Win Shares Per Plate Appearance

by Cyril Morong

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The back of the Win Shares book by Bill James proclaims “Win Shares, a revolutionary system that allows for player evaluation across positions, teams and eras, measures the total sum of player contributions in one groundbreaking number. James’ latest advancement in the world of statistical analysis is the next big stepping stone in the “greatest players of all time” debate.

This website shows how the greatest players rank in Win Shares (WS) per plate appearance (PA). I did this because WS can never be negative, so the longer a player plays, the more WS he gets. So I wanted to see how good each player was per plate appearance, sort of by quality instead of quantity. Actually, instead of just dividing WS by PA, I multiplied it by 648, to get an idea of how many WS they would have for a full season. I used the Lee Sinins Sabermetric Encyclopedia to get PA for each player.

Players included in the study had either at least 5000 (PAs) or at least 141 WS or both through the 2001 season. A few players like Kid Gleason and Cy Seymour, who got alot WS from pitching are not included because I could not easily determine how many of their WS came from pitching. This information, however, was clearly stated in the book for Babe Ruth. So his WS per PA has his pitching WS subtracted. There is also a ranking with only players who had 7500 PA. This is at the end.

I first look at what the breakdown is by position for both the top 100 players and the bottom 100 players. Then I present the ranking of the 861 players in the study. Then players are ranked by position.

Top 100 Profile

Below are how many players from each position were in the top 100 in WS/648PA:

Position	Count	% of Total	Expected %
1B	18	18.00%	12.50%
2B	8	8.00%	12.50%
3B	6	6.00%	12.50%
C	12	12.00%	12.50%
OF	50	50.00%	37.50%
SS	6	6.00%	12.50%

Some observations:

1. Players were listed at a position if they played more games there than any other position. Outfield was counted as one position.

2. Outfielders are very over represented among the top 100 players.

3. Infielders, especially shortstops and third basemen are very under represented among the top 100 players.

If WS is supposed to allow for comparisons across positions, this is a surprising result. Why would so few infielders be in the top 100? Are outfielders really better than infielders? Consider the two following teams of eight players. The players on the left are the top 8 in WS/648PA. The players on the right are the best of the remaining players at their position. Which team would you expect to win more games if they each had average pitching staffs?

Babe Ruth	Joe Jackson
Mickey Mantle	Willie Mays
Ted Williams	Lou Gehrig
Honus Wagner	Joe DiMaggio
Ty Cobb	Mike Piazza
Barry Bonds	Eddie Collins
Rogers Hornsby	Mike Schmidt
Tris Speaker	Arky Vaughan

The team on the left lacks a first baseman, third baseman and catcher. The team on the right has one player for each position. Win Shares says that the team on the left must be better since all eight of those players ranks higher than all eight of the players on the right. Yet the team on the left might not field some positions very well and therefore may not be as good as the team on the right.

Bottom 100 Profile

What does the bottom 100-player profile look like?

Position	Count	% of Total	Expected %
1B	11	11.00%	12.50%
2B	30	30.00%	12.50%
3B	8	8.00%	12.50%
C	4	4.00%	12.50%
OF	21	21.00%	37.50%
SS	26	26.00%	12.50%

The reverse of the top 100 is true. Many fewer outfielders than expected. But many more second basemen and shortstops than expected.

Complete Profile

What about the profile of all the players? There are 861 players in the ranking. Seven were DHs, so the percentages below in the third column are based on a total 854. The average refers to average WS/648PA.

Position	Count	% of Total	Expected %	Average
1B	122	14.29%	12.50%	20.51
2B	107	12.53%	12.50%	18.83
3B	96	11.24%	12.50%	19.92
C	68	7.96%	12.50%	20.98
OF	354	41.45%	37.50%	21.13
SS	107	12.53%	12.50%	18.44

Notice that catchers and outfielders have a much higher average than shortstops. Have catchers and outfielders really been better players than shortstops in baseball history? The low number of catchers might be explained by the wear and tear of the position, making hard to get to 5000 PA.

