The 1980s

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
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The 1980s

The 1980s as seen through the Prism of Player Won-Lost Records

My series of articles on the seasons for which I have calculated Player won-lost records has made it back to 1980. With that, I have now completed articles on all of the seasons of the 1980s (all of which can be found here). This article, then, takes a look at the decade of the 1980s as measured by Player won-lost records.

The Best of The 1980s

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	Rickey Henderson	213.0	165.9	39.9	57.8	1	Rickey Henderson	213.0	165.9	39.9	57.8
2	Alan Trammell	184.2	159.0	37.7	53.8	2	Robin Yount	202.1	169.6	36.6	54.3
3	Robin Yount	202.1	169.6	36.6	54.3	3	Alan Trammell	184.2	159.0	37.7	53.8
4	Mike Schmidt	187.9	145.9	35.7	51.3	4	Mike Schmidt	187.9	145.9	35.7	51.3
5	Darryl Strawberry	147.2	105.4	34.5	46.3	5	Dwight Evans	201.2	162.0	32.2	49.5
6	Lou Whitaker	183.6	157.7	32.4	48.3	6	Ozzie Smith	198.6	176.9	31.4	49.0
7	Dwight Evans	201.2	162.0	32.2	49.5	7	Lou Whitaker	183.6	157.7	32.4	48.3
8	Cal Ripken	179.5	158.8	31.8	47.4	8	Cal Ripken	179.5	158.8	31.8	47.4
9	Ozzie Smith	198.6	176.9	31.4	49.0	9	Darryl Strawberry	147.2	105.4	34.5	46.3
10	George Brett	162.4	128.5	29.6	43.5	10	George Brett	162.4	128.5	29.6	43.5

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	Mike Schmidt	191.0	142.7	42.6	58.2	1	Rickey Henderson	213.7	165.3	41.5	59.3
2	Rickey Henderson	213.7	165.3	41.5	59.3	2	Mike Schmidt	191.0	142.7	42.6	58.2
3	Robin Yount	201.7	170.0	36.2	53.8	3	Robin Yount	201.7	170.0	36.2	53.8
4	Cal Ripken	180.2	158.1	33.3	48.9	4	Dale Murphy	221.1	179.7	32.1	50.8
5	Alan Trammell	181.8	161.4	33.0	49.1	5	Alan Trammell	181.8	161.4	33.0	49.1
6	Dale Murphy	221.1	179.7	32.1	50.8	6	Cal Ripken	180.2	158.1	33.3	48.9
7	Wade Boggs	154.9	123.2	30.6	43.5	7	Dwight Evans	198.7	164.5	27.4	44.7
8	Dwight Evans	198.7	164.5	27.4	44.7	8	Wade Boggs	154.9	123.2	30.6	43.5
9	George Brett	160.6	130.3	26.6	40.4	9	Lou Whitaker	180.1	161.1	26.0	41.9
10	Gary Carter	149.3	127.3	26.3	39.2	10	Ozzie Smith	194.6	181.0	23.4	41.0

Postseason

Player	pWins	pLosses	pWORL
	1980s Postseason: Total

Dave Henderson	4.7	2.4	2.6
Kirk Gibson	4.1	2.2	2.1
Fernando Valenzuela	4.5	3.3	2.0
Rickey Henderson	3.0	1.4	1.8
Mike Moore	1.9	0.5	1.6
Gary Carter	4.1	3.0	1.6
Steve Garvey	3.6	2.2	1.5
Mike Scott	1.9	0.7	1.4
Lenny Dykstra	2.9	1.6	1.4
Orel Hershiser	3.2	2.4	1.3

Top postseason players by round were as follows.

Player	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1980s World Series

Kirk Gibson	2.0	0.4	1.5
Mike Moore	1.4	0.3	1.0
Willie Aikens	1.2	0.3	0.9
Pedro Guerrero	1.4	0.5	0.9
Alan Trammell	1.3	0.4	0.8
Dave Henderson	2.4	1.6	0.8
Orel Hershiser	1.3	0.5	0.8
Bruce Hurst	1.7	0.9	0.8
Rickey Henderson	1.0	0.2	0.7
Jack Morris	1.3	0.6	0.7

Player	pWins	pLosses	Net Wins
	1980s Postseason: League Championship Series

Will Clark	2.7	1.0	1.7
Dave Henderson	2.3	0.8	1.5
Dave Stewart	2.3	1.1	1.2
Mike Scott	1.9	0.7	1.2
Lenny Dykstra	1.9	0.9	1.1
Gary Matthews Sr.	2.0	1.0	1.0
Ozzie Smith	2.7	1.7	0.9
Steve Garvey	1.8	0.9	0.9
Darryl Strawberry	2.5	1.7	0.8
Dennis Eckersley	1.6	0.8	0.8

Best of The 1980s by Factor and Position

Next, let's look at the top players in (context-neutral, teammate-adjusted) eWins over Positional Average 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 1980s in eWOPA by factor were as follows.


Batting
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	138.0	93.5	40.8	1	Mike Schmidt	136.9	94.6	38.7
2	Dwight Evans	136.9	105.3	31.6	2	Dwight Evans	139.5	102.7	36.9
3	Jack Clark	115.8	82.1	31.0	3	Eddie Murray	147.7	110.8	36.4
4	Eddie Murray	144.8	113.7	30.7	4	Jack Clark	116.8	81.2	32.9
5	Dale Murphy	144.6	109.9	30.5	5	Pedro Guerrero	114.9	80.8	31.0
6	Pedro Guerrero	113.9	81.8	29.0	6	Darryl Strawberry	97.3	64.6	30.3
7	George Brett	118.7	91.4	27.3	7	George Brett	120.0	90.1	29.9
8	Rickey Henderson	122.9	96.3	26.6	8	Dale Murphy	144.0	110.6	29.2
9	Darryl Strawberry	95.1	66.8	25.7	9	Rickey Henderson	123.6	95.6	28.0
10	Wade Boggs	109.1	84.4	24.7	10	Kirk Gibson	98.6	72.4	25.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Baserunning
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLoss	pWOPA
1	Rickey Henderson	31.7	19.7	12.0	1	Rickey Henderson	31.5	19.8	11.8
2	Tim Raines Sr.	24.1	13.5	10.1	2	Willie Wilson	21.0	10.8	10.2
3	Willie Wilson	20.6	11.1	9.5	3	Tim Raines Sr.	23.3	14.2	8.6
4	Vince Coleman	18.0	10.3	7.3	4	Mookie Wilson	16.6	10.5	5.7
5	Mookie Wilson	16.5	10.6	5.4	5	Vince Coleman	17.2	11.1	5.7
6	Robin Yount	13.9	9.3	4.7	6	Paul Molitor	16.0	11.1	4.9
7	Paul Molitor	15.9	11.2	4.6	7	Robin Yount	13.9	9.3	4.6
8	Gary Redus	11.6	7.4	4.0	8	Eric Davis	8.5	4.1	4.2
9	Eric Davis	8.3	4.3	3.9	9	Lou Whitaker	14.6	10.6	4.0
10	Alan Wiggins	11.8	7.9	3.8	10	Kirk Gibson	11.2	7.5	3.7

