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In my last post, I applied the Batting Value portion of my Player Value metric on the 2010 season to determine which players should have won the Silver Slugger and Hank Aaron awards, which you can read about here. In the post before that, I applied the Fielding Value portion of my Player Value metric on the 2010 season to determine which players should have won the Gold Glove and Platinum Glove awards, which you can read about here. You can read about my Player Value metric in general here, as well as its important addendum here. In this post, I will complete the example rollout of my Player Value metric on the 2010 season. I will begin by looking at Pitching Value to determine which players should have won the Cy Young and Reliever of the Year awards in both leagues. I will then look at overall Player Value to determine which players should have won the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in both leagues. In lieu of All-Star appearances, which require midseason data, I will also determine First-Team and Second-Team honors at each position in both leagues and the MLB according to Player Value. Here's a quick reminder of the run value weights for the relevant pitching events: non-Home Run Hit: -.37 runs Home Run: -1.29 runs Unintentional Walk: -.22 runs Intentional Walk: -.17 runs Hit By Pitch: -.24 runs Sacrifice Bunt: .22 runs Sacrifice Fly: .10 runs Strikeout: .34 runs Groundball Double Play: .75 runs Other Out: .33 runs Wild Pitch: -.26 runs Balk: -.25 runs Here's a quick reminder of the run value weights for the relevant defensive events: Putout by a non catcher or first baseman: .33 runs Unassisted Putout by a first baseman: .33 runs Non-strikeout Putout by a catcher: .33 runs Assisted Putout by a first baseman: .2*.33 = .066 runs Strikeout Putout by a catcher: .33*.33 = .1089 runs Assist: .8*.33 = .264 runs Error: -.68 runs Double Play: .10 runs Passed Ball: -.26 runs Stolen Base allowed by catcher: -.15 runs Caught Stealing by catcher: .39 runs Here's a quick reminder of the run value weights for the relevant offensive events: Single: .30 runs Double: .58 runs Triple: .91 runs Home Run: 1.29 runs Unintentional Walk: .22 runs Intentional Walk: .17 runs Hit By Pitch: .24 runs Sacrifice Bunt: -.22 runs Sacrifice Fly: -.10 runs Strikeout: -.34 runs Groundball Double Play: -.75 runs Other Out: -.33 runs CY YOUNGS View the AL and NL Cy Young voting results in 2010 here. The Cy Young award is intended to be given to the best pitcher (normally a starter, but not exclusive to them) in both leagues. You can read about it here and view past winners. It has been awarded since 1967 and is frankly named after the wrong guy; Walter Johnson would have been a superior choice, in my opinion. The winners are voted on by 30 representatives from the BBWAA, one from each team. Voters pick their top 5 pitchers and the winner; first place votes are worth 7 points, second place 4 points, third place 3 points, fourth place 2 points, and fifth place 1 point. Since relievers nowadays have their own distinct award, I find it unnecessary to include them for the Cy Young, so my Cy Young Player Value winners will be the best starting pitchers each season. Additionally, note that the winners will be determined via a pitcher's Pitching Value, not a pitcher's total Player Value. The overall Player Value of a pitcher will only be used for MVP, RoY, and 1st/2nd team honors. The Cy Young goes to the best pitcher at pitching, not the best overall player that is a pitcher. NL Actual Winner: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies NL Player Value Winner: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals Wainwright led the NL with a Pitching Value of 31.38. Roy Halladay wasn't the best Roy at pitching on his team, let alone the best pitching Roy in the NL or the best pitcher in the NL overall. Roy Oswalt boasted an impressive Pitching Value of 23.32 in his Astros/Phillies split season, while Roy Halladay had a Pitching Value of 22.66, the 5th best in the NL. The first-quartile NL starter had a Pitching Value Average of .0908, while Wainwright's was .1457 and Halladay's was .1340. Here are their pitching rate comparisons to their first-quartiles, in the order of ERA, WHIP, AVG against, OBP against, BABIP, and FIP: Wainwright: 2.42 vs 3.12, 1.051 vs 1.178, .224 vs .239, .274 vs .299, .274 vs .299, 2.86 vs 3.39 Halladay: 2.44 vs 3.12, 1.041 vs 