Acknowledgements
Before I forget, I wanted to say a big thank you to Bill James Online member Terry Vent (aka "Ventboys"). You may recognize Terry's name from the collaboration that he and I do on the annual "Gallery of Renown" project that we conduct here.
Terry recently offered a spreadsheet he keeps which captures seasonal WAR figures for several hundred key position players, and it came in handy for this article. I didn't use it exclusively as I did some other data pulls of my own, but it proved to be a valuable resource for this exercise, so I wanted to be sure I properly acknowledged that fact. A big thank you, Terry!
Intro
Creating "teams" based on various criteria is one of my favorite exercises. I created a "Billy Grabarkewitz" team of players who realized the majority of their career value in a single season, with the balance of their careers amounting to very little. I created a "Harold Baines Wing of the Hall of Fame" to identify players who exhibited similarity to Mr. Baines across a spectrum of characteristics (such as having a very long career, low BBWAA ballot support, low black ink, minimal award support, etc.). I love the concept of establishing a set of criteria and then assembling a team that best meets that criteria. And, if they happen to be players who don't normally get a lot of attention and I can learn something new about them along the way (and hopefully share that with you), all the better.
This exercise is all about players who I'm classifying "middle of the road". Now, middle of the road doesn't imply average or mediocre or anything of that nature, as I'll elaborate on later.
In short, I'm looking for players who:
1) Have a lot of "good"
2) Have a lack of "great"
3) Have a lack of "poor"
To continue on the "road" theme, the analogy I'm going to use throughout is that of a 4-lane highway, where the lanes are as such:
· Lane 1 is right-hand side, the slow lane, the lane where you first enter the highway. Some people never move beyond that, they just hug that right-most lane and stay there until they exit the highway.
· Lane 2 is the next lane over, generally going faster than the right-most lane, moving right along, making good progress.
· Lanes 3 and 4 are, of course, the higher speed lanes.
When driving on the highway, some people prefer to hang out in those higher speed lanes, moving faster than the others in the right hand lanes. Some move freely in and out among different lanes frequently. Some tend to pick a lane and stay in it.
This article is about those people who primarily enter the highway and move over to lane 2, and then, with a few exceptions, pretty much just hang out there until it's time to get off. I'm calling these folks "middle of the road", but it's not a derogatory term at all. It just means they picked a lane that wasn't one of the faster options, but it still effectively gets you to where you're going, and they pretty much stayed there (with occasional lane changes) for most of the journey.
I was having trouble settling on who to name the team after. Originally I was going to call it the Lou Whitaker or the Don Sutton all-stars, as they were kind of an inspiration for the concept. I tend to think of their careers as containing a whole bunch of "good", but not much "great" and, also, not much "poor" either. But, ultimately I decided that there were others who personified the concept better.
Then I got to thinking about calling it the Jake Beckley all-stars, but Beckley's in the Hall of Fame and I didn't want to name it after a Hall of Famer. I then moved on to Joe Judge, even if it meant risking that people might get it confused with the current New York (football) Giants head coach. Finally, though I settled on Fielder Jones as being the player who best exemplified the concept, and therefore we have the "Fielder Jones" All Star team.
Approach
To help me in this exercise, I decided to use baseball-reference.com's version of WAR (rWAR), but I wasn't so much interested in a player's total career rWAR. I was more interested in each player's distribution of seasonal rWAR figures.
I leveraged the general guideline that baseball-reference.com uses for seasonal WAR, although I tweaked the categories a little. This may look familiar to you if you hang out in the "value" section on a player's page. Baseball-reference.com provides the following to help classify what different levels of WAR in a season imply about the relative impact of a player's season:
· 8+ is considered MVP level
· 5+ is considered All Star level
· 2+ is considered to Starter level
· 0-2 is considered to be Substitute level
· Less than 0 is considered to be Replacement level
I used these to establish my "lanes", but tweaked it a little, and ended up using these guidelines:
· Less than 2.0 is a lane 1 season
· Greater than or equal to 2.0 but less than 5.0 is a lane 2 season
· Greater than or equal to 5.0 but less than 7.0 is a lane 3 season
· 7.0 or above is a lane 4 season
I adjusted those a little for catchers (more on that later), but those are the basic guidelines I used. I then tallied how many seasons each player had in each lane to help me identify and evaluate candidates for my "middle of the road" team. The more lane 2 seasons (and the fewer of other lane seasons) that a player had, the better candidate he was for the team. I didn't apply a hard and fast formula to come up with the final team - this approach was more to identify good candidates, and then I used a little subjectivity to come up with the final roster.
Other criteria:
1) If a player had any seasons at 7.0 or above, he was disqualified. I was OK with the player venturing into lane 3 (with WARs in the 5's and 6's) briefly , but if he ever got all the way over into lane 4, he's out.
2) If a player is a Hall of Famer, he's out. Regardless of whether a player may have fit the definition of "middle of the road" statistically (and several Hall of Famers do fit the model well), if he's in the Hall of Fame, I didn't consider him for this team. Hall of Famers, to me, are not consistent with the "middle of the road" concept. They did something to capture the attention of enough people to warrant election to the Hall of Fame. This team is for non-Hall of Famers only.
3) I also took a look at things like major awards and All Star seasons. "Middle of the Road" players shouldn't really have a lot of those, although I didn't establish firm criteria in this area. It's just something I took into consideration.
The starting point in the exercise was to identify players who had a lot of "Lane 2" seasons, seasons with WARs greater than or equal to 2.0 but less than 5.0. Using Stathead to do a query, there are 216 position players who had 8 or more seasons in that range. 73 of those had 10 or more seasons in that range, and 19 had 12 or more such seasons.
To give you a feel for who we'll start to look at, here is the top end of that list, based on just the number of "lane 2" seasons
Hall of Famers in yellow
|
Name
|
Seasons in Lane 2
|
|
Jake Beckley
|
15
|
|
Joe Judge
|
14
|
|
Wally Schang
|
14
|
|
Carlton Fisk
|
13
|
|
Gabby Hartnett
|
13
|
|
Johnny Damon
|
12
|
|
Mark Grace
|
12
|
|
Harold Baines
|
12
|
|
Lou Whitaker
|
12
|
|
Willie Randolph
|
12
|
|
Andre Dawson
|
12
|
|
Jack Clark
|
12
|
|
Brian Downing
|
12
|
|
Luis Aparicio
|
12
|
|
Sam Rice
|
12
|
|
Zack Wheat
|
12
|
|
Harry Hooper
|
12
|
|
Paul Hines
|
12
|
|
Cap Anson
|
12
|
As you can see, about half of the players at the top of the list are Hall of Famers, and ultimately won't be on the team. In addition, not all of the others necessarily make for good candidates. For example, Paul Hines had 12 seasons in this range, and normally he'd be an outstanding candidate for this team, but his total is a little misleading because most of those 12 seasons were accomplished in fewer than 100 games, as that was the norm in the leagues in which he played during most of his career. If you prorate Hines' figures to a more normal season (let's say, 150 games), he would have had several lane 3 seasons, and even a couple of lane 4 seasons (over 7.0 WAR). Hines had a few seasons where he was in the top 2 or 3 position players in the league. Therefore, he isn't a good fit.
The other thing about this starting point is that doesn't factor in how many seasons they had in other lanes. It's not just about having a lot of lane 2 seasons...it's about not having many seasons in the other lanes. But a lot of lane 2 seasons is the baseline.
More on the Concept
To further illustrate the concept a little deeper, let's look at a few different examples at shortstop.
Let's start with a clear counter-example. I'm sure everyone would agree that Cal Ripken Jr. is one of the all-time greats at shortstop. As you would probably imagine, Ripken is not a middle-of-the road candidate by any stretch of the term, but let's go through the exercise of mapping out his career so you can see what a non-candidate looks like.
