Pete Palmer’s All-Time All-Star Team, 1969

(Posted by Cyril Morong)

(Pete Palmer is the author of The Hidden Game of Baseball and Total Baseball (which became the official encyclopedia of baseball). He submitted this article to The Sporting News in 1969 but it was not published. It uses the type of player evaluation methods he used later in his books)

As professional baseball enters its second century, it would be interesting to try to rank the greatest players from the first century. Comparison between players of the dead ball and lively ball eras, or between home-run sluggers and high-average hitters is not easy with presently used yardsticks. However, if one could relate player performance to the number of wins for the team each season, a more constant measure should be available.

Analyzing the runs for and against figures for each team each year shows that for every ten runs scored more than allowed, a team will win about one more game. That is, a team that outscores its opposition by 100 runs in 162 games will win about ten games more than half or 91 games. This figure varies somewhat with total runs scored plus al1owed, as more runs are needed for each win with high-scoring teams. Wins can be verified within about three a year for each club using this relationship.

The next step is to relate individual performance to runs scored or allowed for the team. The method presented will give ratings for runs more or less than average, so that an average player will have a rating of zero. A team composed of all average players would have a zero rating (runs scored equals runs allowed) and should win exactly half its games.

The details of this method are exp1ained at the conclusion of this article. In brief, pitchers and hitters are related to average league performance for each season. For pitchers, earned runs are used, while for hitters, a combination of hits, extra base hits, walks, and outs is employed. Stolen bases are not used, as caught stealing records are incomplete.

The table presents the top forty hitters and top twenty pitchers since 1900. Pre-1900 play is included for Wagner. Lajoie. Crawford. Flick, and Young. The number listed for each player is the deduced number of wins contributed by the player above average performance. That is, Ruth was responsible for his team winning 124 ball games more than with an average player in his place. Bases on balls figures were gathered for the old-timers by John Tattersall. Incomplete records in the 1890's did not allow ratings to be established for players of that period, although approximate figures are as follows:

HITTERS		PITCHERS
Ed Delahanty	45	Kid Nichols	45
Billy Hamilton	45	Clark Griffith	33
Jesse Burkett	40	Amos Rusie	30
Willie Keeler	40

Players previous to 1890 were not rated. The rules of the game were quite different then, and statistics are lacking.

Since the top-forty list shows many outfielders and first-baseman, the top six hitters at the other positions are presented.

SECOND BASE		SHORTSTOP
Rogers Hornsby	82.7	Hans Wagner	70.8
Nap Lajoie	65.5	Arky Vaughan	36.9
Eddie Collins	64.4	Ernie Banks	30.7
Charley Gehringer	34.5	Joe Cronin	23.3
Jackie Robinson	27.2	Luke Appling	19.8
Larry Doyle	25.5	Vern Stephens	19.3

THIRD BASE		CATCHER
Eddie Mathews	50.0	Mickey Cochran	25.1
Frank Baker	28.4	Gabby Hartnett	23.9
Ron Santo	27.0	Yogi Berra	20.8
Stan Hack	25.6	Bill Dickey	20.4
Bob Elliott	25.4	Ernie Lombardi	18.4
Richie Allen	24.4	Roy Campanella	16.4

It is possible to estimate ratings for seasons missed due to military service. Here, the average of the two seasons before and two seasons after service is used. The rankings would be amended as follows (old rating in parentheses).

HITTERS		PITCHERS
1. Ted Williams	153.0 (2)	4. Pete Alexander	59.4 (4)
4. Stan Musial	104.6 (4)	5. Bob Feller	59.3 (9)
6. Willie Mays	84.1 (9)	6. Warren Spahn	53.0 (5)
15. Johnny Mize	65.4 (18)	7. Whitey Ford	46.2 (8)
17. Hank Greenberg	64.2 (25)	10. Ted Lyons	36.9 (10)
19. Joe DiMaggio	60.8 (20)	20. Red Ruffing	29.3 (--)
25. Ralph Kiner	44.9 (28)
27. Enos Slaughter	40.3 (40)
34. Charley Keller	34.4 (--)