1.178, .245 vs .239, .271 vs .299, .271 vs .299, 3.01 vs 3.39 Your friendly reminder that WHIP is walks and hits per inning pitched, BABIP is batting average on balls in play, and FIP is fielding independent pitching. Here are some of their traditional pitching stats: Wainwright: 20-11, 230.33 IP, 186 H, 15 HR, 56 BB, 213 SO, 2 IBB, 4 HBP, 25 GIDP, 407 other outs, 910 batters Halladay: 21-10, 250.67 IP, 231 H, 24 HR, 30 BB, 219 SO, 1 IBB, 5 HBP, 25 GIDP, 468 other outs, 993 batters And here are some totals relative to their positional first-quartiles: Wainwright: -12.7 nonHR hits, -3.11 HR, -4.42 uBB, +57.62 SO, -1.51 IBB, -.38 WP, -.51 HBP, +0 BK, +4.79 SH, +1.92 SF, +10.73 GIDP, -22.44 other outs Halladay: +7.08 nonHR hits, +4.3 HR, -34.58 uBB, +49.9 SO, -2.82 IBB, +2.41 WP, +1.09 HBP, +1 BK, +.06 SH, +.56 SF, +9.47 GIDP, +.65 other outs Baseball Reference WAR has Wainwright at 6.2 and Halladay at 8.5, while FanGraphs WAR has them at 5.1 and 6.2, respectively. Halladay had the highest fWAR among NL pitchers. The worst starting pitcher at pitching in the NL was Zach Duke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a Pitching Value of -24.89, a bWAR of -1.1, and an fWAR of 0.3. The NL pitcher with the lowest fWAR was Todd Wellemeyer of the San Francisco Giants at -0.9, who had a Pitching Value of -10.54. AL Actual Winner: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners AL Player Value Winner: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners King Felix led all of MLB and the AL with a Pitching Value of 37.13. The next closest in the AL was Cliff Lee of the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers with a Pitching Value of 29.99. The first-quartile AL starting pitcher had a Pitching Value Average of .0899, while Felix's was .1433 and Lee's was .1426. Here are their pitching rate comparisons to their first-quartiles, in the order of ERA, WHIP, AVG against, OBP against, BABIP, and FIP: Felix: 2.27 vs 3.63, 1.057 vs 1.206, .212 vs .241, .273 vs .301, .273 vs .301, 3.04 vs 3.62 Lee: 3.18 vs 3.63, 1.003 vs 1.206, .240 vs .241, .255 vs .301, .255 vs .301, 2.58 vs 3.62 Here are some of their traditional pitching stats: Felix: 13-12, 249.67 IP, 194 H, 17 HR, 70 BB, 232 SO, 1 IBB, 8 HBP, 25 GIDP, 463 other outs, 1,001 batters Lee: 12-9, 212.33 IP, 195 H, 16 HR, 18 BB, 185 SO, 2 IBB, 1 HBP, 11 GIDP, 423 other outs, 843 batters Only 18 walks in 212 innings! That's 0.8 walks per 9 innings, the 9th lowest among pitchers that qualified for the ERA title since 1900! And here are some totals relative to their positional first-quartiles: Felix: -20.01 nonHR hits, -2.61 HR, +7.28 uBB, +82.07 SO, -.19 IBB, +9.43 WP, +1.74 HBP, +1 BK, +2.82 SH, -1.93 SF, +9.59 GIDP, -13.44 other outs Lee: +11.45 nonHR hits, -.68 HR, -36.49 uBB, +57.49 SO, +.99 IBB, -.88 WP, -4.32 HBP, +1 BK, +1.29 SH, +1.81 SF, -2.11 GIDP, +17.8 other outs Baseball Reference WAR has Felix at 7.2 and Lee at 5.1, while FanGraphs WAR has Felix at 7.3 and Felix at 6.7. The Mariners had the 1st and 2nd best pitchers in the AL according to Player Value and 1st and 3rd best in the AL according to fWAR, and still were terrible in 2010. The Phillies had traded Lee to the Mariners in late 2009 to make room for the 'superior' Roy Halladay. Despite Halladay's winning of the NL Cy Young, Player Value and fWAR agree that Lee was the better pitcher in 2010, and both fWAR and bWAR think that Lee was the better pitcher for the rest of their careers. Good thing the Phillies got Lee back shortly afterwards in late 2010! The worst starting pitcher at pitching in the AL was Ryan Rowland-Smith of the... Seattle Mariners! He had a Pitching Value of -27.16, a bWAR of -2.6, and an fWAR of -1.5, the worst in MLB. Keeping it simple, he had a 1-10 record and a 6.75 ERA... yeesh. RELIEVERS OF THE YEAR This award has been around in different forms over the years. The initial version was the Rolaids Relief Man Award, which began in 1976. You can read about it and view past winners here. It was designed to be given to the best closer in each league. The award was decided using a point system, where a "tough" save (tying run on base) was worth 4 points, a save was worth 3 points, a win worth 2 points, a loss worth -2 points, and a blown save worth -2 points. The award stopped being given out after the 2012 season when the Rolaids brand was acquired by another company that didn't care for sponsoring the award. This award was effectively replaced