Below is Ripken's seasonal WAR data, first listed chronologically, and then a bar chart graph illustrating the number of seasons he had in each lane. The chronological data is color coded according to which lane each year landed in. Generally speaking, we're looking for players who have a lot of yellow.
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1981
|
BAL
|
AL
|
23
|
(0.5)
|
|
1982
|
BAL
|
AL
|
160
|
4.7
|
|
1983
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
8.2
|
|
1984
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
10.0
|
|
1985
|
BAL
|
AL
|
161
|
5.6
|
|
1986
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
6.6
|
|
1987
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
3.3
|
|
1988
|
BAL
|
AL
|
161
|
5.7
|
|
1989
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
6.7
|
|
1990
|
BAL
|
AL
|
161
|
7.5
|
|
1991
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
11.5
|
|
1992
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
4.1
|
|
1993
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
3.7
|
|
1994
|
BAL
|
AL
|
112
|
4.0
|
|
1995
|
BAL
|
AL
|
144
|
3.9
|
|
1996
|
BAL
|
AL
|
163
|
3.8
|
|
1997
|
BAL
|
AL
|
162
|
1.8
|
|
1998
|
BAL
|
AL
|
161
|
1.9
|
|
1999
|
BAL
|
AL
|
86
|
2.7
|
|
2000
|
BAL
|
AL
|
83
|
1.4
|
|
2001
|
BAL
|
AL
|
128
|
(0.6)
|
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
14
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
13
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
12
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
11
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
10
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
9
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
8
|
X
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
|
7
|
X
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
|
6
|
X
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
|
5
|
X
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
|
4
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
|
3
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
|
2
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
|
1
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
Not counting his 23-game debut season because it was too short to be of any help in defining his career, Ripken's 20 season career was pretty widely distributed among the lanes. He spent most of his earlier seasons in the high-speed lanes, then settled into several lane 2 seasons, finally slowing down into lane 1 and eventually exiting.
While Ripken did have a fairly high number (8) of lane 2 seasons, he also had 4 seasons in the highest speed lane (lane 4), 4 in the next highest lane (lane 3), and 4 in the slowest lane (lane 1). He only spent about 40% of his career in the "middle of the road", and about 60% of his career elsewhere on the highway. He spent about 40% in the 2 higher speed lanes, and 20% in the slow lane. Any way you look at it, Ripken is obviously not a middle-of-the road player, as you probably would have guessed.
OK, how about someone like Rico Petrocelli (who was pretty evenly split game-wise between shortstop and third base, but is typically classified as a shortstop as about 70% of his value was realized in the seasons where he was primarily a SS). Here's how his seasonal WARs look,
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1963
|
BOS
|
AL
|
1
|
0.0
|
|
1965
|
BOS
|
AL
|
103
|
2.0
|
|
1966
|
BOS
|
AL
|
139
|
2.8
|
|
1967
|
BOS
|
AL
|
142
|
4.1
|
|
1968
|
BOS
|
AL
|
123
|
3.8
|
|
1969
|
BOS
|
AL
|
154
|
10.0
|
|
1970
|
BOS
|
AL
|
157
|
4.8
|
|
1971
|
BOS
|
AL
|
158
|
4.9
|
|
1972
|
BOS
|
AL
|
147
|
2.7
|
|
1973
|
BOS
|
AL
|
100
|
2.5
|
|
1974
|
BOS
|
AL
|
129
|
2.2
|
|
1975
|
BOS
|
AL
|
115
|
(0.3)
|
|
1976
|
BOS
|
AL
|
85
|
(0.5)
|
Here's how Petrocelli looks graphically:
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
14
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
13
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
12
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
11
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
10
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
9
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
8
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
7
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
6
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
5
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
4
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
3
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
2
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
1
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
So, that's a little more what we're looking for. Petrocelli spent 75% (9 of 12 seasons that we counted) of his career in lane 2. That's a pretty high figure. He's a good candidate for this exercise.
Except.....there's the problem of that one season he spent in the fastest lane. According to my guidelines, that disqualifies him. I can accept a player who has some seasons in lane 3, but not if they rise above that. Rico soared with the eagles in that one glorious season of 1969 where he hit 40 home runs and achieved a WAR of 10.0. To my way of looking at it, that one season, whether you label it a "fluke" or simply an "outlier", drops him out of consideration for this exercise. In a sense, he was "caught speeding".
One last shortstop example:. Luis Aparico. Here's Aparicio's season-by-season figures for his 18-season career:
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1956
|
CHW
|
AL
|
152
|
1.5
|
|
1957
|
CHW
|
AL
|
143
|
3.1
|
|
1958
|
CHW
|
AL
|
145
|
4.3
|
|
1959
|
CHW
|
AL
|
152
|
3.3
|
|
1960
|
CHW
|
AL
|
153
|
5.6
|
|
1961
|
CHW
|
AL
|
156
|
2.9
|
|
1962
|
CHW
|
AL
|
153
|
1.7
|
|
1963
|
BAL
|
AL
|
146
|
2.5
|
|
1964
|
BAL
|
AL
|
146
|
5.1
|
|
1965
|
BAL
|
AL
|
144
|
4.0
|
|
1966
|
BAL
|
AL
|
151
|
4.2
|
|
1967
|
BAL
|
AL
|
134
|
0.6
|
|
1968
|
CHW
|
AL
|
155
|
3.4
|
|
1969
|
CHW
|
AL
|
156
|
4.7
|
|
1970
|
CHW
|
AL
|
146
|
4.8
|
|
1971
|
BOS
|
AL
|
125
|
(0.5)
|
|
1972
|
BOS
|
AL
|
110
|
2.0
|
|
1973
|
BOS
|
AL
|
132
|
2.6
|
And graphically:
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
14
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
13
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
|
12
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
11
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
10
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
9
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
8
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
7
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
6
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
5
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
4
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
3
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
2
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
|
1
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
Luis had 12 seasons (out of 18 total for his career) in lane 2, 4 seasons where he was in lane 1, and 2 where he dipped his toe into the waters of the 5 to 7 range, although he never even got as high as 6.0 in any season. Two of his four lane 1 seasons were between 1.5 and 2.0. Aparicio has more lane 2 seasons than any other shortstop. Like Petrocelli, Aparicio is a good candidate, at least on the surface, for the "middle of the road team".
Except that...well, no he's really not. For one thing, Aparicio is a Hall of Famer. According to my statistical guidelines, Aparico may fit what I'm looking for pretty well. But, Hall of Famers are automatically excluded. Also, Aparicio has 10 All Star seasons, won 9 Gold Gloves, and was his league's definitive base stealer in his era. All of that counts against him as a "middle of the road" player, and therefore I would exclude him, even though numerically, his seasonal WARs initially would identify him as a decent candidate.
OK, I suspect you get the idea. To recap, I'm looking for players who:
1) Had a lot of "Lane 2" seasons
2) Had relatively few "Lane 3" or "Lane 1" seasons
3) Had no "Lane 4" seasons
4) Are not in the Hall of Fame
5) Had a lack of award/honors/significant achievements (MVP's, All Stars, Gold Glove, batting titles, etc.)
One thing I noticed is that the players I ended up with tended to have the following secondary characteristics (these were not criteria for selection, but merely what I observed as common traits after making the selections):
1) They typically had a good but not great career WAR total (usually in the 30's or 40's), which makes sense, since if you're spending a lot of time generating 2 to 5 WAR per season over a 10-15 year career while not often generating below 2.0 and also not generating anything 7.0 or above, then career totals ending up in the 30's and 40's are fairly inevitable.
2) They were often on good teams, but were typically not the "lead dog" on those teams. However, they were often in the top 3 to 5 players on those good teams.
3) They typically didn't have much in the way of "Black Ink" (league leadership in major statistical categories). That's just not something that "Middle-of-the-Road" players typically do.