The Complete Rankings

Rank	Player	WS per 648 PA	POS
1	Babe Ruth	39.92	OF
2	Mickey Mantle	36.95	OF
3	Ted Williams	36.74	OF
4	Honus Wagner	36.16	SS
5	Ty Cobb	35.79	OF
6	Barry Bonds	34.56	OF
7	Rogers Hornsby	34.33	2B
8	Tris Speaker	34.05	OF
9	Joe Jackson	33.48	OF
10	Willie Mays	33.30	OF
11	Lou Gehrig	32.80	1B
12	Joe DiMaggio	32.69	OF
13	Mike Piazza	31.82	C
14	Benny Kauff	31.82	OF
15	Eddie Collins	30.90	2B
16	Stan Musial	30.79	OF
17	Nap Lajoie	30.73	2B
18	Charlie Keller	30.68	OF
19	Dick Allen	30.30	1B
20	Mel Ott	30.18	OF
21	Frank Chance	30.12	1B
22	Mike Schmidt	30.08	3B
23	Dan Brouthers	29.97	1B
24	Hank Aaron	29.89	OF
25	Arky Vaughan	29.88	SS
26	Johnny Mize	29.71	1B
27	Elmer Flick	29.42	OF
28	Home Run Baker	29.29	3B
29	Joe Morgan	29.29	2B
30	Jimmie Foxx	29.15	1B
31	Yogi Berra	29.06	C
32	Frank Thomas-cws	29.02	1B
33	Mark McGwire	28.93	1B
34	Eddie Mathews	28.87	3B
35	Gabby Hartnett	28.86	C
36	Bill Dickey	28.82	C
37	Billy Hamilton	28.77	OF
38	Mickey Cochrane	28.71	C
39	Jackie Robinson	28.70	2B
40	Frank Robinson	28.64	OF
41	Jeff Bagwell	28.48	1B
42	Hank Greenberg	28.38	1B
43	Alex Rodriguez	28.23	SS
44	King Kelly	27.91	OF
45	Roger Bresnahan	27.86	C
46	Roy Campanella	27.85	C
47	Duke Snider	27.69	OF
48	Wally Berger	27.58	OF
49	Larry Doby	27.56	OF
50	Dave Orr	27.55	1B
51	Pete Browning	27.43	OF
52	Ed Delahanty	27.41	OF
53	Al Rosen	27.41	3B
54	Willie McCovey	27.30	1B
55	Sam Crawford	27.28	OF
56	John McGraw	27.16	3B
57	Gene Tenace	27.09	C
58	Buck Ewing	27.06	C
59	Sherry Magee	26.84	OF
60	Johnny Bench	26.61	C
61	Roger Connor	26.60	1B
62	Willie Stargell	26.56	OF
63	George Gore	26.54	OF
64	Jason Giambi	26.50	1B
65	Barry Larkin	26.45	SS
66	Fred Clarke	26.40	OF
67	Gary Sheffield	26.39	OF
68	Manny Ramirez	26.39	OF
69	Charley Jones	26.36	OF
70	Rickey Henderson	26.34	OF
71	Mike Donlin	26.33	OF
72	Jesse Burkett	26.22	OF
73	Ken Griffey Jr.	26.22	OF
74	Frank Howard	26.17	OF
75	Reggie Smith	26.16	OF
76	Hack Wilson	26.13	OF
77	Pedro Guerrero	26.07	1B
78	Bobby Grich	25.94	2B
79	Will Clark	25.89	1B
80	George Stone	25.81	OF
81	Darryl Strawberry	25.81	OF
82	Norm Cash	25.81	1B
83	Harry Heilmann	25.75	OF
84	Craig Biggio	25.72	2B
85	Tom Haller	25.67	C
86	Roy Thomas	25.62	OF
87	Lou Boudreau	25.56	SS
88	Al Simmons	25.53	OF
89	Lefty O'Doul	25.50	OF
90	Paul Waner	25.47	OF
91	George Davis	25.39	SS
92	Chipper Jones	25.38	3B
93	Larry Doyle	25.37	2B
