Robin Yount

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Robin Yount

Hall-of-Famers as Seen Through Player Won-Lost Records: Robin Yount

Robin Yount was elected to the Hall of Fame in his 1st year of eligibility, 1999, with 77.5% of the vote.

Five highlights of Robin Yount's career:

Robin won MVP awards in 1982, as a shortstop, and 1989, as a center fielder. He is one of four players to win MVP awards while playing two different positions (Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, and Alex Rodriguez are the others) and the only player to win MVP awards at two up-the-middle defensive positions.

Yount finished his major-league career with 3,142 hits (20th all-time), 2,182 singles (23rd all-time) 583 doubles (21st), 4,730 total bases (36th), 4,156 times on base (37th), 1,632 runs scored (40th), and 1,406 RBI (77th).

Yount had the most hits in the 1980s with 1,731. He also had the most doubles in the decade with 337 and was second for the decade in triples (83) and runs scored (957).

Robin Yount’s older brother, Larry Yount, had one of the more unusual major-league careers in baseball history. Larry Yount was listed in the starting lineup as the starting pitcher for the Houston Astros on September 15, 1971. He was injured warming up before the game, so he never appeared in the game. But, because he was in the lineup, Yount is officially credited with having appeared in this major-league game. Larry Yount never appeared in another game, making his final career record 1 game “played” with no plate appearances and no innings played in the field.

Robin Yount is the only player in major-league history with more than one four-hit World Series game. Yount did it twice in the 1982 World Series, the only World Series in which he appeared. Overall, in the 7-game Series, Yount batted .414/.452/.621 with 6 runs scored and 6 RBI.

The first two tables below present Robin Yount'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
1974	MIL	18	107	10.5	13.4	-0.7	-1.9
1975	MIL	19	147	16.0	20.0	-0.7	-2.5
1976	MIL	20	161	18.8	22.6	-0.0	-2.0
1977	MIL	21	154	17.5	20.9	0.4	-1.5
1978	MIL	22	127	18.3	16.4	4.7	3.0
1979	MIL	23	149	18.5	17.7	4.0	2.2
1980	MIL	24	143	21.6	18.1	6.8	4.9
1981	MIL	25	96	14.6	10.7	6.0	4.7
1982	MIL	26	156	24.9	17.9	10.3	8.3
1983	MIL	27	149	21.2	16.5	7.6	5.8
1984	MIL	28	160	20.0	19.4	3.6	1.6
1985	MIL	29	122	15.6	15.4	1.2	-0.4
1986	MIL	30	140	16.9	15.9	2.2	0.6
1987	MIL	31	158	20.9	17.9	4.4	2.6
1988	MIL	32	162	24.2	19.5	6.3	4.2
1989	MIL	33	160	22.2	18.3	5.6	3.7
1990	MIL	34	158	18.7	18.7	1.3	-0.5
1991	MIL	35	130	16.0	14.8	2.5	1.0
1992	MIL	36	150	18.2	17.0	2.6	0.9
1993	MIL	37	127	12.1	14.7	-1.5	-2.8
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,856	366.7	345.7	66.5	31.9
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			17	2.5	3.1	-0.2	-0.5
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			2,873	369.2	348.9	66.3	31.5

Season	Team	Age	Games	eWins	eLosses	eWORL	eWOPA

Expected Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
1974	MIL	18	107	11.6	12.3	1.3	0.1
1975	MIL	19	147	17.0	19.0	1.2	-0.6
1976	MIL	20	161	19.1	22.3	0.6	-1.4
1977	MIL	21	154	18.7	19.7	2.7	0.8
1978	MIL	22	127	17.6	17.0	3.4	1.7
1979	MIL	23	149	17.4	18.9	1.8	0.0
1980	MIL	24	143	21.8	17.9	7.3	5.4
1981	MIL	25	96	13.7	11.6	4.4	3.1
1982	MIL	26	156	24.3	18.5	9.2	7.1
1983	MIL	27	149	20.9	16.8	6.9	5.1
1984	MIL	28	160	20.8	18.6	5.1	3.1
1985	MIL	29	122	16.1	14.9	2.2	0.7
1986	MIL	30	140	17.3	15.5	3.1	1.5
1987	MIL	31	158	20.4	18.4	3.4	1.6
1988	MIL	32	162	23.8	19.9	5.7	3.6
1989	MIL	33	160	22.5	18.0	6.2	4.3
1990	MIL	34	158	19.1	18.3	2.3	0.5
1991	MIL	35	130	15.2	15.6	0.9	-0.6
1992	MIL	36	150	17.6	17.6	1.4	-0.3
1993	MIL	37	127	13.1	13.6	0.6	-0.7
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,856	368.2	344.3	69.5	34.9
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			17	2.8	2.7	0.6	0.3
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			2,873	371.0	347.1	70.0	35.2

As noted above, Robin Yount is the only player to win MVP awards at two different up-the-middle fielding positions.