Let's get on to the team, and I'll go around the diamond. For each position, I'll list:
1) The prime candidates based on the initial statistical guidelines.
2) Which candidates were eliminated based on various criteria (Hall of Fame, 1 or more seasons of 7.0+ WAR, too much "good stuff", too much "bad stuff", etc.)
3) The player who was my choice for the team (plus his backup).
4) A seasonal listing and graphical summary of that player's career.
In addition, as I like to do, I'll also include some "fun fact" about each player, plus some other commentary.
First Base
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Joe Judge, Mark Grace, Wally Pipp, Wally Joyner, Kent Hrbek, Ferris Fain, Jake Beckley, Norm Cash, Will Clark, Mark Teixeira, Jake Daubert, Rafael Palmeiro
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status
Jake Beckley
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0
Norm Cash, Will Clark, Mark Teixeira
Eliminated for other reasons
Jake Daubert (MVP & 2-time batting champ), Rafael Palmeiro (too much career value),
My pick: Joe Judge
Backup: Mark Grace
Joe Judge-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1915
|
WSH
|
AL
|
12
|
0.6
|
|
1916
|
WSH
|
AL
|
103
|
0.9
|
|
1917
|
WSH
|
AL
|
102
|
3.4
|
|
1918
|
WSH
|
AL
|
130
|
2.3
|
|
1919
|
WSH
|
AL
|
135
|
3.4
|
|
1920
|
WSH
|
AL
|
126
|
4.1
|
|
1921
|
WSH
|
AL
|
153
|
2.6
|
|
1922
|
WSH
|
AL
|
148
|
2.2
|
|
1923
|
WSH
|
AL
|
113
|
3.3
|
|
1924
|
WSH
|
AL
|
140
|
4.0
|
|
1925
|
WSH
|
AL
|
112
|
2.9
|
|
1926
|
WSH
|
AL
|
134
|
3.1
|
|
1927
|
WSH
|
AL
|
137
|
2.2
|
|
1928
|
WSH
|
AL
|
153
|
4.0
|
|
1929
|
WSH
|
AL
|
143
|
3.9
|
|
1930
|
WSH
|
AL
|
126
|
4.0
|
|
1931
|
WSH
|
AL
|
35
|
0.1
|
|
1932
|
WSH
|
AL
|
82
|
0.6
|
|
1933
|
BRO/ BOS
|
NL/AL
|
77
|
0.0
|
|
1934
|
BOS
|
AL
|
10
|
0.1
|
Joe Judge Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
14
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
13
|
X
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
12
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
11
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
10
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
9
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
8
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
7
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
6
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
5
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
4
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
3
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
2
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
1
|
X
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
If you ignore Judge's trivial first and last seasons (which were only around 10 games each), he had a very good fit for the concept, including an incredible run of 14 consecutive lane 2 seasons. In fact, I was strongly considering naming the team after Judge in his honor.
Judge was very consistent, and he never got above 4.1 in any season, but he had a very good career and was a very important part of some successful Washington Senators teams, including the 1924 World Series champions. Judge wasn't the big star on the Senators during his years there - the big stars were mostly Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin, and Sam Rice, along with Joe Cronin and Heinie Manush for a lesser period of time. Judge was pretty much the top of the next tier, along with the likes of Bucky Harris, Roger Peckinpaugh, Muddy Ruel, Ossie Bluege, Clyde Milan, Buddy Myer, Tom Zachary, and Firpo Marberry. In Judge's 18 seasons, the Senators finished in the top half of the league 12 times, going to the World Series twice. It was a generally a good team, with some very good players.
Judge is probably the best first baseman in the franchise history of the Senators/Twins, unless you slot Harmon Killebrew as a first basemen (he was more of a multi-position, 1B/3B/LF kind of guy for his career). Other competition would include Kent Hrbek, Mickey Vernon, and Justin Morneau.
Fun Fact:
Judge was a good defensive first baseman, and is one of the greatest "short" first baseman in the history of the game (Judge was 5'8" tall). Below are the first basemen with the highest career WAR totals who were 5'10" (70 inches) or shorter:
|
Player
|
WAR
|
Height
(Inches)
|
|
Jake Beckley
|
61.5
|
70
|
|
Joe Judge
|
47.8
|
68
|
|
Fred Tenney
|
44.1
|
69
|
|
Dolph Camilli
|
43.2
|
70
|
|
Jake Daubert
|
39.3
|
70
|
|
Harry Davis
|
38.3
|
70
|
|
Steve Garvey
|
38.1
|
70
|
|
Lu Blue
|
37.5
|
70
|
|
Ron Fairly
|
35.1
|
70
|
|
Stuffy McInnis
|
34.6
|
69
|
Beckley is the only one listed above who's in the Hall of Fame, but I would say the greatest first baseman listed at 5'10" or shorter would have to be the great Negro League legend, Buck Leonard. Leonard is only listed with a career WAR of 28.5 and therefore didn't make that top 10 list, but that only captures about 600 games over a 14-year career (about 40 games per "season"). I'd have proclaim Leonard the greatest "short" first baseman ever.
If you lower the bar to 5'8" or below, Judge has by far the highest total. The 2nd highest total for a first baseman 5'8" or shorter is Patsy Tebeau, who was kind of half 1B/half 3B in his career, spent mostly in the 1890's for the old Cleveland Spiders.
Mark Grace would have been a worthy selection as well, as he had a run of 12 lane 2 seasons in a 13-year span, with the other season just barely touching lane 3 (5.0 in 1995). Grace and Judge, as it turns out, are on each other's top 10 Similarity Score comp lists.
Second Base
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
George Grantham, Claude Ritchey, Marty McManus, Del Pratt, Mark Ellis, Buddy Myer, Ray Durham, Miller Huggins, Bill Mazeroski, Jeff Kent, Larry Doyle, Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status
Bill Mazeroski (Miller Huggins is also a Hall of Famer, but he's in the Hall primarily based on his manager record, not his playing record, so I did not eliminate him)
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0
Jeff Kent (also eliminated since he had an MVP season)
Eliminated for other reasons
Larry Doyle (MVP), Lou Whitaker and Willie Randolph (they had too much career value and too many All Star appearances)
My pick: Del Pratt
Backup: Claude Ritchey
Del Pratt-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1912
|
SLB
|
AL
|
152
|
3.6
|
|
1913
|
SLB
|
AL
|
155
|
3.6
|
|
1914
|
SLB
|
AL
|
158
|
4.6
|
|
1915
|
SLB
|
AL
|
159
|
4.7
|
|
1916
|
SLB
|
AL
|
158
|
4.8
|
|
1917
|
SLB
|
AL
|
123
|
1.5
|
|
1918
|
NYY
|
AL
|
126
|
3.2
|
|
1919
|
NYY
|
AL
|
140
|
5.4
|
|
1920
|
NYY
|
AL
|
154
|
4.7
|
|
1921
|
BOS
|
AL
|
135
|
3.8
|
|
1922
|
BOS
|
AL
|
154
|
3.0
|
|
1923
|
DET
|
AL
|
101
|
1.7
|
|
1924
|
DET
|
AL
|
121
|
1.4
|
Del Pratt Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
14
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
13
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
12
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
11
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
10
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
9
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
8
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
7
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
6
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
5
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
4
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
3
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
2
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
|
1
|
x
|
x
|
X
|
x
|
This was a tough one, as so many of the candidates embodied the spirit of this exercise really well. The thing that's interesting about Pratt is that he had a complete absence of seasons in the 2's. His only season above 5.0 was driven by an unusually high dWAR figure that year that was a relative outlier compared to most of his career. And, even when he was below 2.0, he wasn't much below. He had an amazingly consistent career, and he's oh so close to having a perfect "lane 2" career.
Fun Fact
Unlike many of the others on this list, however, Pratt never caught on with a team that would make the postseason. If you were to make an all-time team of players with the greatest careers who never made the postseason, Pratt would probably be your second baseman.