HITTERS		PITCHERS
1. Babe Ruth	124.0	1. Walter Johnson	75.4
2. Ted Williams	115.2	2. Cy Young	69.5
3. Ty Cobb	107.9	3. Lefty Grove	62.6
4. Stan Musial	98.7	4. Pete Alexander	54.7
5. Tris Speaker	85.6	5. Warren Spahn	48.8
6. Lou Gehrig	84.1	6. Christy Mathewson	45.2
7. Rogers Hornsby	82.7	7. Carl Hubbell	43.0
8. Mickey Mantle	82.3	8. Whitey Ford	42.6
9. Wil1ie Mays	77.3	9. Bob Feller	39.7
10. Mel Ott	76.5	10. Ted Lyons	33.0

11. Jimmie Foxx	74.6	11. Lefty Gomez	32.4
12. Hans Wagner	70.8	12. Red Faber	32.0
13. Henry Aaron	65.7	12. Ed Walsh	32.0
14. Nap Lajoie	65.5	12. Hoyt Wilhelm	32.0
15. Eddie Collins	64.4	15. Eddie Plank	31.5
16. Frank Robinson	61.4	16. Dazzy Vance	30.6
17. Sam Crawford	52.5	17. Stan Coveleskie	30.0
18. Johnny Mize	52.0	17. Hal Newhouser	30.0
19. Eddie Mathews	50.0	19. Don Drysdale	29.5
20. Joe DiMaggio	49.3	20. Sandy Koufax	29.1

21. Harry Heilmann	48.4
22. Paul Waner	47.3
23. Joe Jackson	45.5
24. Al Kaline	44.9
25. Hank Greenberg	44.0
26. Duke Snider	43.6
27. Harmon Killebrew	39.8
28. Ralph Kiner	39.5
29. Arky Vaughan	36.9
30. Chuck Klein	36.3

31. Al Simmons	35.9
32. Bob Johnson	35.8
33. Charley Gehringer	34.5
34. Ducky Medwick	34.1
35. Sherry Magee	33.1
36. Dolph Camilli	33.0
36. Elmer Flick	33.0
38. Zach Wheat	32.5
39. Goose Goslin	31.3
40. Enos Slaughter	30.8

Using these ratings, the following all-time all-star teams can be developed:

	MAJOR LEAGUES	NATIONAL LEAGUE	AMERICAN LEAGUE
1b	Stan Musial	Stan Musial	Lou Gehrig
2b	Rogers Hornsby	Rogers Hornsby	Eddie Collins
3b	Eddie Mathews	Eddie Mathews	Frank Baker
ss	Hans Wagner	Hans Wagner	Joe Cronin
lf	Ted Williams	Hank Aaron	Ted Williams
cf	Ty Cobb	Willie Mays	Ty Cobb
rf	Babe Ruth	Mel Ott	Babe Ruth
c	Mickey Cochrane	Gabby Hartnett	Mickey Cochrane
p	Walter Johnson	Pete Alexander	Walter Johnson
	Cy Young	Warren Spahn	Lefty Grove
	Lefty Grove	Cy Young	Whitey Ford
	Pete Alexander	Christy Mathewson	Bob Feller

No allowance for fielding skills is made. It should be noted that Young and Lajoie performed for both leagues, so that their particular league performance is not as high as their record for both leagues.

The top individual performances are as follows:

HITTERS		HITTERS
AMERICAN LEAGUE		NATIONAL LEAGUE
1923 Babe Ruth	11.1	1924 Rogers Hornsby	9.0
1921 Babe Ruth	10.5	1948 Stan Musia1	8.7
1920 Babe Ruth	10.5	1922 Rogers Hornsby	8.3
1941 Ted Williams	9.8	1925 Rogers Hornsby	7.9
1946 Ted Williams	9.8	1908 Hans Wagner	7.6
1927 Babe Ruth	9.4	1946 Stan Musial	7.3
1926 Babe Ruth	9.3	1933 Chuck Klein	7.2
1942 Ted Williams	9.3	1928 Rogers Hornsby	7.1
1947 Ted Williams	9.3	1949 Stan Musial	7.1
1961 Norm Cash	9.3	1921 Rogers Hornsby	7.0
		1951 Stan Musial	7.0
		1951 Ralph Kiner	7.0
		1935 Arky Vaughan	7.0

