Players Ranked by Their Average Rank in Total Win Shares and Win Shares per Plate Appearance

by Cyril Morong

Email

Click here to see my sabermetric blog called Cybermetrics

I have another site where all players are ranked by their Win Shares per Plate Appearance. Win Shares (WS) is a stat created by Bill James to taken into account all phases of baseball. WS can never be negative. Here I look at all players who had at least 5000 plate appearances (PA) and/or 141 WS through 2001. There were 861 such players.

One problem with ranking players by WS per PA is that a player with a short career can have a high WS per PA and rank higher than other players simply because he did not play long enough to see the decline phase in his career when his WS per PA would have fallen. Conversely, a player with a high WS total may have just played a long time while never being a very good player.

So here I combine the two ranks. For example, if a player was 20^th in WS per PA and 40^th in total WS, his rank would be 30. So I basically took the average of the two ranks. Once that was done, all players were re-ranked. Now Ruth had the best “average rank” at 2, with his WS per PA rank being 1 and his total WS rank being 3. No other player had a higher rank. So I simply changed Ruth’s “average rank” to 1. Cobb was next with a total WS rank of 1 and a WS per PA rank of 5. That “average rank” was 3. So this was changed to a 2, and so on (I only included Ruth’s WS from hitting and fielding, not pitching). Also, players who played under the 162 game schedule had their total WS reduced by 5%. The appropriately weighted reduction was used on players who played under both a 154 game schedule and the 162 game schedule.

The players are grouped below by position and then ranked by what their “average rank” was among all 861 players. Gehrig, for example, had the best rank among first basemen. Foxx was second. “Total Rank” says what a player’s rank was in total WS among all 861 players. “Per WS Rank” says what a player’s rank was in WS per PA among all 861 players. A player was listed at the position he played more games than any other.

Now if the WS per PA should be more important, I also calculated an “average rank” with rank in WS per PA getting a weight of .75 and rank in total WS getting a weight of .25. Where a player ranked here among all players is in the second column from the right. The last column reverses this, with rank in WS per PA getting a weight of .25 and rank in total WS getting a weight of .75, in case total WS is more important than WS per PA.

The Lee Sinins sabermetric encyclopedia was very helpful in putting this together.