Positional Average excludes pitcher offense


Pitching
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLoss	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLoss	Net pWins
1	Roger Clemens	76.9	57.9	18.9	1	Dan Quisenberry	65.3	39.6	25.7
2	Bret Saberhagen	75.8	60.0	15.8	2	Dwight Gooden	80.2	55.2	25.0
3	Dave Stieb	132.2	116.7	15.5	3	Roger Clemens	79.7	55.1	24.6
4	Orel Hershiser	80.9	65.9	14.9	4	Dave Righetti	79.4	58.4	21.0
5	Dan Quisenberry	59.6	45.3	14.3	5	Rich Gossage	62.2	41.3	20.9
6	Dwight Gooden	74.7	60.7	14.0	6	Bret Saberhagen	77.7	58.2	19.5
7	Rich Gossage	57.5	46.0	11.6	7	Teddy Higuera	68.5	49.1	19.4
8	Dave Righetti	74.7	63.1	11.5	8	Bob Welch	121.4	102.0	19.3
9	Nolan Ryan	125.5	113.9	11.5	9	Dave Stieb	134.0	114.9	19.1
10	Teddy Higuera	64.5	53.0	11.5	10	Orel Hershiser	82.3	64.5	17.9

Fielding by Position


Fielding, P
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Dave Stieb	3.8	2.6	1.2	1	Dan Quisenberry	3.2	1.5	1.7
2	Jimmy Key	2.1	1.1	1.0	2	Bert Blyleven	2.9	1.8	1.1
3	Fernando Valenzuela	4.9	3.9	1.0	3	Fernando Valenzuela	5.0	3.8	1.1
4	Zane Smith	2.3	1.4	0.9	4	Dave Stieb	3.7	2.6	1.1
5	Larry Gura	1.9	1.1	0.9	5	Larry Gura	1.9	1.1	0.9
6	Charlie Leibrandt	3.5	2.7	0.8	6	Joaquin Andujar	2.7	1.8	0.9
7	Dan Petry	2.5	1.8	0.8	7	Jimmy Key	2.0	1.2	0.8
8	Bud Black	2.2	1.4	0.8	8	Dwight Gooden	2.7	1.9	0.8
9	Joaquin Andujar	2.6	1.9	0.7	9	Rick Rhoden	2.7	1.9	0.8
10	John Candelaria	1.9	1.2	0.7	10	Charlie Hough	2.7	1.9	0.8


Fielding, C
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Gary Carter	21.9	18.5	3.4	1	Gary Carter	22.2	18.1	4.1
2	Tony Pena Sr.	20.3	17.3	3.0	2	Tony Pena Sr.	20.5	17.2	3.2
3	Bob Boone	17.6	15.3	2.3	3	Bob Boone	18.0	15.0	3.0
4	Lance Parrish	16.8	15.3	1.6	4	Mike Scioscia	17.1	14.9	2.3
5	Terry Kennedy	18.2	16.6	1.5	5	Lance Parrish	17.1	15.0	2.1
6	Jim Sundberg	13.5	12.0	1.5	6	Rick Dempsey	12.7	11.0	1.7
7	Bruce Benedict	13.8	12.4	1.4	7	Rich Gedman	10.8	9.1	1.6
8	Steve Yeager	7.2	6.0	1.3	8	Steve Yeager	7.4	5.8	1.6
9	Jody Davis	17.6	16.4	1.2	9	Bruce Benedict	13.9	12.3	1.5
10	Rick Dempsey	12.4	11.4	1.1	10	Bo Diaz	13.5	12.3	1.1


Fielding, 1B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Pete M. O'Brien	19.1	16.3	2.9	1	Keith Hernandez	25.2	20.6	4.6
2	Keith Hernandez	24.0	21.8	2.1	2	Pete M. O'Brien	18.9	16.5	2.4
3	Chris Chambliss	12.5	10.7	1.8	3	Darrell Evans	12.2	10.1	2.1
4	Will Clark	10.4	8.6	1.8	4	Don Mattingly	15.1	13.2	1.9
5	Sid Bream	9.5	8.0	1.6	5	Sid Bream	9.7	7.8	1.9
6	Wally Joyner	11.4	10.1	1.3	6	Will Clark	10.4	8.6	1.8
7	Don Mattingly	14.8	13.6	1.2	7	Wally Joyner	11.6	9.9	1.8
8	Greg Brock	12.3	11.2	1.1	8	Greg Brock	12.6	10.9	1.7
9	Kent Hrbek	16.8	15.8	1.0	9	Chris Chambliss	12.4	10.8	1.6
10	Glenn Davis	13.2	12.3	0.9	10	Dan Driessen	12.5	10.9	1.6


Fielding, 2B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Glenn Hubbard	49.8	45.8	4.1	1	Frank White	56.6	49.3	7.3
2	Frank White	54.7	51.2	3.4	2	Lou Whitaker	51.8	45.3	6.5
3	Willie Randolph	48.3	45.0	3.3	3	Willie Randolph	49.6	43.7	5.9
4	Tom Herr	45.4	42.0	3.3	4	Tom Herr	46.3	41.1	5.2
5	Lou Whitaker	49.9	47.2	2.7	5	Glenn Hubbard	49.6	46.0	3.7
6	Julio Cruz	30.3	28.1	2.1	6	Robby Thompson	20.9	18.1	2.8
7	Robby Thompson	20.5	18.6	1.9	7	Jim Gantner	46.4	44.0	2.4
8	Johnny C. Ray	44.5	42.6	1.9	8	Steve Lombardozzi, Sr.	14.6	12.3	2.3
9	Bill D. Doran	39.1	37.3	1.8	9	Mike Gallego	6.6	4.7	1.9
10	John Castino	8.0	6.9	1.2	10	Rob Wilfong	18.9	17.2	1.7