This would be my all-time "No Postseason" team:
C - Joe Torre
1B - George Sisler
2B - Del Pratt
3B - Ron Santo
SS - Ernie Banks
LF - Bob Johnson
CF - Cy Williams
RF - Harry Heilmann
SP - Fergie Jenkins
SP - Ted Lyons
SP - Jim Bunning
SP - Wilbur Wood
RP - Lindy McDaniel
Other candidates:
Ritchey was a key member of some really good Pirates teams in the early 1900's, kind of underrated offensively because of the era he played in. If you were to make an all-decade team for the National League in the 1900's, I suppose you'd probably go with Johnny Evers, but honestly Ritchey has a decent argument.
Shortstop
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications:
Roger Peckinpaugh*, Herman Long, Kid Elberfield, Ed McKean, Rafael Furcal, Tony Fernandez, Bill Russell, Billy Jurges, Luis Aparicio, Joe Tinker, Monte Ward, Rico Petrocelli, Jimmy Rollins, Maury Wills
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
Luis Aparicio, Joe Tinker, Monte Ward
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0:
Rico Petrocelli
Eliminated for other reasons
Jimmy Rollins (MVP), Maury Wills (MVP), Tony Fernandez (too many All Star seasons)
My pick: Roger Peckinpaugh
Backup: Herman Long
Roger Peckinpaugh-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1910
|
CLE
|
AL
|
15
|
(0.3)
|
|
1912
|
CLE
|
AL
|
70
|
(0.3)
|
|
1913
|
CLE
|
AL
|
1
|
0.0
|
|
1913
|
NYY
|
AL
|
95
|
1.6
|
|
1914
|
NYY
|
AL
|
157
|
3.2
|
|
1915
|
NYY
|
AL
|
142
|
2.5
|
|
1916
|
NYY
|
AL
|
145
|
4.4
|
|
1917
|
NYY
|
AL
|
148
|
4.0
|
|
1918
|
NYY
|
AL
|
122
|
3.3
|
|
1919
|
NYY
|
AL
|
122
|
6.3
|
|
1920
|
NYY
|
AL
|
139
|
3.6
|
|
1921
|
NYY
|
AL
|
149
|
3.2
|
|
1922
|
WSH
|
AL
|
147
|
2.4
|
|
1923
|
WSH
|
AL
|
154
|
2.9
|
|
1924
|
WSH
|
AL
|
155
|
4.3
|
|
1925
|
WSH
|
AL
|
126
|
2.7
|
|
1926
|
WSH
|
AL
|
57
|
0.3
|
|
1927
|
CHW
|
AL
|
68
|
1.2
|
Roger Peckinpaugh Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
Z
|
|
14
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
Z
|
|
13
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
Z
|
|
12
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
11
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
10
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
9
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
8
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
7
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
6
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
5
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
4
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
3
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
2
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
1
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
I put an asterisk by Peckinpaugh because it's going to take a little explaining on my part, as those of you who are especially sharp will observe that Peckinpaugh was the AL MVP in 1925, and my guideline with other candidates is that an MVP disqualifies them. 2 other prime examples are also at shortstop, those being Jimmy Rollins and Maury Wills. Why doesn't that apply to Peckinpaugh, and why isn't he eliminated?
Here's my rationale on why I didn't elilminate Peckinpaugh. That was, in my opinion, a very unusual MVP award. For one thing, it was very early in the history of what we now know as the annual MVP award. There were sporadic MVP awards in the 1910's, and in the 1920's they started to become more regular events, but the rules were significantly different. For starters, in the AL, former MVP's were ineligible to win again. Secondly, there weren't a lot of established guidelines.
In other words, Peckinpaugh was what I would characterize as a "leadership" MVP, and I think it's quite clear that that was important to the voters. Peckinpaugh was the shortstop for the AL pennant winners (the Senators), and it's clear that he was given much credit for being a decent hitter, a very good defensive shortstop, and, perhaps most importantly, a valuable leader. Performance-wise, though, it's a curious choice. Let's put it this way....there's no way in hell Peckinpaugh would win that award today.
Now, I'm not hammering on the voters for selecting him. It was 1925, and to the voters of 1925, it was probably a reasonable choice given the information and the standards in play. A great defensive shortstop with strong leadership skills on a championship team appealed to the voters of the time.
However, in the exercise I'm doing, it's clear that Peckinpaugh's performance on the field was nothing special. In their MVP seasons, Rollins and Wills, were much more spectacular and valuable, and therefore that took them out of the "middle of the road" status that I was trying to define. Rollins and Wills were probably not "slam dunk" choices, but they were probably the best players on their respective championship teams (I guess you could argue for Utley over Rollins for the '07 Phillies, but Rollins was pretty valuable and a deserving choice), and they had some pretty eye-catching stats that appealed to the voters.
Peckinpaugh.....not so much. I would argue that Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, and Stan Coveleski were better players for Washington in 1925 than Peckinpaugh was, and that Peckinpaugh was in a cluster with the likes of Dutch Reuther, Joe Judge, Ossie Bluege, Bucky Harris, and Muddy Ruel as far as value to the team. I suppose you can see why the voters of the time might have opted for him, but it's an award that seems odd to us by standards that would be used now.
In any case, Peckinpaugh pretty much lived in "lane 2" throughout his career, and even 2 of his 4 lane 1 seasons (1913 and 1927) probably would have been in lane 2 had he played full seasons.
Fun Fact
Here are the MVP's with the lowest WAR totals in their MVP seasons (position players only, 2020 excluded):
|
Year
|
Lg
|
Name
|
Tm
|
WAR
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
|
1979
|
NL
|
Willie Stargell
|
PIT
|
2.5
|
.281
|
.352
|
.552
|
32
|
82
|
0
|
|
1925
|
AL
|
Roger Peckinpaugh
|
WSH
|
2.7
|
.294
|
.367
|
.379
|
4
|
64
|
13
|
|
1928
|
AL
|
Mickey Cochrane
|
PHA
|
3.4
|
.293
|
.395
|
.464
|
10
|
57
|
7
|
|
1974
|
AL
|
Jeff Burroughs
|
TEX
|
3.6
|
.301
|
.397
|
.504
|
25
|
118
|
2
|
|
1979
|
AL
|
Don Baylor
|
CAL
|
3.7
|
.296
|
.371
|
.530
|
36
|
139
|
22
|
|
1996
|
AL
|
Juan Gonzalez
|
TEX
|
3.8
|
.314
|
.368
|
.643
|
47
|
144
|
2
|
|
1926
|
NL
|
Bob O'Farrell
|
STL
|
3.9
|
.293
|
.371
|
.433
|
7
|
68
|
1
|
|
1987
|
NL
|
Andre Dawson
|
CHC
|
4.0
|
.287
|
.328
|
.568
|
49
|
137
|
11
|
|
1931
|
NL
|
Frankie Frisch
|
STL
|
4.0
|
.311
|
.368
|
.396
|
4
|
82
|
28
|
|
1913
|
NL
|
Jake Daubert
|
BRO
|
4.0
|
.350
|
.405
|
.423
|
2
|
52
|
25
|
There are a few of those that I would classify as "leadership" type of MVPs. Stargell, for sure, got a lot of credit as the leader of the "We are Family" Pirates. Peckinpaugh, for sure would qualify as a "leadership" MVP. I would say O'Farrell (who was a catcher for the World Champion '26 Cardinals) I think fits that classification well. Cochrane might fit that description as well (Cochrane also took home the 1934 MVP for Detroit, when he was player-manager for the Tigers, although that season doesn't make this list). Baylor, Burroughs, and Dawson were no doubt helped a lot by their league-leading RBI figures (Gonzalez was actually #2 to Albert Belle in 1996).