PITCHERS		PITCHERS
AMERICAN LEAGUE		NATIONAL LEAGUE
1931 Lefty Grove	8.0	1968 Bob Gibson	8.6
1913 Walter Johnson	7.9	1966 Sandy Koufax	8.2
1901 Cy Young	7.7	1915 Pete Alexander	7.7
1912 Walter Johnson	7.5	1933 Carl Hubbel1	7.5
1930 Lefty Grove	7.5	1953 Warren Spahn	7.1

It should be noted that twenty wins is usually enough to change a .500 club to a pennant winner, so that contributing ten wins is quite an achievement.

	NATIONAL LEAGUE		AMERICAN LEAGUE
1b	1939 Johnny Mize	6.9	1961 Norm Cash	9.3
2b	1924 Rogers Hornsby	9.0	1910 Nap Lajoie	7.6
3b	1964 Ron Santo	6.3	1953 Al Rosen	6.4
ss	1908 Hans Wagner	7.6	1948 Lou Boudreau	5.9
lf	1948 Stan Musial	8.7	1941 Ted Williams	9.8
			1946 Ted Williams	9.8
cf	1965 Willie Mays	6.9	1957 Mickey Mantle	9.1
rf	1933 Chuck Klein	7.2	1923 Babe Ruth	11.1
c	1951 Roy Campanella	4.2	1933 Mickey Cochrane	3.9

All-time all-star teams for each club are listed next. The ratings are based on performance for that club only and no allowance for fielding is made. If fielding were considered, the following would probably replace those listed.

Reds- ss- McMillan over Cardenas

Giants -3b -Thompson over Hart

Pirates -2b -Mazeroski, with Grantham switching to

first base over Fletcher

Cardinals -ss -Marion over Hemus

White Sox -3b -Kamm over Ward

Tigers -ss -Bush over Kuenn

Outfielders listed are the top three hitters, with the field assignments made to present the best defense. In most cases a bona fide centerfielder is shown.

	Braves	Dodgers	Cubs	Reds	Giants	Phils	Pirates	Cards
1b	Adcock	Hodges	Cavaretta	Kluszewski	Terry	Camilli	Fletcher	Mize
2b	Hornsby	Robinson	Herman	Rose	Doyle	Lajoie	Grantham	Hornsby
3b	Long	Reese	Santo	Cardenas	Davis	Bartell	Wagner	Hemus
ss	Mathews	Lavagetto	Banks	Groh	Hart	Allen	Traynor	Boyer
lf	Berger	Wheat	Williams	Pinson	Youngs	Delahanty	P.Waner	Medwick
cf	Aaron	Snider	Wilson	Roush	Mays	Magee	Clemente	Slaughter
rf	Holmes	Walker	Nicholson	Robinson	Ott	Klein	Kiner	Musial
c	Torre	Campanella	Hartnett	Lombardi	Bresnahan	Davis	Burgess	McCarver
	Spahn*	Vance	Brown	Rixey*	Mathewson	Alexander	Leever	Gibson
	Nichols	Drysdale	Griffith	Luque	Hubbell*	Roberts	Cooper*	Breechen*
	Buhl	Koufax*	Alexander	Walters	Rusie	Bunning	Phillippe	Dean
	Burdett	Rucker*	Warneke	Hahn*	Marichal	Simmons*	Adams	Lanier*
			(Vaughn*)