Fielding, 3B
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Terry Pendleton	30.3	25.3	5.0	1	Terry Pendleton	30.9	24.7	6.3
2	Tim Wallach	39.1	35.7	3.4	2	Tim Wallach	39.6	35.2	4.4
3	Wade Boggs	33.0	29.9	3.1	3	Doug DeCinces	32.1	28.1	3.9
4	Buddy Bell	39.4	36.4	3.0	4	Wade Boggs	33.2	29.8	3.4
5	Mike Schmidt	39.9	37.1	2.8	5	Buddy Bell	39.6	36.3	3.4
6	Doug DeCinces	30.9	29.3	1.6	6	George Brett	27.3	24.4	2.9
7	Kelly Gruber	13.0	11.4	1.6	7	Paul Molitor	26.1	23.3	2.8
8	Gary Gaetti	35.7	34.2	1.5	8	Mike Schmidt	39.6	37.4	2.2
9	Ken Oberkfell	29.4	28.0	1.4	9	Kelly Gruber	13.3	11.2	2.1
10	Art Howe	7.2	5.8	1.3	10	Art Howe	7.4	5.6	1.8


Fielding, SS
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Ozzie Smith	69.6	59.2	10.4	1	Ozzie Smith	72.9	55.9	17.0
2	Alan Trammell	53.2	47.7	5.5	2	Alan Trammell	54.2	46.7	7.5
3	Ozzie Guillen	32.7	27.9	4.8	3	Tony Fernandez	37.0	30.0	7.0
4	Tony Fernandez	35.9	31.2	4.6	4	Garry Templeton	57.1	50.4	6.7
5	Jose Uribe	30.4	26.3	4.2	5	Ozzie Guillen	32.5	28.1	4.4
6	Garry Templeton	55.8	51.8	4.0	6	Jose Uribe	30.3	26.4	3.9
7	Cal Ripken	53.1	49.5	3.6	7	Robin Yount	29.8	26.3	3.5
8	Scott Fletcher	29.2	26.7	2.6	8	Scott Fletcher	29.7	26.2	3.5
9	Rick Burleson	15.4	13.6	1.8	9	Dick Schofield Jr.	33.1	29.6	3.4
10	Dick Schofield Jr.	32.1	30.6	1.5	10	Cal Ripken	52.9	49.7	3.2


Fielding, LF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Rickey Henderson	45.4	39.5	5.9	1	Willie Wilson	23.7	17.1	6.6
2	Gary Ward	36.4	32.1	4.3	2	Rickey Henderson	45.6	39.4	6.2
3	Willie Wilson	22.3	18.4	3.9	3	Dan Gladden	17.0	12.2	4.7
4	Kevin McReynolds	22.2	19.2	3.0	4	Barry Bonds	18.4	14.8	3.5
5	Dan Gladden	15.8	13.4	2.4	5	Kevin McReynolds	22.2	19.2	3.0
6	Barry Bonds	17.7	15.5	2.3	6	Larry Herndon	32.4	29.5	2.9
7	Vince Coleman	29.5	27.6	1.9	7	Vince Coleman	30.0	27.2	2.8
8	Larry Herndon	31.8	30.1	1.7	8	Jose Cruz Sr.	48.3	45.9	2.4
9	Luis Polonia	10.2	8.7	1.5	9	Luis Polonia	10.6	8.2	2.4
10	Mickey Hatcher	14.8	13.4	1.5	10	Gary Roenicke	18.3	16.1	2.2


Fielding, CF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Gary Pettis	31.3	27.3	4.0	1	Dwayne Murphy	43.8	38.7	5.1
2	Dave Henderson	29.9	26.6	3.3	2	Amos Otis	15.9	11.1	4.8
3	Dwayne Murphy	42.8	39.7	3.1	3	Gary Pettis	31.5	27.1	4.4
4	Eddie Milner	23.8	21.4	2.4	4	Andre Dawson	26.6	22.5	4.1
5	Andy Van Slyke	18.9	16.6	2.3	5	Dave Henderson	30.2	26.2	4.0
6	Andre Dawson	25.5	23.5	2.1	6	Lenny Dykstra	19.5	15.6	3.8
7	Devon White	13.8	11.7	2.0	7	Andy Van Slyke	19.5	15.9	3.6
8	John Shelby	22.9	20.9	2.0	8	Kirby Puckett	36.3	33.2	3.1
9	Amos Otis	14.3	12.7	1.6	9	Eddie Milner	24.0	21.1	2.9
10	Willie McGee	39.0	37.5	1.5	10	Kevin McReynolds	17.5	14.8	2.7


Fielding, RF
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	Net eWins		Player	pWins	pLosses	Net pWins
1	Jesse Barfield	49.0	40.3	8.7	1	Jesse Barfield	49.5	39.8	9.8
2	Glenn Wilson	36.5	33.1	3.4	2	Darryl Strawberry	39.1	31.7	7.4
3	Tony Armas Sr.	22.2	18.9	3.3	3	Glenn Wilson	37.3	32.4	4.8
4	Tony Gwynn Sr.	36.4	33.1	3.3	4	Tony Armas Sr.	22.6	18.5	4.0
5	Dale Murphy	18.8	16.7	2.1	5	Tony Gwynn Sr.	36.7	32.8	4.0
6	Ellis Valentine	14.2	12.3	1.9	6	Tom Brunansky	47.8	45.2	2.6
7	Ruben Sierra	21.9	20.1	1.8	7	Terry Puhl	27.3	25.0	2.3
8	Lee Lacy	21.1	19.3	1.8	8	Mickey Hatcher	5.9	3.8	2.1
9	Von Hayes	14.0	12.3	1.7	9	Andy Van Slyke	11.3	9.3	2.0
10	Darryl Strawberry	36.1	34.7	1.5	10	Jose Canseco	11.3	9.4	1.9

Best by Position

Next, we look at 1980s Major-League leaders in eWOPA by position. The figures shown here only include Player decisions earned while playing this particular position, and include no contextual adjustments (expected or actual).


Catcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Gary Carter	142.0	123.0	23.1	1	Gary Carter	144.3	120.7	27.6
2	Carlton Fisk	105.0	93.8	17.2	2	Carlton Fisk	104.8	93.9	16.9
3	Lance Parrish	120.2	112.4	14.4	3	Lance Parrish	120.4	112.2	14.8
4	Ernie Whitt	84.8	82.8	7.5	4	Ernie Whitt	86.8	80.9	11.4
5	Bob Brenly	62.0	56.9	7.2	5	Darrell Porter	57.6	50.3	8.8
6	Ted Simmons	48.3	44.7	5.4	6	Ted Simmons	49.2	43.8	7.2
7	Gene Tenace	16.8	12.8	4.2	7	Ron Hassey	60.6	57.9	6.2
8	Darrell Porter	55.3	52.7	4.1	8	Matt Nokes	27.2	23.9	5.3
9	Tony Pena Sr.	111.4	111.6	3.9	9	Mike Scioscia	85.4	84.6	4.1
10	Ozzie Virgil Jr.	59.1	57.4	3.8	10	Bo Diaz	79.1	78.1	4.0


First Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Eddie Murray	167.9	139.7	17.8	1	Eddie Murray	170.8	136.8	23.7
2	Kent Hrbek	119.6	98.7	13.9	2	Keith Hernandez	153.6	120.3	21.4
3	Keith Hernandez	150.0	123.9	13.8	3	Will Clark	71.8	50.0	15.8
4	Will Clark	70.4	51.4	12.7	4	Darrell Evans	72.3	56.4	11.3
5	Jack Clark	58.6	42.4	10.9	5	Kent Hrbek	118.1	100.2	10.8
6	Don Mattingly	108.6	91.3	9.9	6	Cecil Cooper	105.8	90.1	10.6
7	Cecil Cooper	104.2	91.7	7.3	7	Jack Clark	58.4	42.5	10.6
8	Glenn Davis	86.2	71.0	6.8	8	Don Mattingly	108.6	91.3	9.8
9	Alvin Davis	90.8	78.1	6.4	9	Mark McGwire	51.4	38.6	9.0
10	Darrell Evans	69.7	58.9	6.1	10	Glenn Davis	86.8	70.5	8.0


Second Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Lou Whitaker	177.1	160.3	23.3	1	Lou Whitaker	181.8	155.6	32.6
2	Ryne Sandberg	148.4	133.4	16.7	2	Willie Randolph	162.6	147.6	20.5
3	Willie Randolph	160.2	150.1	15.7	3	Ryne Sandberg	148.4	133.4	16.7
4	Bobby Grich	95.2	84.7	14.0	4	Joe L. Morgan	73.7	60.8	14.5
5	Bill D. Doran	132.2	121.7	12.2	5	Bill D. Doran	132.6	121.3	12.9
6	Joe L. Morgan	71.5	63.1	10.1	6	Frank White	166.7	162.0	11.4
7	Tom Herr	146.7	141.6	7.4	7	Glenn Hubbard	137.5	129.9	10.2
8	Glenn Hubbard	136.1	131.3	7.4	8	Tom Herr	148.1	140.2	10.2
9	Robby Thompson	66.0	61.2	5.7	9	Bobby Grich	93.2	86.7	9.9
10	Paul Molitor	19.2	15.1	4.8	10	Robby Thompson	67.1	60.2	7.7


Third Base
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	168.3	129.4	34.1	1	Mike Schmidt	167.1	130.6	31.7
2	Wade Boggs	146.7	119.4	26.5	2	George Brett	112.4	84.9	26.5
3	George Brett	108.7	88.6	19.1	3	Wade Boggs	146.2	119.8	25.7
4	Doug DeCinces	120.0	108.9	9.9	4	Doug DeCinces	122.6	106.4	15.0
5	Bob Horner	67.3	55.6	9.4	5	Paul Molitor	105.1	89.8	14.4
6	Paul Molitor	102.6	92.4	9.2	6	Howard Johnson	75.9	64.1	10.4
7	Buddy Bell	149.5	137.5	9.0	7	Bob Horner	67.3	55.6	9.5
8	Toby Harrah	74.3	65.3	8.0	8	Buddy Bell	148.9	138.1	7.9
9	Tim Wallach	148.5	136.2	7.5	9	Toby Harrah	74.1	65.6	7.5
10	Ron Cey	107.0	96.4	6.9	10	Graig Nettles	93.3	83.8	7.5


Shortstop
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Alan Trammell	177.3	159.9	30.1	1	Alan Trammell	180.8	156.4	36.9
2	Cal Ripken	170.3	151.7	29.8	2	Ozzie Smith	198.2	176.1	31.8
3	Robin Yount	94.6	79.2	21.6	3	Cal Ripken	170.7	151.4	30.5
4	Ozzie Smith	192.7	181.6	21.0	4	Robin Yount	96.2	77.6	24.7
5	Tony Fernandez	105.9	103.1	10.6	5	Tony Fernandez	108.4	100.6	15.5
6	Dickie Thon	82.8	78.8	7.6	6	Barry Larkin	54.7	46.7	9.9
7	Roy Smalley III	49.5	46.2	6.9	7	Dickie Thon	83.9	77.7	9.8
8	Scott Fletcher	85.9	86.3	6.1	8	Garry Templeton	151.6	151.3	8.5
9	Barry Larkin	52.7	48.7	6.1	9	Scott Fletcher	86.6	85.6	7.4
10	Howard Johnson	16.3	12.5	4.4	10	Dick Schofield Jr.	83.5	82.6	6.9


Left Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Rickey Henderson	155.8	124.0	25.4	1	Rickey Henderson	157.0	124.0	27.9
2	Tim Raines Sr.	152.7	128.4	15.1	2	Tim Raines Sr.	152.9	128.4	15.5
3	Kevin McReynolds	72.8	60.4	8.0	3	George Bell	120.9	106.3	12.2
4	Brian Downing	97.7	85.9	7.8	4	Kirk Gibson	52.4	40.9	11.5
5	George Bell	118.7	106.3	7.7	5	Ben Oglivie	101.0	89.9	9.4
6	Kirk Gibson	50.3	40.9	7.0	6	Kevin McReynolds	73.5	60.4	9.4
7	Mike Greenwell	53.7	44.6	7.0	7	Jose Cruz Sr.	155.9	139.1	9.2
8	Kal Daniels	48.2	38.9	6.7	8	Mike Greenwell	54.8	44.6	9.1
9	Pedro Guerrero	30.2	22.4	6.4	9	Kevin Mitchell	34.8	26.1	8.0
10	Willie Wilson	57.0	48.4	6.3	10	Brian Downing	97.7	85.9	7.8