94	Bill Terry	25.33	1B
95	Jeff Heath	25.29	OF
96	Tony Gwynn	25.21	OF
97	Reggie Jackson	25.20	OF
98	Harry Stovey	25.14	OF
99	Earl Averill	25.12	OF
100	Bill Freehan	25.08	C
101	Fred Dunlap	25.08	2B
102	Ralph Kiner	25.07	OF
103	Heine Groh	25.05	3B
104	Ross Youngs	25.03	OF
105	Topsy Hartsel	24.97	OF
106	Larry Walker	24.96	OF
107	Roberto Alomar	24.96	2B
108	Edd Roush	24.95	OF
109	Tommy Henrich	24.92	OF
110	Jack Clark	24.90	OF
111	Jim O'Rourke	24.85	OF
112	Joe Medwick	24.83	OF
113	Jack Fournier	24.81	1B
114	George Van Haltren	24.79	OF
115	Al Kaline	24.75	OF
116	Hardy Richardson	24.72	2B
117	Roger Maris	24.72	OF
118	Wally Schang	24.72	C
119	Jimmy Wynn	24.67	OF
120	Tim Raines	24.67	OF
121	Lenny Dykstra	24.66	OF
122	Oyster Burns	24.65	OF
123	Zack Wheat	24.65	OF
124	Roy Cullenbine	24.64	OF
125	Stan Spence	24.63	OF
126	Kevin Mitchell	24.56	OF
127	Bill Dahlen	24.55	SS
128	Denny Lyons	24.52	3B
129	Hughie Jennings	24.52	SS
130	Bill Joyce	24.49	3B
131	Art Devlin	24.48	3B
132	Bernie Williams	24.45	OF
133	Harmon Killebrew	24.45	1B
134	Joe Cronin	24.42	SS
135	Cap Anson	24.40	1B
136	Hugh Duffy	24.39	OF
137	Jim Thome	24.35	1B
138	Augie Galan	24.34	OF
139	Joe Kelley	24.28	OF
140	Paul Hines	24.25	OF
141	Moises Alou	24.25	OF
142	Charlie Gehringer	24.24	2B
143	Gary Carter	24.21	C
144	Carlton Fisk	24.20	C
145	Mike Tiernan	24.20	OF
146	Bobby Bonds	24.19	OF
147	Heinie Zimmerman	24.16	3B
148	Ryne Sandberg	24.16	2B
149	Babe Herman	24.15	1B
150	Jimmy Sheckard	24.09	OF
151	Johnny Evers	24.09	2B
152	George Brett	24.08	3B
153	Stan Hack	24.07	3B
154	Edgar Martinez	24.05	DH
155	Edgardo Alfonzo	24.01	2B
156	Joe Gordon	23.99	2B
157	Riggs Stephenson	23.98	OF
158	Chick Stahl	23.95	OF
159	Roberto Clemente	23.92	OF
160	Luke Appling	23.91	SS
161	Fielder Jones	23.81	OF
162	Jimmy Collins	23.80	3B
163	Minnie Minoso	23.79	OF
164	Wade Boggs	23.77	3B
165	Darren Daulton	23.76	C
166	Jim Edmonds	23.75	OF
167	Ivan Rodriguez	23.74	C
168	Vern Stephens	23.72	SS
169	Danny Green	23.70	OF
170	Patsy Dougherty	23.69	OF
171	Ryan Klesko	23.65	OF
172	Ginger Beaumont	23.63	OF
173	Eric Davis	23.61	OF
174	Charlie Bennett	23.60	C
175	Albert Belle	23.60	OF
176	Rod Carew	23.59	1B
177	Cesar Cedeno	23.58	OF
178	Chick Hafey	23.57	OF
179	Keith Hernandez	23.56	1B
180	Don Buford	23.51	OF
181	Socks Seybold	23.50	OF
182	Dixie Walker	23.50	OF
183	Sam Thompson	23.49	OF
184	Frankie Frisch	23.48	2B