by MLB's Reliever of the Year Award, which has been around since 2014. The AL winner technically wins the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year award, and the NL winner wins the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year award. These awards are decided by a panel of voters, who pick their top 3 guys, with 1st place votes worth 5 points, 2nd place votes worth 3 points, and 3rd place votes worth 1 point. The panel consists of notable retired relief pitchers. You can read about this newer award and view past winners here. My Reliever of the Year awards will go to the relief pitchers with the highest Pitching Value in each league. Note that this is relief pitchers, not just closers. Pitching Value does not make any type of leverage adjustment for the 'difficulty' of particular pitching situations. NL Actual Winner: Heath Bell, San Diego Padres NL Player Value Winner: Hung-Chih Kuo, Los Angeles Dodgers In his penultimate season, Kuo led all NL relievers with a Pitching Value of 15.90. Bell had a Pitching Value of 8.50, placing him 15th in the NL among relievers. The first-quartile NL reliever had a Pitching Value Average of .0854, while Kuo's was .1907 and Bell's was .1407. Here are their pitching rate comparisons to their first-quartiles, in the order of ERA, WHIP, AVG against, OBP against, BABIP, and FIP: Kuo: 1.20 vs 2.65, .783 vs 1.176, .139 vs .219, .211 vs .289, .211 vs .289, 1.81 vs 3.02 Bell: 1.93 vs 2.65, 1.200 vs 1.176, .221 vs .219, .300 vs .289, .300 vs .289, 2.05 vs 3.02 Here are some of their traditional pitching stats: Kuo: 12 SV, 60 IP, 29 H, 1 HR, 18 BB, 0 IBB, 1 HBP, 73 SO, 1 GIDP, 105 other outs, 229 batters Bell: 47 SV, 70 IP, 56 H, 1 HR, 28 BB, 3 IBB, 1 HBP, 86 SO, 4 GIDP, 107 other outs, 287 batters And here are some totals relative to their positional first-quartiles: Kuo: -14.95 nonHR hits, -2.33 HR, +3.10 uBB, +28.73 SO, -1.75 IBB, +2.04 WP, +.06 HBP, +1 BK, -.05 SH, +.20 SF, -2.33 GIDP, +2.44 other outs Bell: +4.89 nonHR hits, -2.89 HR, +7.61 uBB, +34.35 SO, +.96 IBB, -.12 WP, -.10 HBP, +0 BK, +2.78 SH, +.07 SF, +.11 GIDP, -12.65 other outs Baseball Reference WAR has Kuo at 3.3 and Bell at 1.9, while FanGraphs WAR has Kuo at 2.3 and Bell at 2.3. Kuo and Bell finished 3rd and 4th among relievers in MLB and in the NL. The NL relief pitcher with the most fWAR was Carlos Marmol of the Chicago Cubs, who had a Pitching Value of 13.21, the 4th best in the NL. The worst pitching reliever in the NL was Manny Parra of the Milwaukee Brewers, with a Pitching Value of -18.91, who had an fWAR of 0. The NL reliever with the lowest fWAR was Juan/J.C. Guatirrez of the Arizona Diamondbacks at -1.1, who had a Pitching Value of -7.87. He was technically the Dbacks closer, but split the role with Chad Qualls who was even worse with a Pitching Value of -9.78 and an fWAR of 0. AL Actual Winner: Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays AL Player Value Winner: Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays Soriano led the AL among relief pitchers with a Pitching Value of 13.73. The next closest was the legendary Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, with a Pitching Value of 12.15. The first-quartile AL reliever had a Pitching Value Average of .0859, while Soriano's was .1804 and Rivera's was .1735. Here are their pitching rate comparisons to their first-quartiles, in the order of ERA, WHIP, AVG against, OBP against, BABIP, and FIP: Soriano: 1.73 vs 2.97, .80 vs 1.12, .163 vs .215, .215 vs .288, .215 vs .288, 2.81 vs 3.23 Rivera: 1.80 vs 2.97, .83 vs 1.12, .183 vs .215, .239 vs .288, .239 vs .288, 2.81 vs 3.23 Here are some of their traditional pitching stats: Soriano: 45 SV, 62.33 IP, 36 H, 4 HR, 14 BB, 2 IBB, 1 HBP, 57 SO, 3 GIDP, 125 other outs, 237 batters Rivera: 33 SV, 60 IP, 39 H, 2 HR, 11 BB, 3 IBB, 5 HBP, 45 SO, 4 GIDP, 125 other outs, 230 batters And here are some totals relative to their positional first-quartiles: Soriano: -11.38 nonHR hits, +.18 HR, -4.75 uBB, +12.81 SO, +.93 IBB, -1.42 WP, -.04 HBP, +0 BK, -1.08 SH, +.01 SF, -.55 GIDP, +14.01 other outs Rivera: -4.76 nonHR hits, -1.67 HR, -8.12 uBB, +2.47 SO, +1.97 IBB, -1.36 WP, +4 HBP, +0 BK, -1.04 SH, +.05 SF, +.58 GIDP, +18.16 other outs Baseball Reference WAR has Soriano at 2.1 and Rivera at 2.4, while FanGraphs WAR has Soriano at 1.9 and Rivera at 1.8. The AL reliever with the most fWAR was Matt Thornton of the Chicago White Sox at 2.2, who had a Pitching Value