Center Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dale Murphy	147.8	122.1	20.5	1	Dale Murphy	148.2	121.7	21.3
2	Andre Dawson	89.9	71.9	15.2	2	Eric Davis	76.8	55.6	18.8
3	Eric Davis	74.9	57.4	15.0	3	Andre Dawson	90.8	71.1	16.8
4	Robin Yount	86.0	73.8	10.9	4	Dwayne Murphy	136.4	119.7	14.4
5	Rickey Henderson	50.9	39.3	10.7	5	Chet Lemon	113.6	99.0	12.4
6	Dwayne Murphy	134.3	121.8	10.0	6	Rickey Henderson	51.7	38.5	12.3
7	Fred Lynn	112.9	101.9	9.0	7	Robin Yount	86.6	73.2	12.2
8	Andy Van Slyke	60.7	49.8	8.8	8	Amos Otis	51.5	41.6	9.2
9	Chet Lemon	111.5	101.1	8.1	9	Andy Van Slyke	60.6	49.8	8.8
10	Kirby Puckett	123.7	115.6	5.8	10	Kirby Puckett	125.1	114.3	8.5


Right Field
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Darryl Strawberry	134.4	104.8	22.3	1	Darryl Strawberry	140.5	98.7	34.8
2	Dwight Evans	169.2	141.5	21.8	2	Dwight Evans	171.9	138.8	27.3
3	Jesse Barfield	135.5	116.8	14.1	3	Jesse Barfield	138.0	114.2	19.3
4	Jack Clark	86.3	70.7	11.1	4	Jack Clark	87.4	69.6	13.5
5	Dave Winfield	120.0	104.7	9.9	5	Tony Gwynn Sr.	124.6	103.7	13.3
6	Tony Gwynn Sr.	122.7	105.6	9.3	6	Dave Winfield	121.5	103.2	12.9
7	Jose Canseco	38.3	30.1	6.7	7	Kirk Gibson	59.4	45.2	12.0
8	Dale Murphy	59.3	49.3	6.3	8	Jose Canseco	40.4	27.9	11.1
9	Kirk Gibson	56.5	48.1	5.9	9	Terry Puhl	88.5	75.3	8.2
10	Reggie Jackson	59.4	52.4	5.2	10	Tony Armas Sr.	65.9	55.9	7.7


Starting Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Roger Clemens	78.1	59.2	20.0	1	Dwight Gooden	82.3	56.9	26.3
2	Dave Stieb	135.4	118.6	18.7	2	Roger Clemens	80.9	56.5	25.5
3	Bret Saberhagen	75.5	60.1	16.4	3	Dave Stieb	137.2	116.9	22.3
4	Orel Hershiser	81.0	66.6	15.4	4	Bob Welch	124.5	104.5	21.8
5	Dwight Gooden	76.5	62.7	14.6	5	Bret Saberhagen	77.6	58.0	20.7
6	Nolan Ryan	127.6	117.0	12.5	6	Teddy Higuera	69.8	50.1	20.5
7	Teddy Higuera	65.6	54.3	12.1	7	Orel Hershiser	82.1	65.5	17.6
8	Fernando Valenzuela	124.2	114.5	11.5	8	Jack Morris	146.5	131.8	16.8
9	Bob Welch	119.3	109.7	11.3	9	Nolan Ryan	129.6	114.9	16.6
10	Mark Gubicza	74.9	64.6	11.3	10	Fernando Valenzuela	126.3	112.4	15.7


Relief Pitcher
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Dan Quisenberry	62.2	47.4	12.9	1	Dan Quisenberry	68.5	41.1	25.2
2	Rich Gossage	58.2	46.9	9.5	2	Rich Gossage	62.9	42.2	18.8
3	Tom Henke	32.4	23.2	8.1	3	Lee Smith	65.3	46.2	17.2
4	Lee Smith	60.5	51.0	7.6	4	Jeff Reardon	70.1	54.4	13.5
5	Kent Tekulve	51.7	43.0	7.1	5	Dave Righetti	50.9	36.3	13.1
6	Bob Stanley	55.5	47.2	6.5	6	Steve Bedrosian	51.7	37.2	12.7
7	Dave S. Smith	43.9	36.3	6.3	7	Bob Stanley	57.5	45.1	10.6
8	Doug Jones	22.8	15.7	6.3	8	Jesse Orosco	47.6	35.7	10.5
9	Dave Righetti	47.2	39.9	6.0	9	Bruce Sutter	53.8	41.8	10.3
10	Willie Hernandez	45.7	38.9	5.5	10	John Franco	40.2	28.7	10.3


Designated Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Ken Phelps	34.8	26.3	7.4	1	Don Baylor	93.5	80.5	9.2
2	Brian Downing	46.8	39.7	6.0	2	Cliff Johnson	47.5	38.7	7.1
3	Greg Luzinski	49.4	42.1	4.9	3	Brian Downing	47.2	39.4	6.6
4	Cliff Johnson	46.4	39.8	4.8	4	Greg Luzinski	49.8	41.7	5.7
5	Andre Thornton	65.4	58.8	3.7	5	Ken Phelps	33.1	27.9	4.0
6	Don Baylor	90.7	83.3	3.5	6	Darrell Evans	19.3	15.3	3.2
7	Harold Baines	33.4	29.3	3.2	7	Reggie Jackson	44.6	39.6	3.0
8	Darrell Evans	19.0	15.6	2.6	8	Darrell Porter	8.2	5.0	2.9
9	Hal McRae	67.0	61.5	2.6	9	Harold Baines	33.3	29.5	2.9
10	Eddie Murray	9.1	6.2	2.6	10	Mike Easler	33.6	29.7	2.7

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	Don Robinson	6.6	6.8	3.2	1	Don Robinson	7.2	6.2	4.1
2	Bob Forsch	8.1	10.2	2.9	2	Rick Rhoden	9.2	11.0	3.6
3	Rick Rhoden	8.6	11.6	2.7	3	Bob Forsch	8.1	10.2	2.9
4	Tim Lollar	4.3	4.6	2.0	4	Tim Lollar	4.8	4.1	2.7
5	Fernando Valenzuela	9.7	15.9	1.7	5	Steve Carlton	8.1	11.1	2.4
6	Orel Hershiser	6.2	9.7	1.4	6	Mike Krukow	7.6	11.2	2.0
7	Rick Sutcliffe	5.8	9.1	1.3	7	Fernando Valenzuela	9.8	15.8	1.9
8	Mike Krukow	7.1	11.8	1.1	8	Dwight Gooden	6.2	8.8	1.8
9	Dwight Gooden	5.7	9.3	1.1	9	Orel Hershiser	6.5	9.5	1.8
10	Steve Carlton	7.1	12.1	1.0	10	Rick Sutcliffe	6.0	8.9	1.6