Pos Rank	Player	POS	WS*	WS per 648 PA	Total Rank	Per WS Rank	Average Rank	75% Per WS Rank	75% Total Rank
1	Lou Gehrig	1B	489	32.8	18	11	12	10	14
2	Jimmie Foxx	1B	435	29.15	24	30	19	19	19
3	Dan Brouthers	1B	355	29.97	57	23	25	21	33
4	Willie McCovey	1B	389.5	27.3	38	54	27	32	25
5	Johnny Mize	1B	338	29.71	72	26	28	26	43
6	Dick Allen	1B	324.9	30.3	87	19	30	25	51
7	Roger Connor	1B	363	26.6	52	61	35	41	34
8	Mark McGwire	1B	324.9	28.93	88	33	39	30	56
9	Frank Thomas-cws	1B	308	29.02	108	32	47	34	69
10	Jeff Bagwell	1B	302.1	28.48	117	41	53	43	79
11	Will Clark	1B	314.45	25.89	98	79	58	62	73
12	Cap Anson	1B	381	24.4	42	135	59	86	48
13	Harmon Killebrew	1B	355.17	24.45	56	132	66	87	57
14	Norm Cash	1B	300.38	25.81	120	80	68	66	91
15	Hank Greenberg	1B	267	28.38	184	42	82	55	123
16	Rod Carew	1B	364.8	23.59	51	176	84	117	61
17	Bill Terry	1B	278	25.33	161	94	97	84	116
18	Frank Chance	1B	237	30.12	254	21	107	56	173
19	Eddie Murray	1B	415.15	22.09	28	261	111	184	67
20	Keith Hernandez	1B	295.45	23.56	132	179	120	138	115
21	Orlando Cepeda	1B	299.03	23.1	125	205	131	158	118
22	Rafael Palmeiro	1B	317.3	22.41	95	240	135	186	105
23	Pedro Guerrero	1B	233.7	26.07	264	77	137	99	197
24	Boog Powell	1B	267.9	23.4	181	188	154	159	160
25	Fred McGriff	1B	300.2	22.33	121	249	155	200	128
26	Jack Fournier	1B	231	24.81	275	113	163	123	214
27	Babe Herman	1B	232	24.15	271	149	179	153	222
28	Tony Perez	1B	331.55	20.82	77	364	186	277	124
29	Ed Konetchy	1B	287	21.47	146	308	195	250	165
30	Ernie Banks	1B	323.71	20.7	89	371	199	288	135
31	Don Mattingly	1B	249.85	22.07	223	263	214	236	213
32	George Sisler	1B	292	20.99	135	351	215	281	170
33	Dolph Camilli	1B	224	22.85	303	216	232	222	265
34	Mark Grace	1B	270.75	21.02	175	345	233	293	199
35	John Olerud	1B	229.9	22.19	282	256	245	244	254
36	Gil Hodges	1B	262.73	21.03	199	343	248	299	216
37	Jake Beckley	1B	318	19.64	94	462	256	367	163
38	Bob Watson	1B	224.2	21.97	301	275	264	265	282
39	Ron Fairly	1B	256.65	20.66	210	375	270	331	231
40	Harry Davis	1B	238	20.9	253	354	284	322	262
41	Mickey Vernon	1B	296	19.5	131	476	285	385	198
42	Jim Thome	1B	182.4	24.35	471	137	286	203	388
43	Joe Adcock	1B	233.04	20.94	266	353	291	328	274
44	Jim Bottomley	1B	258	20.01	206	429	300	372	243
45	Jason Giambi	1B	158.65	26.5	590	64	313	168	456
46	Wally Joyner	1B	240.35	20.2	247	414	317	370	275
47	Jake Daubert	1B	263	19.5	198	477	324	417	248
48	Hal Trosky	1B	195	21.99	404	273	326	296	368
49	Joe Judge	1B	270	19.08	176	504	328	430	240
50	Kent Hrbek	1B	218.5	20.88	325	358	329	349	326
51	Roy Sievers	1B	228.1	20.37	289	396	331	366	309
52	Hal Chase	1B	280	18.85	159	528	333	442	232
53	Steve Garvey	1B	265.05	19.1	190	500	334	431	247
54	Phil Cavarretta	1B	237	19.94	256	436	336	388	290
55	Frank McCormick	1B	202	21.09	376	336	344	343	358
56	Rudy York	1B	214	20.64	341	378	347	365	338
57	Dave Orr	1B	145	27.55	685	50	362	192	538
58	Cecil Cooper	1B	228.95	19.67	286	460	371	427	321
59	Mike Hargrove	1B	201.4	20.53	381	385	378	382	376
60	Bill White	1B	202.36	20.27	375	408	387	402	378
61	Henry Larkin	1B	177	21.63	492	298	393	345	434
62	Fred Tenney	1B	249	18.32	225	573	397	495	303
63	Elbie Fletcher	1B	185	20.58	456	384	416	407	429
64	Pete Runnels	1B	213.68	19.1	344	501	421	470	379
65	Andres Galarraga	1B	225.15	18.55	298	551	426	499	354
66	Mo Vaughn	1B	175.75	20.83	503	362	436	398	472
