29.1	140.2	123.5	12.4	26.2
Terrence Long	1976	1999	885	95.3	94.5	-1.9	7.5	92.9	97.0	-6.7	2.7
Steve Mingori	1944	1970	386	24.9	26.3	-1.9	2.7	26.6	24.6	1.2	5.7
Bill Long	1960	1985	159	25.7	27.6	-1.8	2.1	25.9	27.5	-1.5	2.4
Stefan Crichton	1992	2017	36	1.1	0.7	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.2	0.4
Al Autry	1952	1976	1	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.5	-0.3	-0.2
Gerardo Concepcion	1992	2016	3	0.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	0.1	0.1	-0.0	0.0
Jerry Fry	1956	1978	4	0.1	0.3	-0.2	-0.2	0.1	0.3	-0.2	-0.2
Ed Appleton	1892	1915	12	1.8	2.6	-0.7	-0.3	2.0	2.4	-0.3	0.0
Paul Giel	1932	1954	105	9.9	13.3	-3.0	-1.2	10.3	13.0	-2.5	-0.6
Ralph J. Miller	1896	1920	134	14.1	22.1	-7.7	-5.9	15.7	20.4	-4.4	-2.5
Roy Parker	1896	1919	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Rosen has more career pWORL, 47.0, than everybody else in this table put together, 34.5.

Article last updated: February 29, 2020

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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