The next table shows the top 20 players in shortstop wins over positional average among all players for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records. Records here only include player decisions earned at shortstop.

Top 10 Shortstops
		eWins	eLosses	eWOPA
1	Cal Ripken	306.7	278.2	47.3
2	Arky Vaughan	231.6	192.6	44.3
3	Alex Rodriguez	179.5	144.4	43.1
4	Barry Larkin	281.8	252.6	38.8
5	Pee Wee Reese	271.8	241.6	38.2
6	Alan Trammell	266.5	247.6	36.5
7	Joe Cronin	266.8	238.1	36.2
8	Ernie Banks	167.2	137.3	35.2
9	Derek Jeter	347.4	330.5	34.5
10	Lou Boudreau	215.6	188.0	33.6
11	Vern Stephens	202.3	174.3	33.1
12	Luke Appling	308.2	286.7	29.4
13	Ozzie Smith	326.2	316.2	24.8
14	Dave Bancroft	244.1	229.2	23.5
15	Hanley Ramirez	147.8	128.3	23.1
16	Nomar Garciaparra	147.3	131.5	23.1
17	Troy Tulowitzki	170.6	152.2	23.0
18	Joe Sewell	177.9	162.2	22.3
19	Jim Fregosi	187.5	173.5	22.3
20	Robin Yount	195.8	188.4	21.5

Yount spent somewhat less time in center field - and played there mostly after he was past his prime. But he still rates among the finest centerfielders in recent history. The next table shows the top 25 players in centerfielder wins over positional average from 1969 (the first season of divisional play) through 1998 (the last major-league season before Yount was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Top 25 Centerfielders (1969 - 1998)
		eWins	eLosses	eWOPA
1	Ken Griffey Jr.	181.3	147.0	32.5
2	Cesar Cedeno	211.0	177.8	24.1
3	Fred Lynn	208.3	181.1	23.4
4	Amos Otis	241.3	211.6	22.8
5	Dale Murphy	147.9	122.3	20.1
6	Andre Dawson	150.9	126.4	18.7
7	Eric Davis	114.5	92.2	18.5
8	Jimmy Wynn	87.6	67.8	16.0
9	Ray Lankford	151.5	131.2	15.6
10	Andy Van Slyke	145.9	125.5	15.2
11	Lenny Dykstra	150.5	131.9	13.1
12	Bobby Murcer	107.1	91.0	11.6
13	Rick Monday	143.6	125.4	11.5
14	Dwayne Murphy	149.2	135.8	10.7
15	Kenny Lofton	126.8	114.7	10.4
16	Kirby Puckett	191.7	178.1	10.2
17	Bernie Williams	118.3	107.1	10.2
18	Gorman Thomas	115.2	103.2	10.0
19	Rickey Henderson	60.9	49.8	9.9
20	Dave Henderson	134.6	122.5	9.8
21	Robin Yount	148.1	135.9	9.8
22	Chet Lemon	175.9	163.4	9.1
23	Jim Edmonds	67.1	58.2	8.5
24	Reggie Smith	67.7	56.2	8.5
25	Willie Mays	54.7	44.7	7.4

Robin Yount's 1982 season was extraordinary. He batted .331/.379/.578, leading the American League in slugging percentage, OPS (.957), and OPS+ (166). He also led the AL in total bases (367), hits (210), and doubles (46). He added 29 home runs, 14 stolen bases (against only 3 CS), scored 129 runs and drove in 114. He did all of this while also playing an above-average defensive shortstop. Yount's Brewers came into the last game of the 1982 regular season tied for first place in the American League East with the Baltimore Orioles (of whom I was a 14-year-old fan at the time). The Brewers and Orioles matched up in a winner-take-all Game 162 in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. All Robin Yount did in that game was hit solo home runs in the first and third innings, triple and score in the 8th inning, and cap his day off with a fourth run scored in the ninth inning at the Brewers routed the Orioles 10-2 to win the AL East.