Pinch Hitter
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Steve Braun	8.5	6.4	2.5	1	Steve Braun	8.5	6.4	2.5
2	Jeff Burroughs	5.4	4.1	1.8	2	Terry Crowley	6.8	5.5	1.7
3	Thad Bosley	8.4	7.4	1.6	3	Larry Sheets	3.2	2.0	1.5
4	Joel Youngblood	8.5	7.6	1.5	4	Jim Dwyer	8.3	7.8	1.2
5	Kurt Bevacqua	7.3	6.1	1.5	5	Mike Easler	4.1	3.0	1.2
6	Rusty Staub	10.0	9.1	1.4	6	Tony Perez	5.4	4.6	1.1
7	Johnny Grubb	5.4	4.3	1.4	7	Terry Steinbach	1.6	0.6	1.1
8	Ken Griffey Sr.	5.5	4.5	1.4	8	Luis Salazar	2.7	1.7	1.1
9	Jim Dwyer	8.3	7.7	1.4	9	George Hendrick	3.9	3.1	1.1
10	Denny Walling	8.4	7.5	1.4	10	John Kruk	3.0	2.0	1.0


Pinch Runner
		Context-Neutral					Context-Dependent
	Player	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA		Player	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA
1	Miguel Dilone	1.2	0.5	0.7	1	Eric Davis	0.8	0.2	0.6
2	Eric Davis	0.8	0.2	0.6	2	Miguel Dilone	1.1	0.6	0.6
3	John Moses	1.1	0.6	0.6	3	Billy Hatcher	0.6	0.1	0.6
4	Billy Hatcher	0.6	0.1	0.5	4	Mark Davidson	0.8	0.3	0.4
5	(Rogers) Bobby Brown	0.9	0.5	0.4	5	Tom Lawless	1.1	0.6	0.4
6	Otis Nixon	2.1	1.6	0.4	6	(Rogers) Bobby Brown	0.9	0.5	0.4
7	Rex Hudler	0.8	0.4	0.4	7	Mike Felder	0.7	0.2	0.4
8	Bob Dernier	1.0	0.6	0.4	8	Tony B. Walker	0.7	0.3	0.4
9	Tom Lawless	1.0	0.6	0.4	9	Scott Loucks	0.4	0.0	0.4
10	Tony B. Walker	0.6	0.3	0.4	10	Alan Wiggins	0.5	0.2	0.3

Noteworthy Players of the 1980s

I have written several articles about players whose careers overlapped at least partly with the 1980s. These - and all of my previous articles - can be found here.

I look at a few of the top players of the 1980s next.

Alan Trammell

Perhaps the most surprising player in the top 5 in any of the first four tables of this article - pWins and eWins over either positional average or replacement level - actually is in the top 5 in all four tables: Detroit Tigers' shortstop Alan Trammell.

If anything, one might have thought that comparing to positional averages would work against Trammell. He shared a position with two Hall-of-Fame players who won MVP awards while playing shortstop in the 1980s as well as a third first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

The first table below compares the MVP seasons of Robin Yount (1982) and Cal Ripken (1983) with the season in which Alan Trammell should have won an MVP award, 1987.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Robin Yount, 1982	156	24.9	17.9	0.582	8.3	10.2	24.3	18.5	0.567	7.2	9.1
Cal Ripken, 1983	162	24.8	19.4	0.561	6.5	8.4	24.2	20.1	0.546	5.2	7.2
Alan Trammell, 1987	151	23.1	16.0	0.591	8.3	10.0	22.2	16.9	0.567	6.5	8.3

The next table compares the records of Yount, Ripken, and Trammell during the 1980s. Hall-of-Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith is also shown here.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Robin Yount	1,446	202.1	169.6	0.544	36.6	54.3	201.7	170.0	0.543	36.2	53.8
Cal Ripken	1,315	179.5	158.8	0.531	31.8	47.4	180.2	158.1	0.533	33.3	48.9
Alan Trammell	1,389	184.2	159.0	0.537	37.7	53.8	181.8	161.4	0.530	33.0	49.1
Ozzie Smith	1,468	198.6	176.9	0.529	31.4	49.0	194.6	181.0	0.518	23.4	41.0

Finally, the next table compares the career records of the same four players, as measured by Player won-lost records.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
Robin Yount	2,856	366.7	345.7	0.515	33.9	67.8	368.2	344.3	0.517	36.9	70.8
Cal Ripken	3,001	382.3	351.6	0.521	50.5	85.1	382.6	351.4	0.521	51.1	85.7
Alan Trammell	2,292	281.6	257.9	0.522	42.6	68.1	280.5	258.9	0.520	40.8	66.3
Ozzie Smith	2,573	333.3	312.5	0.516	37.3	67.7	328.9	316.9	0.509	29.0	59.4

The next table presents the career record of Alan Trammell, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Alan Trammell Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1977	DET	19	19	0.8	1.3	-0.5	-0.4	0.8	1.3	-0.4	-0.3
1978	DET	20	139	14.7	14.1	1.7	3.1	14.5	14.2	1.5	2.9
1979	DET	21	142	13.8	13.8	1.2	2.5	13.5	14.2	0.6	1.9
1980	DET	22	146	18.9	16.8	3.7	5.3	18.9	16.8	3.6	5.2
1981	DET	23	105	13.8	12.3	2.6	4.0	13.1	13.0	1.3	2.7
1982	DET	24	157	17.0	15.2	2.9	4.3	16.7	15.5	2.4	3.8
1983	DET	25	142	18.6	16.3	3.3	4.8	18.8	16.0	3.7	5.3
1984	DET	26	139	20.0	15.2	6.1	7.8	18.7	16.5	3.8	5.5
1985	DET	27	149	17.9	19.8	-0.1	1.6	18.6	19.0	1.3	3.0
1986	DET	28	151	19.5	17.7	3.2	4.9	20.0	17.2	4.2	5.9
1987	DET	29	151	23.1	16.0	8.3	10.0	22.2	16.9	6.5	8.3
1988	DET	30	128	20.9	14.9	6.9	8.7	19.7	16.1	4.5	6.3
1989	DET	31	121	14.7	14.8	0.9	2.3	15.1	14.3	1.8	3.2
1990	DET	32	146	19.7	17.1	3.8	5.4	19.8	17.1	3.9	5.6
1991	DET	33	100	13.2	12.5	1.4	2.6	13.3	12.4	1.5	2.7
1992	DET	34	29	3.9	3.6	0.6	0.9	3.8	3.7	0.3	0.6
1993	DET	35	112	13.4	11.4	2.4	3.6	13.0	11.8	1.9	3.1
1994	DET	36	76	7.1	10.1	-2.4	-1.5	8.2	8.9	-0.2	0.7
1995	DET	37	74	6.7	7.6	-0.3	0.4	6.9	7.4	0.0	0.7
1996	DET	38	66	4.1	7.4	-2.9	-2.3	4.9	6.6	-1.3	-0.8
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,292	281.6	257.9	42.6	68.1	280.5	258.9	40.8	66.3
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			13	2.2	1.5		1.1	2.0	1.7		0.6
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,305	283.8	259.4		69.2	282.6	260.6		67.0