185	Tommy Leach	23.48	OF
186	David Justice	23.47	OF
187	Goose Goslin	23.42	OF
188	Boog Powell	23.40	1B
189	Rocky Colavito	23.40	OF
190	Art Fletcher	23.39	SS
191	Joe Tinker	23.37	SS
192	Kiki Cuyler	23.37	OF
193	Rick Monday	23.34	OF
194	Sam Mertes	23.33	OF
195	Danny Murphy	23.33	2B
196	Ken Williams	23.32	OF
197	Gil McDougald	23.30	2B
198	Bobby Murcer	23.26	OF
199	Bobby Wallace	23.26	SS
200	Kirby Puckett	23.25	OF
201	Mike Griffin	23.22	OF
202	Joe Torre	23.19	C
203	Andy Van Slyke	23.11	OF
204	Bob Johnson	23.11	OF
205	Orlando Cepeda	23.10	1B
206	Red Smith	23.10	3B
207	Tony Oliva	23.08	OF
208	Billy Williams	23.04	OF
209	Enos Slaughter	23.04	OF
210	Derek Jeter	23.02	SS
211	Jeff Kent	23.00	2B
212	Ezra Sutton	22.99	3B
213	Fred Lynn	22.90	OF
214	Ken Singleton	22.87	OF
215	Dolph Camilli	22.85	1B
216	Jim Fregosi	22.85	SS
217	Lou Whitaker	22.82	2B
218	Cupid Childs	22.81	2B
219	Ray Lankford	22.79	OF
220	George Burns	22.78	OF
221	Eddie Stanky	22.77	2B
222	Bob Elliott	22.71	3B
223	Bobby Veach	22.71	OF
224	Jose Cruz	22.71	OF
225	Bobby Doerr	22.68	2B
226	Ripper Collins	22.65	1B
227	Jim Ray Hart	22.64	3B
228	Kid Elberfeld	22.62	SS
229	Thurman Munson	22.61	C
230	Carl Yastrzemski	22.60	OF
231	Earle Combs	22.60	OF
232	Bill Nicholson	22.52	OF
233	Elston Howard	22.51	C
234	Amos Otis	22.47	OF
235	Jimmy Ryan	22.47	OF
236	Willie Keeler	22.45	OF
237	Buck Freeman	22.45	OF
238	Tim Salmon	22.44	OF
239	Earl Battey	22.42	C
240	Jack Glasscock	22.41	SS
241	Rafael Palmeiro	22.41	1B
242	John Titus	22.39	OF
243	Robin Yount	22.38	SS
244	Tony Lazzeri	22.36	2B
245	Billy Herman	22.35	2B
246	Pete Rose	22.35	OF
247	Gene Woodling	22.34	OF
248	Ron Santo	22.34	3B
249	Fred McGriff	22.33	1B
250	Ed Bailey	22.33	C
251	George Foster	22.31	OF
252	Phil Rizzuto	22.31	SS
253	Smoky Burgess	22.23	C
254	Don Mincher	22.22	1B
255	Bob Allison	22.22	OF
256	Sid Gordon	22.19	OF
257	John Olerud	22.19	1B
258	Abner Dalrymple	22.17	OF
259	Ernie Lombardi	22.15	C
260	Sal Bando	22.13	3B
261	Eddie Murray	22.09	1B
262	Walker Cooper	22.08	C
263	Don Mattingly	22.07	1B
264	Sammy Sosa	22.07	OF
265	Oscar Gamble	22.07	OF
266	Paul Molitor	22.06	DH
267	Ned Williamson	22.06	3B
268	Roy White	22.03	OF
269	Dom DiMaggio	22.01	OF
270	Ken Caminiti	22.01	3B
271	Bob O'Farrell	22.00	C
272	Howard Johnson	22.00	3B
273	Hal Trosky	21.99	1B
274	Alan Trammell	21.98	SS
275	Bob Watson	21.97	1B
276	Johnny Pesky	21.97	SS