Robin Yount's 1982 season rates as one of the top 30 seasons by a position player since 1969 in pWins over either positional average or replacement level.

			pWins over Positional Average Top 30 Seasons (since 1969)							pWins over Replacement Level Top 30 Seasons (since 1969)
	Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL		Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Barry Bonds	2001	28.3	15.2	12.3	14.5	1	Barry Bonds	2001	28.3	15.2	12.3	14.5
2	Barry Bonds	2004	23.7	11.4	11.5	13.3	2	Barry Bonds	2004	23.7	11.4	11.5	13.3
3	Barry Bonds	2002	24.5	12.6	11.1	13.0	3	Barry Bonds	1993	27.5	15.4	11.1	13.2
4	Barry Bonds	1993	27.5	15.4	11.1	13.2	4	Barry Bonds	2002	24.5	12.6	11.1	13.0
5	Joe L. Morgan	1972	25.7	16.1	10.0	12.1	5	Joe L. Morgan	1972	25.7	16.1	10.0	12.1
6	Jim Edmonds	2004	24.1	13.8	9.9	11.8	6	Joe L. Morgan	1973	26.8	17.2	9.8	12.0
7	Joe L. Morgan	1973	26.8	17.2	9.8	12.0	7	Jim Edmonds	2004	24.1	13.8	9.9	11.8
8	Dick Allen	1972	23.3	12.1	9.7	11.5	8	Dick Allen	1972	23.3	12.1	9.7	11.5
9	Alex Rodriguez	2000	23.5	15.1	9.3	11.2	9	Darryl Strawberry	1988	26.7	16.2	9.2	11.3
10	Albert Pujols	2006	23.2	12.6	9.2	10.9	10	Derek Jeter	1999	26.1	18.1	9.1	11.2
11	Darryl Strawberry	1988	26.7	16.2	9.2	11.3	11	Alex Rodriguez	2000	23.5	15.1	9.3	11.2
12	Joe L. Morgan	1976	23.2	14.4	9.1	11.0	12	Jim Rice	1978	26.5	16.9	8.8	11.1
13	Derek Jeter	1999	26.1	18.1	9.1	11.2	13	Joe L. Morgan	1975	24.3	15.4	9.1	11.0
14	Joe L. Morgan	1975	24.3	15.4	9.1	11.0	14	Joe L. Morgan	1976	23.2	14.4	9.1	11.0
15	Barry Bonds	2003	21.2	11.4	9.0	10.6	15	Albert Pujols	2006	23.2	12.6	9.2	10.9
16	Alex Rodriguez	2007	25.3	16.3	8.9	10.8	16	Kevin Mitchell	1989	27.1	17.1	8.7	10.8
17	Jim Rice	1978	26.5	16.9	8.8	11.1	17	Alex Rodriguez	2007	25.3	16.3	8.9	10.8
18	Rickey Henderson	1990	23.9	14.5	8.8	10.6	18	Miguel Tejada	2002	26.5	19.0	8.5	10.8
19	Kevin Mitchell	1989	27.1	17.1	8.7	10.8	19	Rickey Henderson	1990	23.9	14.5	8.8	10.6
20	Albert Pujols	2009	25.2	14.8	8.7	10.6	20	Albert Pujols	2009	25.2	14.8	8.7	10.6
21	Scott Rolen	2004	23.0	13.8	8.7	10.5	21	Barry Bonds	2003	21.2	11.4	9.0	10.6
22	Miguel Tejada	2002	26.5	19.0	8.5	10.8	22	Scott Rolen	2004	23.0	13.8	8.7	10.5
23	Eric Chavez	2001	21.7	13.3	8.4	10.2	23	Joe Torre	1971	26.2	17.1	8.3	10.5
24	Joe Torre	1971	26.2	17.1	8.3	10.5	24	Harmon Killebrew	1969	24.6	15.2	8.3	10.3
25	Willie McCovey	1969	22.2	12.3	8.3	10.1	25	Manny Ramirez	2008	24.4	15.2	8.3	10.3
26	Manny Ramirez	2008	24.4	15.2	8.3	10.3	26	Jose Canseco	1988	25.7	16.6	8.2	10.3
27	Harmon Killebrew	1969	24.6	15.2	8.3	10.3	27	Robin Yount	1982	24.9	17.9	8.3	10.3
28	Carlos Beltran	2006	23.3	14.6	8.3	10.1	28	Mike Trout	2014	24.4	15.7	8.3	10.2
29	Mike Trout	2014	24.4	15.7	8.3	10.2	29	Eric Chavez	2001	21.7	13.3	8.4	10.2
30	Robin Yount	1982	24.9	17.9	8.3	10.3	30	Alex Rodriguez	2005	25.5	17.2	8.2	10.2

Article last updated: April 28, 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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