Third Base
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Larry Gardner, Todd Frazier, Casey Blake, Lave Cross, Carney Lansford, Travis Fryman, Pie Traynor, Ned Williamson, George Kell, Willie Kamm, Darrell Evans, Buddy Lewis
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status
Pie Traynor, George Kell
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0
Darrell Evans
Eliminated for other reasons
Carney Lansford (batting champ)
My Pick: Larry Gardner
Backup: Casey Blake
Larry Gardner-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1908
|
BOS
|
AL
|
3
|
(0.1)
|
|
1909
|
BOS
|
AL
|
19
|
0.5
|
|
1910
|
BOS
|
AL
|
113
|
3.1
|
|
1911
|
BOS
|
AL
|
138
|
4.2
|
|
1912
|
BOS
|
AL
|
143
|
5.8
|
|
1913
|
BOS
|
AL
|
131
|
2.3
|
|
1914
|
BOS
|
AL
|
155
|
3.8
|
|
1915
|
BOS
|
AL
|
127
|
2.3
|
|
1916
|
BOS
|
AL
|
148
|
4.7
|
|
1917
|
BOS
|
AL
|
146
|
4.1
|
|
1918
|
PHA
|
AL
|
127
|
4.1
|
|
1919
|
CLE
|
AL
|
139
|
3.2
|
|
1920
|
CLE
|
AL
|
154
|
4.0
|
|
1921
|
CLE
|
AL
|
153
|
4.5
|
|
1922
|
CLE
|
AL
|
137
|
1.6
|
|
1923
|
CLE
|
AL
|
52
|
0.5
|
|
1924
|
CLE
|
AL
|
38
|
(0.4)
|
Larry Gardner Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
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14
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13
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12
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3
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|
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|
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|
|
2
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|
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|
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|
|
1
|
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|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Gardner is a player you don't hear much about, but he was certainly a quality player. I'm sure not many fans realize that he was a regular on 4 World Series champions in a 9-year span (Red Sox '12, '15, '16, Indians '20). He wasn't the big star on those teams - the more famous Red Sox players of that era were pitchers like Smoky Joe Wood, Babe Ruth, Dutch Leonard, and Carl Mays and their famous outfield of Tris Speaker/Harry Hooper/Duffy Lewis, while the 1920 Indians were led by Speaker, 30-game winner Jim Bagby, Stan Coveleski, and the ill-fated Ray Chapman, but Gardner was a quality contributor to all 4 of those champions.
Fun Fact
Here's a fun little chart. As you probably know, most of the players with a high number of championship seasons are players who did so with the Yankees (Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Frankie Crosetti, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, etc.). Below are the players who were on the regular-season roster of an MLB World Series champion 4 or more times but never had any of those seasons while playing for the Yankees (data courtesy of baseball-reference.com, although I filtered out any players who had one or more such seasons with the Yankees). Note that the table also shows how many of those seasons the player actually appeared in the World Series for that team:
|
Player
|
Years Played
|
Times on regular-season roster of WS winning team
|
Times appeared in WS for winning team
|
Teams Played For
|
|
Eddie Collins*
|
1906-1930
|
6
|
4
|
PHA,PHA,PHA,CHW,PHA,PHA
|
|
Jack Barry
|
1908-1919
|
5
|
4
|
PHA,PHA,PHA,BOS,BOS
|
|
Stuffy McInnis
|
1909-1927
|
5
|
4
|
PHA,PHA,PHA,BOS,PIT
|
|
Dal Maxvill
|
1962-1975
|
5
|
3
|
STL,STL,OAK,OAK,OAK
|
|
Frankie Frisch*
|
1919-1937
|
4
|
4
|
NYG,NYG,STL,STL
|
|
Larry Gardner
|
1908-1924
|
4
|
4
|
BOS,BOS,BOS,CLE
|
|
Jim Gilliam
|
1946-1966
|
4
|
4
|
BRO,LAD,LAD,LAD
|
|
Harry Hooper*
|
1909-1925
|
4
|
4
|
BOS,BOS,BOS,BOS
|
|
Amos Strunk
|
1908-1924
|
4
|
4
|
PHA,PHA,PHA,BOS
|
|
Gene Tenace
|
1969-1983
|
4
|
4
|
OAK,OAK,OAK,STL
|
|
Mike Timlin
|
1991-2008
|
4
|
4
|
TOR,TOR,BOS,BOS
|
|
Sandy Koufax*
|
1955-1966
|
4
|
3
|
BRO,LAD,LAD,LAD
|
|
Javier Lopez
|
2003-2016
|
4
|
3
|
BOS,SFG,SFG,SFG
|
|
Jack Morris*
|
1977-1994
|
4
|
3
|
DET,MIN,TOR,TOR
|
|
Johnny Podres
|
1953-1969
|
4
|
3
|
BRO,LAD,LAD,LAD
|
|
Pinch Thomas
|
1912-1921
|
4
|
3
|
BOS,BOS,BOS,CLE
|
|
Larry Haney
|
1966-1978
|
4
|
1
|
BAL,OAK,OAK,OAK
|
|
Heinie Wagner
|
1902-1918
|
4
|
1
|
BOS,BOS,BOS,BOS
|
Left Field
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Bob Johnson, Bob Meusel, Jim O'Rourke, Brian Downing, Harry Stovey, Luis Gonzalez, Gary Matthews, Ben Chapman, Irish Meusel, Kip Selbach, John Stone
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
Jim O'Rourke
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0:
Luis Gonzalez
Eliminated for other reasons
Bob Johnson (too many All Star games), Harry Stovey (too much Black Ink), Ben Chapman (too many All Star games), Brian Downing (too much time at DH and catcher that distorts the results)
My Pick: Gary Matthews
Backup: Bob Meusel
Gary Matthews -Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1972
|
SFG
|
NL
|
20
|
0.8
|
|
1973
|
SFG
|
NL
|
148
|
3.4
|
|
1974
|
SFG
|
NL
|
154
|
3.0
|
|
1975
|
SFG
|
NL
|
116
|
3.2
|
|
1976
|
SFG
|
NL
|
156
|
2.2
|
|
1977
|
ATL
|
NL
|
148
|
2.0
|
|
1978
|
ATL
|
NL
|
129
|
2.7
|
|
1979
|
ATL
|
NL
|
156
|
4.4
|
|
1980
|
ATL
|
NL
|
155
|
1.1
|
|
1981
|
PHI
|
NL
|
101
|
2.4
|
|
1982
|
PHI
|
NL
|
162
|
2.2
|
|
1983
|
PHI
|
NL
|
132
|
0.1
|
|
1984
|
CHC
|
NL
|
147
|
3.2
|
|
1985
|
CHC
|
NL
|
97
|
0.5
|
|
1986
|
CHC
|
NL
|
123
|
0.1
|
|
1987
|
CHC/SEA
|
NL/AL
|
89
|
(0.8)
|
Gary Matthews Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
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|
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14
|
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|
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|
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|
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|
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|
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|
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|
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|
|
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|
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|
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|
x
|
x
|
I'll admit Matthews may not have been the best statistical fit for the exercise, but I ended up going with him because he was such a consistent performer, especially on offense (he never provided much value on defense). He basically was the same hitter at every major stop along the way (Giants, Braves, Phillies, Cubs). Even those 2 hiccups along the way (1980 and 1983) don't seem out of character when you look at his basic stats. He did linger a bit longer in lane 1 at the very tail end of his career than I would have liked, and I could have easily gone with one of the Meusel boys (Bob or Irish), but I stuck with "Sarge".
Fun Fact:
Even though they were very different players, as a young fan I would get Gary Matthews and Garry Maddox confused all the time. Having the same initials didn't help, and both being named Gary didn't help either, plus I would always get confused over which one had two "r"s in his first name and which one only had one. They both had surnames that started with "M", and each one had a double-letter in his last name.