							Browns-	Senators-
	Red Sox	White Sox	Indians	Tigers	Yankees	Athletics	Orioles	Twins
1b	Foxx	Bonura	Trosky	Greenberg	Gehrig	Foxx	Sisler	Killebrew
2b	Doerr	Collins	Lajoie	Gehringer	Lazzeri	Collins	Pratt	Myer
3b	Cronin	Appling	Boudreau	Kuenn	Peckinpaugh	Joost	Stephens	Cronin
ss	Collins	Ward	Rosen	Kell	Baker	Baker	Clift	Yost
lf	Williams	Jackson	Jackson	Cobb	Mantle	Valo	Williams	Goslin
cf	Speaker	Felsch	Speaker	Kaline	DiMaggio	Simmons	Jacobson	Allison
rf	Yastrz'ski	Minoso	Averill	Heilmann	Ruth	Johnson	Robinson	Oliva
c	Schang	Lollar	Romano	Freehan	Berra	Cochrane	Schang	Battey
	Young	Lyons	Feller	Newhouser*	Ford*	Grove*	Shocker	Johnson
	Grove*	Faber	Lemon	Bridges	Ruffing	Plank*	Wilhelm	Leonard
	Parnell*	Walsh	Coveleskie	Trout	Gomez*	Rommel	Pappas	Marberry
	Wood	Pierce*	Joss	Bunning	Hoyt	Waddell*	Garver	Mogridge*
			(Gregg*)				(Weilman*)

*left-handed pitcher (parentheses indicate top left-hander was not among top four pitchers)

outstanding all-time player for each team is underlined

DETAILS OF RATING SYSTEM

For pitchers, the actual number of earned runs allowed is compared the number that would have been allowed if the pitcher had the same earned run average as the league. For example, in 1968 the National League had an earned run average of 2.99.

		Earned		Earned runs
Pitcher	Innings	run average	Earned runs	at 2.99/game	Runs rating
Gibson	305	305	38	102	64
Carlton	232	232	77	77	0
Wise	182	182	92	61	-31

For hitters, the task is more difficult. Several systems have been developed independently that are quite similar. For each hitter, his walks, singles, doubles, triples, homers, and outs are multiplied by different factors to give a total number of runs contributed. The following values are used.

walk, hit-by-pitch,
or interference	0.333	Triple	1.036
Single	0.489	Homer	1.421
Double	0.749	Out	-0.231

Since the number of outs made by each hitter is not available from the records at-bats minus hits is used in its place. In order for league totals to be zero each season, the out factor is varied as shown below (National League 1968)

walk, hit-by-pitch,

or interference 4634*.333 = 1545

Singles 10106*.489 = 4942

Doubles 1995*.749 = 1495

Triples 359*1.036 = 372

Homers 891*1.421 = 1266

9620

At-bats 54913

At-bats minus hits 41562

41562*.231 = 9600

(Note-The original had this at 9620. This may be due to rounding)

Looking at three examples of individual ratings

Hitter	McCovey	Javier	Lanier
.333 * (bb+hp)	26 (77)	8 (25)	4 (12)
.489 * singles	48 (97)	50 (102)	42 (85)
.749 * doubles	12 (16 )	19 (25)	10 (14 )
1.036 * triples	4 (4 )	4 (4)	1 (1)
1.421 * homers	51 (36)	6 (4)	0 (0)
.231 * ab-hits	-85 (370)	-89 (384)	-89 (386)

Runs rating	56	-2.0	-32

The runs rating is then divided by the runs to wins ratio to give the appropriate number of wins. This ratio is about ten, but varies with actual runs scored and allowed. For rating purposes, it is assumed that a team scores an average number of runs and that the individual adds or subtracts from that total. In 1968 the National League scored an average of 6.8 runs per game (both teams). So for Gibson, since he allowed less runs than average, the total in his games should be less. It is equal to 6.8 less 64 (rating) times 9 (innings per game) over 305 (innings pitched) or 4.9. For McCovey, two adjustments must be made. First his average runs per game is 6.8 plus 56 (rating) over 148 (games) or 7.1. The related runs-wins ratio is 8.9. However, since league totals include pitchers as hitters, a correction for this is made so that hitters are compared only with non-pitchers as hitters. Rather than add all the hitting totals for pitchers, an estimated 0.5 wins for each 154 games played is subtracted from each hitter rating. Thus McCovey is 56 (rating) over 8.9 (constant) less 0.5 or 5.8. Therefore Gibson is credited with 8.6 wins and McCovey with 5.8.

The equation to determine the value of the runs-wins ratio is ten times the square root of the ratio of runs plus opponent’s runs divided by innings. Thus if both teams combined score an average of one run per inning, the ratio will be ten. This relationship was determined from the runs-wins figures over the last fifty years.

Collins

Cobb