277	John Kruk	21.96	1B
278	Heinie Manush	21.95	OF
279	Jimmy Williams	21.95	2B
280	Darrell Evans	21.91	3B
281	Darrell Porter	21.90	C
282	Richie Ashburn	21.90	OF
283	Tommy Holmes	21.89	OF
284	Ken Boyer	21.87	3B
285	Juan Gonzalez	21.86	OF
286	Solly Hofman	21.82	OF
287	Chet Lemon	21.81	OF
288	Dick McAuliffe	21.81	2B
289	Larry Gardner	21.77	3B
290	Dave Winfield	21.76	OF
291	Ron Cey	21.74	3B
292	Deacon White	21.72	3B
293	Jose Canseco	21.68	OF
294	Kevin McReynolds	21.68	OF
295	Johnny Kling	21.66	C
296	Curt Welch	21.65	OF
297	Pepper Martin	21.64	OF
298	Henry Larkin	21.63	1B
299	Robin Ventura	21.60	3B
300	Larry Parrish	21.57	3B
301	Joe Sewell	21.55	SS
302	Mike Scioscia	21.53	C
303	Rico Petrocelli	21.53	SS
304	Chuck Klein	21.52	OF
305	Pee Wee Reese	21.49	SS
306	Cal Ripken	21.48	SS
307	Tom Daly	21.48	2B
308	Ed Konetchy	21.47	1B
309	Rico Carty	21.44	OF
310	Pie Traynor	21.41	3B
311	Sixto Lezcano	21.40	OF
312	Billy Nash	21.40	3B
313	Dwayne Murphy	21.39	OF
314	Willie Randolph	21.37	2B
315	Woodie Held	21.34	SS
316	John Briggs	21.30	OF
317	Greg Luzinski	21.30	OF
318	Tim McCarver	21.30	C
319	Dwight Evans	21.28	OF
320	Matty McIntyre	21.28	OF
321	Ferris Fain	21.27	1B
322	Bill Madlock	21.27	3B
323	Willie Davis	21.24	OF
324	Bobby Avila	21.22	2B
325	John Roseboro	21.22	C
326	Kirk Gibson	21.22	OF
327	Toby Harrah	21.22	3B
328	George Grantham	21.21	2B
329	Davey Lopes	21.19	2B
330	Tom Tresh	21.18	OF
331	Casey Stengel	21.16	OF
332	Miller Huggins	21.16	2B
333	Dave Bancroft	21.14	SS
334	Max Carey	21.12	OF
335	Bill Doran	21.12	2B
336	Johnny Grubb	21.09	OF
337	Frank McCormick	21.09	1B
338	Ted Simmons	21.08	C
339	Dale Murphy	21.07	OF
340	Kenny Lofton	21.07	OF
341	Lonny Frey	21.05	2B
342	Norm Siebern	21.04	1B
343	Chuck Knoblauch	21.03	2B
344	Gil Hodges	21.03	1B
345	Dode Paskert	21.02	OF
346	Mark Grace	21.02	1B
347	Ival Goodman	21.02	OF
348	Raul Mondesi	21.00	OF
349	Johnny Callison	21.00	OF
350	Bid McPhee	20.99	2B
351	George Sisler	20.99	1B
352	Bobby Bonilla	20.96	3B
353	Joe Adcock	20.94	1B
354	Johnny Hopp	20.90	OF
355	Harry Davis	20.90	1B
356	Wildfire Schulte	20.89	OF
357	Kent Hrbek	20.88	1B
358	Matt Williams	20.88	3B
359	Ray Chapman	20.87	SS
360	Danny Tartabull	20.85	OF
361	Ken Griffey Sr.	20.85	OF
362	Mo Vaughn	20.83	1B
363	Hank Sauer	20.83	OF
364	Tony Perez	20.82	1B
365	Terry Puhl	20.82	OF
366	Dave Parker	20.81	OF
367	Del Crandall	20.78	C