They both came from high schools in the Los Angeles area (Matthews at San Fernando, Maddox at San Pedro). They were both drafted in 1968 by San Francisco, and they both debuted as young outfielders with the Giants in 1972. They spent several years as team mates there, and, to make matters worse, they teamed up again for 3 years in the 1980's in Philadelphia.
They both offered a nice power-speed combination (Matthews with more power, Maddox more speed). They both hit for a good average, with each one ending up with a career average in the .280's. They both had "military" type of nicknames (Matthews was "Sarge", and Maddox was the "Secretary of Defense").
Of course, they were very different players on defense, where Matthews was a poor defensive left fielder and Maddox was one of the greatest defensive center fielders ever. They certainly had different body types - Matthews wasn't heavy, but he was a little more compact, while Maddox was very lean and graceful. Maddox was listed as 1 inch taller and 10 pounds lighter than Matthews. I was able to eventually keep them straight, but as a young fan I initially would get them mixed up.
Center Field
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Fielder Jones, George Van Haltren, Johnny Damon, Willie Davis, Al Oliver, Clyde Milan, Adam Jones, Cesar Tovar, Torii Hunter, Paul Hines
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
None
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0:
Willie Davis
Eliminated for other reasons
Paul Hines (his seasons were better than face value due to playing several years in leagues with less than 100-game schedules)
My Pick: Fielder Jones
Backup: Johnny Damon
Fielder Jones-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1896
|
BRO
|
NL
|
104
|
3.0
|
|
1897
|
BRO
|
NL
|
135
|
3.0
|
|
1898
|
BRO
|
NL
|
146
|
2.0
|
|
1899
|
BRO
|
NL
|
102
|
1.2
|
|
1900
|
BRO
|
NL
|
136
|
2.4
|
|
1901
|
CHW
|
AL
|
133
|
3.8
|
|
1902
|
CHW
|
AL
|
135
|
3.8
|
|
1903
|
CHW
|
AL
|
136
|
3.1
|
|
1904
|
CHW
|
AL
|
149
|
3.5
|
|
1905
|
CHW
|
AL
|
153
|
4.9
|
|
1906
|
CHW
|
AL
|
144
|
4.2
|
|
1907
|
CHW
|
AL
|
154
|
4.1
|
|
1908
|
CHW
|
AL
|
149
|
4.8
|
|
1914
|
SLM
|
FL
|
5
|
0.0
|
|
1915
|
SLM
|
FL
|
7
|
(0.2)
|
Fielder Jones Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
14
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
13
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
12
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
11
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
10
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
9
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
8
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
7
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
6
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
5
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
4
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
3
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
2
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
1
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
You can see why I named this team in Fielder Jones' honor. He has a near-perfect career for this exercise, 12 of his 13 seasons falling into lane 2, and his single lane 1 season (1899) might have been close to 2.0 if he had played a full season (he broke a leg in the off-season prior to 1899 and missed a couple of months). Note that I did not include his 2 Federal League years where he primarily served as the team's manager, but made a few token appearances as a player.
One of the interesting things about Jones' career is that, even though he was very consistent in terms of his WAR totals, you wouldn't necessarily think he was very consistent if you looked at his basic stats. Below is a table with selected categories covering Jones' career.
|
Year
|
Age
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
PA
|
R
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
OPS+
|
SH
|
WAR
|
oWAR
|
dWAR
|
|
1896
|
24
|
BRO
|
NL
|
104
|
451
|
82
|
.354
|
.427
|
.443
|
135
|
6
|
3.0
|
3.0
|
(0.5)
|
|
1897
|
25
|
BRO
|
NL
|
135
|
631
|
134
|
.314
|
.392
|
.383
|
110
|
13
|
3.0
|
2.8
|
(0.5)
|
|
1898
|
26
|
BRO
|
NL
|
146
|
667
|
89
|
.304
|
.362
|
.364
|
108
|
17
|
2.0
|
2.1
|
(0.8)
|
|
1899
|
27
|
BRO
|
NL
|
102
|
429
|
75
|
.285
|
.390
|
.334
|
98
|
1
|
1.2
|
1.3
|
(0.4)
|
|
1900
|
28
|
BRO
|
NL
|
136
|
629
|
106
|
.310
|
.383
|
.393
|
110
|
11
|
2.4
|
2.4
|
(0.5)
|
|
1901
|
29
|
CHW
|
AL
|
133
|
629
|
120
|
.311
|
.412
|
.365
|
119
|
18
|
3.8
|
3.3
|
(0.2)
|
|
1902
|
30
|
CHW
|
AL
|
135
|
615
|
98
|
.321
|
.390
|
.370
|
116
|
20
|
3.8
|
3.2
|
0.3
|
|
1903
|
31
|
CHW
|
AL
|
136
|
604
|
71
|
.287
|
.348
|
.340
|
111
|
24
|
3.1
|
2.8
|
(0.1)
|
|
1904
|
32
|
CHW
|
AL
|
149
|
648
|
72
|
.243
|
.316
|
.303
|
99
|
36
|
3.5
|
2.3
|
0.8
|
|
1905
|
33
|
CHW
|
AL
|
153
|
667
|
91
|
.245
|
.335
|
.327
|
114
|
16
|
4.9
|
3.2
|
1.2
|
|
1906
|
34
|
CHW
|
AL
|
144
|
619
|
77
|
.230
|
.346
|
.302
|
106
|
30
|
4.2
|
2.8
|
0.9
|
|
1907
|
35
|
CHW
|
AL
|
154
|
669
|
72
|
.261
|
.345
|
.297
|
108
|
34
|
4.1
|
2.8
|
0.8
|
|
1908
|
36
|
CHW
|
AL
|
149
|
656
|
92
|
.253
|
.366
|
.306
|
121
|
28
|
4.8
|
3.7
|
0.5
|
|
1914
|
42
|
SLM
|
FL
|
5
|
4
|
-
|
.333
|
.500
|
.333
|
136
|
0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
1915
|
43
|
SLM
|
FL
|
7
|
6
|
1
|
.000
|
.000
|
.000
|
-100
|
0
|
(0.2)
|
(0.2)
|
0.0
|
|
15 Yrs
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
1,788
|
7,924
|
1,180
|
.285
|
.368
|
.347
|
112
|
254
|
43.3
|
35.4
|
1.3
|
|
8 Yrs
|
--
|
CHW
|
AL
|
1,153
|
5,107
|
693
|
.269
|
.357
|
.326
|
112
|
206
|
32.0
|
24.0
|
4.1
|
|
5 Yrs
|
--
|
BRO
|
NL
|
623
|
2,807
|
486
|
.313
|
.388
|
.383
|
112
|
48
|
11.5
|
11.6
|
(2.8)
|
|
2 Yrs
|
--
|
SLM
|
FL
|
12
|
10
|
1
|
.111
|
.200
|
.111
|
-10
|
0
|
(0.2)
|
(0.2)
|
0.0
|
If you didn't know any better, you might look at Jones' career and conclude that he was a really good hitter for average and at getting on base through age 30 (1902), and then suffered a significant offensive decline. But, Jones didn't really change - it was his context.