Robin Yount

Robin Yount won two MVP awards in the 1980s, in 1982 and 1989. Robin Yount won his two MVP awards at different positions, shortstop and center field.

The next table shows the top 15 players in career eWins over positional average (eWOPA) at shortstop since MLB integration (i.e., since 1947), considering only games played at shortstop.

		Top 15 Shortstops (career eWOPA at Shortstop, since 1947)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Cal Ripken	306.7	278.2	0.524	48.5
2	Alex Rodriguez	179.5	144.4	0.554	43.1
3	Barry Larkin	281.8	252.6	0.527	39.1
4	Alan Trammell	266.5	247.6	0.518	37.9
5	Ernie Banks	167.2	137.3	0.549	35.7
6	Derek Jeter	347.4	330.5	0.512	33.9
7	Pee Wee Reese	198.4	174.0	0.533	30.1
8	Ozzie Smith	326.2	316.2	0.508	26.5
9	Bert Campaneris	269.6	266.7	0.503	25.1
10	Jim Fregosi	187.5	173.5	0.519	23.6
11	Robin Yount	195.8	188.4	0.510	23.3
12	Nomar Garciaparra	147.3	131.5	0.528	23.0
13	Hanley Ramirez	147.8	128.3	0.535	22.6
14	Troy Tulowitzki	170.6	152.2	0.529	22.4
15	Dave Concepcion	259.8	256.0	0.504	21.2

Robin Yount shows up here, but this table underrates Robin Yount's career, because he moved from shortstop to center field at age 29 and proceeded to put up nine solid seasons there.

The next table shows the top 25 players in career eWOPA at up-the-middle defensive positions - C, 2B, SS, and CF - again, since 1947.

		Top 25 Up-the-Middle Players (career eWOPA at C, 2B, SS, CF, since 1947)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Willie Mays	435.6	331.9	0.568	82.5
2	Mickey Mantle	271.9	181.8	0.599	78.0
3	Joe L. Morgan	358.1	294.9	0.548	72.2
4	Cal Ripken	306.7	278.2	0.524	48.5
5	Mike Trout	156.5	108.7	0.590	46.7
6	Mike Piazza	192.1	154.9	0.554	43.8
7	Alex Rodriguez	179.5	144.4	0.554	43.1
8	Ken Griffey Jr.	292.1	246.8	0.542	42.1
9	Johnny Bench	193.1	154.4	0.556	41.7
10	Carlton Fisk	227.2	196.1	0.537	41.7
11	Bobby Grich	241.5	209.7	0.535	41.4
12	Duke Snider	216.7	166.0	0.566	39.7
13	Barry Larkin	282.1	252.8	0.527	39.1
14	Lou Whitaker	290.6	261.6	0.526	38.8
15	Alan Trammell	267.5	249.5	0.517	37.1
16	Jim Edmonds	234.0	194.2	0.546	36.9
17	Ernie Banks	167.2	137.3	0.549	35.7
18	Ryne Sandberg	270.5	237.7	0.532	35.1
19	Yogi Berra	188.4	157.5	0.545	34.7
20	Gary Carter	219.9	190.6	0.536	34.2
21	Derek Jeter	347.4	330.5	0.512	33.9
22	Robin Yount	343.9	324.3	0.515	33.3
23	Craig Biggio	338.6	311.6	0.521	30.4
24	Pee Wee Reese	198.4	174.0	0.533	30.1
25	Chase Utley	226.2	196.1	0.536	29.5

The number of players eligible for this list is much larger than the population of players from the previous list, of course, because the number of positions has quadrupled. Even with this much larger population, however, Robin Yount ranks in the top 25, by getting credit for his above-average performances at both shortstop as well as in center field.

The next table presents the career record of Robin Yount, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Robin Yount Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1974	MIL	18	107	10.5	13.4	-1.8	-0.7	11.6	12.3	0.2	1.3
1975	MIL	19	147	16.0	20.0	-2.1	-0.4	17.0	19.0	-0.2	1.4
1976	MIL	20	161	18.8	22.6	-2.0	0.1	19.1	22.3	-1.4	0.7
1977	MIL	21	154	17.5	20.9	-1.1	0.9	18.7	19.7	1.2	3.1
1978	MIL	22	127	18.3	16.4	3.1	4.8	17.6	17.0	1.8	3.5
1979	MIL	23	149	18.5	17.7	2.5	4.2	17.4	18.9	0.3	2.0
1980	MIL	24	143	21.6	18.1	5.1	6.9	21.8	17.9	5.5	7.4
1981	MIL	25	96	14.6	10.7	4.8	6.2	13.7	11.6	3.2	4.6
1982	MIL	26	156	24.9	17.9	8.3	10.2	24.3	18.5	7.2	9.1
1983	MIL	27	149	21.2	16.5	5.6	7.3	20.9	16.8	5.0	6.7
1984	MIL	28	160	20.0	19.4	1.8	3.8	20.8	18.6	3.4	5.3
1985	MIL	29	122	15.6	15.4	-0.3	1.2	16.1	14.9	0.7	2.2
1986	MIL	30	140	16.9	15.9	0.6	2.2	17.3	15.5	1.5	3.0
1987	MIL	31	158	20.9	17.9	2.5	4.3	20.4	18.4	1.5	3.3
1988	MIL	32	162	24.2	19.5	4.2	6.4	23.8	19.9	3.6	5.7
1989	MIL	33	160	22.2	18.3	3.9	5.8	22.5	18.0	4.5	6.4
1990	MIL	34	158	18.7	18.7	-0.6	1.1	19.1	18.3	0.4	2.1
1991	MIL	35	130	16.0	14.8	1.1	2.5	15.2	15.6	-0.5	0.9
1992	MIL	36	150	18.2	17.0	0.9	2.5	17.6	17.6	-0.4	1.3
1993	MIL	37	127	12.1	14.7	-2.8	-1.4	13.1	13.6	-0.7	0.7
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,856	366.7	345.7	33.9	67.8	368.2	344.3	36.9	70.8
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			17	2.5	3.1		-0.2	2.8	2.7		0.6
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,873	369.2	348.9		67.6	371.0	347.1		71.4