67	John Mayberry	1B	189.05	20	433	434	438	439	424
68	Don Mincher	1B	153.9	22.22	618	255	441	341	539
69	Joe Kuhel	1B	243	17.31	238	646	447	556	329
70	Norm Siebern	1B	166.34	21.04	551	342	452	393	515
71	Ferris Fain	1B	161	21.27	575	322	454	383	525
72	Ripper Collins	1B	147	22.65	673	226	456	334	585
73	Fred Merkle	1B	191	19.26	422	489	466	478	430
74	Earl Torgeson	1B	184	19.75	463	455	471	464	460
75	George Kelly	1B	193	19.05	414	508	473	494	427
76	Dan McGann	1B	183	19.61	468	466	476	472	471
77	John Kruk	1B	148.2	21.96	662	277	478	373	590
78	Bill Skowron	1B	179.26	19.61	483	467	483	477	487
79	Stuffy McInnis	1B	227	17.06	295	660	488	591	384
80	Lee May	1B	213.75	17.74	343	614	491	559	410
81	George Burns-1b	1B	200	17.92	385	601	511	560	432
82	Lu Blue	1B	198	17.8	393	608	519	572	440
83	Chris Chambliss	1B	209.95	17.24	354	651	521	599	419
84	George Scott	1B	205.2	16.93	368	672	539	620	436
85	Wally Pipp	1B	203	16.82	374	678	545	625	444
86	Fred Luderus	1B	160	19.19	583	494	565	531	584
87	Ted Kluszewski	1B	178.6	17.93	487	599	571	593	527
88	John Reilly	1B	151	19.83	643	446	573	507	624
89	Gus Suhr	1B	170	18.39	531	569	581	579	557
90	Dan Driessen	1B	170.05	18.28	526	577	584	586	553
91	Bill Buckner	1B	214.7	14.6	338	791	602	700	446
92	Alvin Davis	1B	145.35	19.79	683	450	604	525	659
93	Jason Thompson	1B	156.75	18.8	604	533	606	568	615
94	Jack Doyle	1B	176	17.36	497	642	607	626	550
95	Wes Parker	1B	140.6	19.84	718	445	617	530	683
96	Tino Martinez	1B	159.6	18.04	587	590	627	615	617
97	Charlie Grimm	1B	198	14.67	392	789	630	713	504
98	George McQuinn	1B	173	16.99	517	668	633	655	572
99	John Morrill	1B	151	18.55	642	552	639	597	655
100	Tommy Tucker	1B	176	15.69	498	736	657	699	578
101	Doc Hoblitzell	1B	149	17.98	653	594	662	627	671
102	Deron Johnson	1B	162.45	16.74	566	685	664	677	627
103	Cecil Fielder	1B	152	17.46	628	631	667	656	667
104	Gregg Jefferies	1B	153.9	17.29	619	649	674	662	664
105	Bruce Bochte	1B	151.05	17.19	636	655	680	673	672
106	Eric Karros	1B	149.15	16.81	648	681	693	696	686
107	Dots Miller	1B	155	15.51	610	745	709	728	675
108	Whitey Lockman	1B	156	15.34	607	755	711	736	676
109	Vic Power	1B	149.92	15.24	647	760	725	746	700
110	Donn Clendenon	1B	129.2	17.24	779	652	734	705	761
111	Joe Pepitone	1B	132.05	16.45	766	697	746	732	763
112	Earl Sheely	1B	129	15.88	782	725	763	750	775
113	Pete O'Brien	1B	133.95	14.81	759	776	778	778	771
114	David Segui	1B	116.85	15.86	818	726	783	755	800
115	Willie Montanez	1B	133.95	14.26	760	803	790	798	777
116	Ed Kranepool	1B	125.4	14.26	791	804	805	805	799
117	Kitty Bransfield	1B	120	14.44	813	797	812	806	814
118	Charles Comiskey	1B	125	13.41	793	828	817	825	806
119	Jim Spencer	1B	114	14.38	828	800	820	815	824
120	Candy LaChance	1B	111	13.58	834	821	833	830	835
121	Patsy Tebeau	1B	105	13.55	848	823	840	835	844
122	George Stovall	1B	111	12.9	835	838	841	842	837
1	Rogers Hornsby	2B	502	34.33	14	7	8	9	11
2	Eddie Collins	2B	574	30.9	8	15	10	11	9
3	Nap Lajoie	2B	496	30.73	17	17	15	13	15
4	Joe Morgan	2B	486.4	29.29	19	28	17	18	16
5	Craig Biggio	2B	324.9	25.72	86	84	57	64	66
6	Bobby Grich	2B	312.55	25.94	102	78	61	63	76
7	Charlie Gehringer	2B	383	24.24	41	142	65	92	49
8	Roberto Alomar	2B	327.75	24.96	83	106	67	72	68
9	Ryne Sandberg	2B	328.7	24.16	80	147	83	105	78
10	Frankie Frisch	2B	366	23.48	49	184	87	120	62