368	Mickey Tettleton	20.75	C
369	Brian Downing	20.74	DH
370	Clyde Milan	20.74	OF
371	Ernie Banks	20.70	1B
372	Lonnie Smith	20.69	OF
373	Sam Rice	20.68	OF
374	Ellis Burks	20.66	OF
375	Ron Fairly	20.66	1B
376	Rusty Staub	20.66	OF
377	Max Bishop	20.64	2B
378	Rudy York	20.64	1B
379	Tony Fernandez	20.64	SS
380	Johnny Bates	20.61	OF
381	Del Pratt	20.61	2B
382	Jim Delahanty	20.60	2B
383	Curt Flood	20.58	OF
384	Elbie Fletcher	20.58	1B
385	Mike Hargrove	20.53	1B
386	Freddy Lindstrom	20.49	3B
387	Spud Davis	20.49	C
388	Bill Bradley	20.48	3B
389	Tony Gonzalez	20.47	OF
390	Travis Jackson	20.47	SS
391	Andre Dawson	20.46	OF
392	Ken Keltner	20.43	3B
393	Buddy Myer	20.42	2B
394	Luis Gonzalez	20.39	OF
395	Mike Mitchell	20.38	OF
396	Wally Moon	20.37	OF
397	Al Smith	20.37	OF
398	Roy Sievers	20.37	1B
399	Ben Chapman	20.35	OF
400	Gary Matthews	20.34	OF
401	Graig Nettles	20.34	3B
402	Doug DeCinces	20.33	3B
403	Ray Boone	20.31	3B
404	Harlond Clift	20.30	3B
405	Harry Hooper	20.30	OF
406	Andy Pafko	20.29	OF
407	Davey Johnson	20.28	2B
408	Bill White	20.27	1B
409	Richie Hebner	20.23	3B
410	Cecil Travis	20.23	SS
411	Al Oliver	20.21	OF
412	Herman Long	20.21	SS
413	Vic Wertz	20.21	OF
414	Wally Joyner	20.20	1B
415	Hank Bauer	20.19	OF
416	Jack Rowe	20.17	SS
417	Jim Rice	20.17	OF
418	Leon Wagner	20.16	OF
419	Paul O'Neill	20.15	OF
420	Harry Steinfeldt	20.14	3B
421	Andy Seminick	20.13	C
422	Richie Zisk	20.11	OF
423	Ron Hunt	20.10	2B
424	Jack Clements	20.10	C
425	Lou Brock	20.07	OF
426	Bill North	20.05	OF
427	Brett Butler	20.03	OF
428	Carl Furillo	20.03	OF
429	Jim Bottomley	20.01	1B
430	John Anderson	20.01	OF
431	Jim Northrup	20.01	OF
432	Carney Lansford	20.00	3B
433	John Mayberry	20.00	1B
434	Vada Pinson	20.00	OF
435	Eddie Joost	19.97	SS
436	Jesse Barfield	19.94	OF
437	Phil Cavarretta	19.94	1B
438	Jackie Jensen	19.93	OF
439	Ray Schalk	19.91	C
440	Johnny Logan	19.90	SS
441	Mickey Rivers	19.89	OF
442	Elmer Valo	19.89	OF
443	Jimmy Slagle	19.88	OF
444	Barney McCosky	19.88	OF
445	Wes Parker	19.84	1B
446	John Reilly	19.83	1B
447	Sam Wise	19.79	SS
448	Larry Hisle	19.79	OF
449	Ken McMullen	19.79	3B
450	Reggie Sanders	19.79	OF
451	Dusty Baker	19.79	OF
452	Alvin Davis	19.79	1B
453	Bob Meusel	19.78	OF
454	Earl Torgeson	19.75	1B
455	Felipe Alou	19.75	OF
456	Maury Wills	19.74	SS
457	Cy Williams	19.73	OF
458	George Kell	19.71	3B
459	Jeff Burroughs	19.69