Here are the league stats for Jones' career (minus the 2 Federal League seasons). Again, 1903 is the pivotal year where totals saw a sharp decline:
|
Year
|
Lg
|
R/G
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
OPS
|
|
1896
|
NL
|
6.04
|
.290
|
.354
|
.387
|
.742
|
|
1897
|
NL
|
5.91
|
.292
|
.354
|
.386
|
.740
|
|
1898
|
NL
|
4.96
|
.271
|
.334
|
.347
|
.681
|
|
1899
|
NL
|
5.25
|
.282
|
.343
|
.366
|
.710
|
|
1900
|
NL
|
5.22
|
.279
|
.339
|
.366
|
.705
|
|
1901
|
AL
|
5.36
|
.277
|
.333
|
.371
|
.704
|
|
1902
|
AL
|
4.90
|
.275
|
.331
|
.369
|
.700
|
|
1903
|
AL
|
4.10
|
.255
|
.303
|
.344
|
.648
|
|
1904
|
AL
|
3.54
|
.244
|
.295
|
.321
|
.616
|
|
1905
|
AL
|
3.68
|
.241
|
.299
|
.314
|
.613
|
|
1906
|
AL
|
3.66
|
.249
|
.303
|
.318
|
.621
|
|
1907
|
AL
|
3.65
|
.247
|
.302
|
.309
|
.611
|
|
1908
|
AL
|
3.44
|
.239
|
.294
|
.304
|
.598
|
|
96-'02
|
--
|
5.38
|
.281
|
.341
|
.370
|
.712
|
|
03-'08
|
--
|
3.68
|
.246
|
.299
|
.318
|
.618
|
If you combine the 2 and plot out batting average of Jones vs. the league, Jones was pretty consistently staying around 10% or so above the league, give or take a little. Here's how that looks:
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
Jones BA
|
League BA
|
Ratio of Jones BA vs. Lg Avg BA
|
|
1896
|
BRO
|
NL
|
.354
|
.290
|
1.22
|
|
1897
|
BRO
|
NL
|
.314
|
.292
|
1.08
|
|
1898
|
BRO
|
NL
|
.304
|
.271
|
1.12
|
|
1899
|
BRO
|
NL
|
.285
|
.282
|
1.01
|
|
1900
|
BRO
|
NL
|
.310
|
.279
|
1.11
|
|
1901
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.311
|
.277
|
1.12
|
|
1902
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.321
|
.275
|
1.17
|
|
1903
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.287
|
.255
|
1.13
|
|
1904
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.243
|
.244
|
1.00
|
|
1905
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.245
|
.241
|
1.02
|
|
1906
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.230
|
.249
|
0.92
|
|
1907
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.261
|
.247
|
1.06
|
|
1908
|
CHW
|
AL
|
.253
|
.239
|
1.06
|
As a result, relative to the league, Jones was actually staying pretty constant despite the change in his raw stats. His OPS+ figures were pretty consistently around 110 or so. His WAR was consistent, and in fact actually increased in his later years despite his lower batting stats, in part because his defensive component of WAR improved. In a nutshell, Jones's stats changed....but his overall value stayed in the same "lane".
Fun Fact
I don't mind admitting that, for a large part of my early baseball fandom, I was under the impression that "Fielder" was Jones' nickname. After all, I knew he was part of the famous 1906 White Sox title team that was known as the "No Hit Wonders", who, in addition for being knocked for their lack of offensive prowess, were very strong at the pitching and defensive aspects of the game, and Jones himself had a pretty strong defensive reputation.
However, I eventually came to learn that "Fielder" was actually Jones' given name: Fielder Allison Jones. It caused me to wonder whether his parents ever considered giving Frank Howard a first name of "Slugger" at birth. In a perfect world......
Right Field
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Jack Clark, Harry Hooper, J.D. Drew, Sam Rice, Reggie Sanders, Tommy Henrich, Dwight Evans, Paul O'Neill, Elmer Valo, Bing Miller, Carl Furillo
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
Harry Hooper, Sam Rice
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0:
J.D. Drew
Eliminated for other reasons
Jack Clark (OPS+ too high), Dwight Evans (too many lane 3 seasons), Paul O'Neill (too many All Star seasons)
My Pick: Reggie Sanders
Backup: Carl Furillo
Reggie Sanders-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (7.0+)
|
|
Lane 3 (5.0 to 6.99)
|
|
Lane 2 (2.0 to 4.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 2.0)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1991
|
CIN
|
NL
|
9
|
-0.7
|
|
1992
|
CIN
|
NL
|
116
|
2.5
|
|
1993
|
CIN
|
NL
|
138
|
2.7
|
|
1994
|
CIN
|
NL
|
107
|
3.3
|
|
1995
|
CIN
|
NL
|
133
|
6.6
|
|
1996
|
CIN
|
NL
|
81
|
2.7
|
|
1997
|
CIN
|
NL
|
86
|
2.0
|
|
1998
|
CIN
|
NL
|
135
|
2.4
|
|
1999
|
SDP
|
NL
|
133
|
4.1
|
|
2000
|
ATL
|
NL
|
103
|
0.1
|
|
2001
|
ARI
|
NL
|
126
|
3.3
|
|
2002
|
SFG
|
NL
|
140
|
3.6
|
|
2003
|
PIT
|
NL
|
130
|
3.1
|
|
2004
|
STL
|
NL
|
135
|
1.5
|
|
2005
|
STL
|
NL
|
93
|
2.0
|
|
2006
|
KCR
|
AL
|
88
|
0.3
|
|
2007
|
KCR
|
AL
|
24
|
0.5
|
Reggie Sanders Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
7.0+
|
5.0-6.99
|
2.0-4.99
|
<2.0
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
14
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
13
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
12
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
11
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
10
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
9
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
8
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
7
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
6
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
5
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
4
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
3
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
2
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
1
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
I thought Sanders had a chance to be a superstar. His best season was 1995, when he hit .306 with 28 HR, 99 RBI, 36 steals, and made the All Star team in his age 27 season. Alas, Sanders started suffering injuries after that, and his career became took on a Bobby Bonds type of shape. Like Bonds, Sanders spent several years with his first team (Reds for Sanders, Giants for Bonds), but then began bouncing around to other franchises, typically no more than one season at each stop, 2 seasons at the max. Sanders continued to be a quality player, but never quite at the level he seemed destined for.
Fun Fact
Continuing on the Bonds theme, Sanders is a member of the rather select 300 HR/300 SB club, with Sanders just barely qualifying on both counts:
|
Player
|
HR
|
SB
|
|
Barry Bonds
|
762
|
514
|
|
Alex Rodriguez
|
696
|
329
|
|
Willie Mays
|
660
|
338
|
|
Andre Dawson
|
438
|
314
|
|
Carlos Beltran
|
435
|
312
|
|
Bobby Bonds
|
332
|
461
|
|
Reggie Sanders
|
305
|
304
|
|
Steve Finley
|
304
|
320
|
Sanders is also part of one of my favorite trivia questions, although I'm not 100% positive that it's true - it's just something that I checked into and I couldn't find any counter-examples, so I believe it's valid.
The question is: which World Series championship team had all of the following characteristics?
· Every one of the 8 regular position players was 30 years or older in that championship season.
· Every one of the 8 regular position players had at least a 10-year career by the time he retired.
· None of the 8 regular position players is in the Hall of Fame.
· In fact, none of the 8 regular position players stayed on the Hall of Fame ballot for more than 1 year.
· Each of the 8 regular position players made at least one All Star team in his career.
· None of the 8 regular position players began his career with this franchise.
As you probably concluded since I put it in the context of Reggie Sanders' career, the answer is the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. These were the 8 "regulars" on that team:
|
Position
|
Name
|
Age
|
|
C
|
Damian Miller
|
31
|
|
1B
|
Mark Grace
|
37
|
|
2B
|
Jay Bell
|
35
|
|
SS
|
Tony Womack
|
31
|
|
3B
|
Matt Williams
|
35
|
|
LF
|
Luis Gonzalez
|
33
|
|
CF
|
Steve Finley
|
36
|
|
RF
|
Reggie Sanders
|
33
|
That was a fascinating team, as the franchise was only in its 4th year of existence, but they were able to assemble a quality roster of veteran players, most of whom were a little long in the tooth, but who nevertheless provided value. Gonzalez had a great year (57 HR, 142 RBI, .325), and of course the team featured the dynamic pitching duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling.