11	Larry Doyle	2B	289	25.37	143	93	88	80	102
12	Jackie Robinson	2B	257	28.7	209	39	91	58	143
13	Lou Whitaker	2B	333.45	22.82	74	217	113	155	90
14	Johnny Evers	2B	268	24.09	179	151	129	131	152
15	Billy Herman	2B	298	22.35	127	246	156	199	132
16	Bobby Doerr	2B	281	22.68	155	225	160	190	153
17	Hardy Richardson	2B	230	24.72	280	117	167	130	220
18	Joe Gordon	2B	242	23.99	243	156	170	151	201
19	Willie Randolph	2B	296.4	21.37	130	314	192	251	155
20	Bid McPhee	2B	305	20.99	111	350	200	275	151
21	Tony Lazzeri	2B	252	22.36	218	244	201	221	204
22	Cupid Childs	2B	238	22.81	252	218	207	210	224
23	Danny Murphy	2B	215	23.33	335	194	240	212	286
24	Dick McAuliffe	2B	228.95	21.81	287	288	263	271	273
25	Buddy Myer	2B	258	20.42	205	393	277	342	234
26	Gil McDougald	2B	194	23.3	409	197	282	233	347
27	Davey Lopes	2B	228	21.19	290	329	290	309	287
28	Del Pratt	2B	242	20.61	242	380	292	339	258
29	Miller Huggins	2B	222	21.16	309	331	304	315	308
30	Eddie Stanky	2B	191	22.77	421	221	305	257	367
31	Jimmy Williams	2B	207	21.95	363	279	306	286	331
32	Tom Daly	2B	215	21.48	337	307	308	303	319
33	Nellie Fox	2B	298.34	18.91	126	523	311	432	207
34	Jeff Kent	2B	187.15	23	444	211	314	253	383
35	Fred Dunlap	2B	165	25.08	560	101	316	197	438
36	Chuck Knoblauch	2B	217.55	21.03	329	344	323	336	325
37	Lonny Frey	2B	208	21.05	359	341	339	340	344
38	Jim Gilliam	2B	243.43	19.24	237	491	358	434	289
39	George Grantham	2B	193	21.21	413	328	368	348	392
40	Red Schoendienst	2B	261.77	18.41	201	568	380	483	280
41	Bill Doran	2B	183.35	21.12	466	335	399	363	423
42	Bobby Avila	2B	175	21.22	505	326	412	368	459
43	Max Bishop	2B	184	20.64	465	379	420	404	435
44	Claude Ritchey	2B	205	19.48	370	480	427	457	396
45	Tony Cuccinello	2B	203	19.13	373	499	439	474	403
46	Ron Hunt	2B	181.45	20.1	476	423	458	445	463
47	Edgardo Alfonzo	2B	136.8	24.01	746	155	460	295	630
48	Fred Pfeffer	2B	202	18.38	377	570	482	534	416
49	Davey Johnson	2B	162.45	20.28	565	407	505	452	536
50	Bill Mazeroski	2B	212.2	16.94	348	671	524	616	420
51	Phil Garner	2B	185.25	18.42	454	567	526	550	494
52	Marty McManus	2B	202	17.31	379	647	530	601	439
53	Jim Delahanty	2B	149	20.6	654	382	533	455	613
54	Delino DeShields	2B	173.85	18.31	514	575	574	580	541
55	Frank White	2B	200.45	16.15	384	708	577	652	467
56	Steve Sax	2B	188.1	16.81	438	680	593	646	514
57	Tom Herr	2B	161.5	18.03	570	592	616	610	600
58	Robby Thompson	2B	147.25	19.19	670	495	620	551	663
59	Bobby Lowe	2B	188	15.72	439	733	622	686	526
60	Tony Taylor	2B	190.29	15.09	426	764	637	701	524
61	Billy Goodman	2B	169.69	17.09	535	659	640	654	592
62	Juan Samuel	2B	167.2	17.11	548	658	647	657	601
63	Terry Turner	2B	171	16.65	524	692	651	671	593
64	Dave Cash	2B	156.75	17.65	603	621	654	640	637
65	Johnny Temple	2B	155.96	16.86	608	676	677	685	661
66	Johnny Ray	2B	145.35	17.53	684	629	691	663	696
67	Jerry Priddy	2B	145	17.31	686	648	697	682	702
68	Jorge Orta	2B	152	16.05	631	710	699	714	684
69	Carlos Baerga	2B	139.65	17.65	722	623	702	670	717
70	Jim Gantner	2B	154.85	15.57	614	741	708	725	679
71	Bret Boone	2B	132.05	17.89	765	602	712	664	734
72	Glenn Hubbard	2B	133	17.71	763	619	719	676	739
73	Felix Millan	2B	144.4	15.57	690	742	736	743	721
74	Jody Reed	2B	129.2	16.79	780	682	744	723	768
75	Sparky Adams	2B	144	15.11	699	763	745	754	727
76	Don Blasingame	2B	136.89	15.28	744	759	760	763	762
77	Bucky Harris	2B	133