Lou Whitaker

I like to include at least one Hall-of-Famer among the set of players that I write about in these decade writeups. For the 1980s, the choice of what non-Hall-of-Famer to write about was pretty easy. Lou Whitaker ranks among the top 10 players in three of the first four tables presented in this article: pWOPA (#6), pWORL (#7), and eWORL (#9).

The next table shows the top 10 players in career pWins over replacement level who are not (yet) in the Hall of Fame, among all players for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records.

		Top Players not in the Hall of Fame (sorted by pWORL)
		pWins	pLosses	pWinPct	pWORL
1	Barry Bonds	466.8	310.6	137.3	174.8
2	Roger Clemens	316.9	228.6	94.0	129.3
3	Alex Rodriguez	373.8	298.7	80.8	114.1
4	Albert Pujols	359.9	267.3	72.9	105.3
5	Manny Ramirez	320.0	247.6	60.1	88.5
6	David Ortiz	250.9	189.0	51.8	80.9
7	Lou Whitaker	303.8	262.6	51.2	78.0
8	Dwight Evans	330.1	271.9	46.3	75.5
9	Gary Sheffield	343.2	288.0	40.9	72.3
10	J. Kevin Brown	204.2	164.5	47.9	71.2

Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have well-known issues (which Rodriguez and Ramirez are likely to share).

And then there's Lou Whitaker.

So, why exactly is Lou Whitaker not in the Hall of Fame? I explored that a bit in an earlier article.

The next table presents the career record of Lou Whitaker, as measured by Player won-lost records.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWOPA	eWORL
Lou Whitaker Basic Player Won-Lost Records
										Value Decomposition
1977	DET	20	11	0.7	1.0	-0.2	-0.1	0.7	1.0	-0.1	-0.1
1978	DET	21	139	17.4	15.0	3.3	4.8	16.5	16.0	1.4	2.9
1979	DET	22	127	16.6	13.0	4.2	5.7	15.8	13.9	2.7	4.1
1980	DET	23	145	15.5	15.0	1.4	2.8	14.6	15.8	-0.3	1.1
1981	DET	24	109	12.9	10.4	3.0	4.2	12.4	11.0	1.9	3.1
1982	DET	25	152	19.9	17.0	3.6	5.3	19.5	17.3	3.0	4.6
1983	DET	26	161	23.4	18.7	5.5	7.4	23.2	18.8	5.2	7.1
1984	DET	27	143	19.3	15.3	4.8	6.4	18.2	16.5	2.6	4.2
1985	DET	28	152	21.1	18.8	2.5	4.4	21.1	18.8	2.6	4.5
1986	DET	29	144	19.5	16.0	4.4	6.0	18.7	16.8	2.8	4.5
1987	DET	30	149	20.2	17.4	3.7	5.4	19.3	18.3	2.0	3.7
1988	DET	31	115	13.5	11.9	2.1	3.4	13.5	11.8	2.2	3.5
1989	DET	32	148	18.4	17.2	1.5	3.1	19.6	16.0	4.0	5.6
1990	DET	33	132	15.3	14.8	1.0	2.3	15.6	14.5	1.5	2.9
1991	DET	34	138	18.7	14.2	4.6	6.1	18.4	14.5	4.1	5.6
1992	DET	35	130	16.5	15.3	1.4	2.9	16.9	14.9	2.3	3.8
1993	DET	36	117	15.0	13.3	2.1	3.5	15.4	12.9	3.0	4.4
1994	DET	37	92	11.1	10.2	1.2	2.3	11.1	10.2	1.2	2.3
1995	DET	38	83	8.9	8.1	1.2	2.1	9.0	8.0	1.3	2.2
------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			2,387	303.8	262.6	51.2	78.0	299.5	266.8	43.3	70.1
			------	------	------			------	------
PostSeason (career)			13	1.5	1.5		0.2	1.6	1.4		0.4
			------	------	------		------	------	------		------
COMBINED			2,400	305.3	264.0		78.2	301.1	268.2		70.5

George Brett

The 1980s were a golden era for two positions: shortstop, which has already been discussed, and third base.

The next table shows the top ten players in career eWins over positional average at third base, among players for whom I have calculated Player won-lost records.

		Top Ten Third Basemen (career eWOPA at Third Base)
		eWins	eLosses	eWinPct	eWOPA
1	Mike Schmidt	315.2	240.9	0.567	65.3
2	Eddie Mathews	293.4	229.5	0.561	55.6
3	Chipper Jones	266.7	214.9	0.554	45.6
4	Ron Santo	286.6	244.0	0.540	33.8
5	Scott Rolen	261.3	224.6	0.538	31.3
6	George Brett	220.6	187.4	0.541	31.3
7	Wade Boggs	272.9	240.9	0.531	31.1
8	Adrian Beltre	339.5	306.0	0.526	29.3
9	Alex Rodriguez	160.9	132.0	0.549	27.6
10	Ron Cey	249.4	215.7	0.536	25.4

The careers of three of the top seven third baseman of the past 100 years overlapped for most of the 1980s. The performances of George Brett, Mike Schmidt, and Wade Boggs for the decade of the 1980s, as measured by Player won-lost records, are compared in the next table.

	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWin Pct.	pWOPA	pWORL	eWins	eLosses	eWin Pct.	eWOPA	eWORL
George Brett	1,251	162.4	128.5	0.558	29.6	43.5	160.6	130.3	0.552	26.6	40.4
Mike Schmidt	1,320	187.9	145.9	0.563	35.7	51.3	191.0	142.7	0.572	42.6	58.2