One of the keys to the question that allows the Diamondbacks to qualify is that, although their top reserve (Craig Counsell) appeared in more games and had more plate appearances than 3 players that he was a backup for (Bell, Womack, Williams), he did not play more games at any one of the individual positions than the others did. He split his time pretty evenly among 3 positions (58 games at SS, 55 games at 2B, 38 games at 3B). He would have invalidated the All-Star qualification since he never made one, but since he's not listed as one of the 8 regular position players, the team still qualifies.
Catchers
A quick note on catchers. I deviated from the numerical standards used at the other positions, because I think the lens needed to be adjusted. Based on the normal criteria I used, the best fit would be Wally Schang, by far. Schang had a whopping 14 seasons in lane 2.
However....Schang, in my book, was not a middle-of-the road catcher. He is probably a top 20 to top 25 catcher. Among MLB catchers, he's 13th in career WAR.
So, I decided it didn't really work for catchers, and I redefined the lanes for that position. I basically shaved 20% off the lane thresholds. So, Lane 1 is now 0 to 1.6, Lane 2 is 1.6 to 4.0, lane 3 is 4.0 to 5.6, and 5.6 and up is lane 4.
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications
Bob Boone, Smoky Burgess, Charles Zimmer, Ernie Lombardi, Russell Martin, Darrell Porter, Sherm Lollar, Mike Scioscia, Butch Wynegar, Tim McCarver, Tom Haller
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
Ernie Lombardi
Eliminated for season(s) above 5.6:
Russell Martin, Tim McCarver, Darrell Porter
Eliminated for other reasons
Bob Boone (too many honors), Smoky Burgess and Sherm Lollar (too many All Star games)
My Pick: Tom Haller
Backup: Mike Scioscia
Tom Haller-Seasonal Lanes
|
Lane 4 (5.6+)
|
|
Lane 3 (4.0 to 5.599)
|
|
Lane 2 (1.6 to 3.99)
|
|
Lane 1 (Less then 1.6)
|
|
Season too brief to include
|
|
Year
|
Tm
|
Lg
|
G
|
WAR
|
|
1961
|
SFG
|
NL
|
30
|
(0.1)
|
|
1962
|
SFG
|
NL
|
99
|
3.6
|
|
1963
|
SFG
|
NL
|
98
|
2.8
|
|
1964
|
SFG
|
NL
|
117
|
3.0
|
|
1965
|
SFG
|
NL
|
134
|
2.6
|
|
1966
|
SFG
|
NL
|
142
|
3.3
|
|
1967
|
SFG
|
NL
|
141
|
3.9
|
|
1968
|
LAD
|
NL
|
144
|
4.8
|
|
1969
|
LAD
|
NL
|
134
|
2.1
|
|
1970
|
LAD
|
NL
|
112
|
2.5
|
|
1971
|
LAD
|
NL
|
84
|
0.8
|
|
1972
|
DET
|
AL
|
59
|
0.2
|
Tom Haller Lane Graph
|
Seasons
|
Lane 4
|
Lane 3
|
Lane 2
|
Lane 1
|
|
in Lane
|
5.6+
|
4.0-5.599
|
1.6-3.99
|
<1.6
|
|
15
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
14
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
13
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
12
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
11
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
10
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
9
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
z
|
|
8
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
7
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
6
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
5
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
4
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
3
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
z
|
|
2
|
z
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
|
1
|
z
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Fun Fact
In the first basemen section, I had a "fun fact" about Joe Judge being one of the best "really short" first basemen ever. In contrast, Haller is one of the best "really tall" catchers ever. If we define "really tall" as 6'4" or taller (76+ inches), here are the catchers with the highest career WAR totals:
|
Player
|
WAR
|
Height (Inches)
|
|
Joe Mauer
|
55.2
|
77
|
|
Tom Haller
|
29.3
|
76
|
|
Matt Wieters
|
18.2
|
77
|
|
Jody Davis
|
15.9
|
76
|
|
Jim Pagliaroni
|
15.8
|
76
|
|
Johnny Edwards
|
14.7
|
76
|
|
Sandy Alomar
|
13.7
|
77
|
|
Larry McLean
|
12.8
|
77
|
|
Tyler Flowers
|
8.1
|
76
|
|
Fran Healy
|
6.5
|
77
|
Starting Pitchers
Prime candidates based on lane qualifications/having a lot of lane 2 seasons
David Wells, Andy Pettitte, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Don Sutton, Earl Whitehill, Red Faber, Milt Pappas, Larry French, Mark Buehrle, Chuck Finley, Bob Welch, Dennis Martinez, Tommy John, Curt Simmons, Murry Dickson, Tommy Bridges, Curt Simmons
Eliminated for Hall of Fame status:
Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Don Sutton, Red Faber
Eliminated for season(s) above 7.0:
Andy Pettitte, Chuck Finley, Bob Welch
Eliminated for other reasons
Mark Buehrle and Tommy Bridges (both had too many All Star seasons), Dennis Martinez (ERA champ), Tommy John (too many lane 3 and lane 1 seasons)
My Picks: David Wells, Earl Whitehill, Milt Pappas, Larry French
I'm going to dispense with the charts and graphs on the pitchers, because they tend to be a little more erratic on the season-by-season front than the position players do, but I felt like these 4 epitomized the concept the best.
Ignoring for a moment the other lanes, here are the starting pitchers who had the greatest number of lane 2 seasons (greater than 2.0, less than 5.0 WAR). Hall of Famers are in yellow:
|
Name
|
Yrs
|
|
David Wells
|
15
|
|
Andy Pettitte
|
13
|
|
Tom Glavine
|
13
|
|
John Smoltz
|
12
|
|
Don Sutton
|
12
|
|
Earl Whitehill
|
12
|
|
Red Faber
|
12
|
|
Milt Pappas
|
11
|
|
Robin Roberts
|
11
|
|
Larry French
|
11
|
|
Mark Buehrle
|
10
|
|
CC Sabathia
|
10
|
|
Chuck Finley
|
10
|
|
Bob Welch
|
10
|
|
Dennis Martinez
|
10
|
|
Nolan Ryan
|
10
|
|
Steve Carlton
|
10
|
|
Tommy John
|
10
|
|
Curt Simmons
|
10
|
|
Whitey Ford
|
10
|
|
Murry Dickson
|
10
|
|
Tommy Bridges
|
10
|
|
Carl Hubbell
|
10
|
A little bit about the pitchers selected:
David Wells is my #1 pick for this concept, as he had a whopping 15 seasons in lane 2, and never even ventured into lane 3. He did have a couple of years where he finished high up in the Cy Young award voting - 3rd place in 1998 with the Yankees, and another 3rd place in 2000 with the Blue Jays, although in both of those seasons the winner was a unanimous selection (Roger Clemens in '98, Pedro Martinez in '00).
Earl Whitehill is an interesting pitcher. Whitehill is not remembered as a great pitcher by any stretch, and his career 4.36 ERA won't impress anyone, but he was a quality, consistent pitcher who pitched (mostly for the Tigers and the Senators) n a high run context, and was better than his raw ERA implied. He rarely missed a start, and was good for double-digit win totals in 13 consecutive seasons. Not a great pitcher, although he was probably the best starting pitcher on the 1933 AL champion Senators.
Milt Pappas is surely best known for his inclusion in the Frank Robinson trade, but he was certainly a quality pitcher. Holds a distinction of winning more than 200 games in his career but never more than 17 in any single season (I believe Pappas and Dennis Martinez, who never won more than 16, are the only 2 that share that distinction).
Larry French is a fascinating pitcher to me. He reeled off 11 consecutive double-digit win seasons, but never won 20 (18 three times). He pitched for 3 pennant winners (Cubs '35, '38, Dodgers '41), but his best season might have been his final one, where we went 15-4, 1.83 for the '42 Dodgers, who won 104 games but didn't go to the postseason (thanks to the 106-win Cardinals).
That's it. I hope you enjoyed the ride. See you at the next rest stop.
Thanks for reading.
Dan