of 9.97 for the 6th best in the AL. The worst pitching reliever in the AL was Chad Gaudin of the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees with a Pitching Value of -16.62. He had an fWAR of -1, the 2nd worst in the AL. Just below him was Brian Tallet of the Toronto Blue Jays at -1.2, who had a Pitching Value of -16.22. In terms of just closers, the worst was Alfredo Simon of the Baltimore Orioles, with a Pitching Value of -8.57, and an fWAR of -0.8. ROOKIES OF THE YEAR This one is well known, given to the best player in each league that is in his first qualified season. There's no specific awards for different positions, so all rookie players are on the table. You can view the winners in 2010 here. The award works the same way as the other BBWAA voting based awards such as the Cy Young and the MVP. NL Actual Winner: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, Catcher NL Player Value Winner: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, Catcher Posey led all MLB rookies and finished 1st in the NL with a Player Value of 22.87. This was good for the 4th most in MLB and in the NL among catchers. He received 20 first place votes and finished with 129 vote points. The next closest was Jason Heyward, rightfielder for the Atlanta Braves, who received 9 first place votes and 107 vote points. Player Value did not like Heyward, rating him at -3.93. The rookie with the 2nd most Player Value in the NL was Neil Walker, second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, at 16.31. He finished 5th in the actual voting with 0 first place votes and 3 vote points. The NL rookie pitcher with the highest Player Value was Jaime Garcia of the St. Louis Cardinals at 14.57, who finished 3rd in the actual voting with 1 first place vote and 24 vote points. Baseball Reference WAR has Posey at 3.9, Heyward at 6.4, and Garcia at 2.9. FanGraphs WAR has Posey at 4.0, Heyward at 4.6, and Garcia at 2.4. Posey was solid both offensively and defensively, with a Batting Value of 11.09 and a Fielding Value of 12.56. Those place him 6th and 11th in MLB among catchers, respectively. Contrary to what most of us think of Heyward nowadays, he scored fine offensively with a Batting Value of 6.87 but poor defensively with a Fielding Value of -10.41. Walker was pretty good at both, with a 12.48/4.73 split. Garcia had a 14.03 pitching value and was able to add some value defensively with a Fielding Value of 1.07, but essentially took that value away offensively with a Batting Value of -0.79. Compared to the first-quartile catcher, Posey got you 18.89 more singles, 6.38 more doubles, 2 more triples, 10.36 more homers, 70.27 more putouts, 12.22 more assists, 1.53 fewer passed balls, and 12.88 more caught stealings. He had a caught stealing percentage of .3710 vs the first-quartile of .1633, a fielding percentage of .9920 vs the first-quartile of .9914, and range factor per game and per 9 innings comparisons of 8.20 vs 7.20 and 8.59 vs 7.85. He had an OPS of .862 vs the first-quartile of .692, and a wOBA of .371 vs the first-quartile of .309. AL Actual Winner: Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers, Closer AL Player Value Winner: Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers, Centerfielder Jackson finished 2nd among all MLB rookies and 1st in the AL with a Player Value of 18.14. Feliz had a Player Value of 9.72, the 4th best among MLB rookie pitchers and best in the AL. Jackson was fueled by his strong defensive abilities, finishing with a Fielding Value of 10.96, while still having a respectable Batting Value for a centerfielder of 6.42. He was the 11th best defensive CF in MLB. His Baserunning Value when it came to just stealing was pretty minimal, but some research I've been doing shows that his non-stealing baserunning may have been the best in the league in 2010; however, that isn't incorporated into Player Value yet. In the actual AL Rookie of the Year voting, Jackson received 8 first place votes to Feliz's 20, and finished with 98 vote points to Feliz's 122. Baseball Reference WAR has Jackson at 5.1 and Feliz at 2.5, while FanGraphs WAR has Jackson at 4.1 and Feliz at 2.0. It's difficult for a pitcher to outweigh the value of a position player, unless most position players have down years and the pitcher truly goes above and beyond. They see less action on the field, so have smaller Fielding Values, and also see less action at the plate, so have smaller Batting Values and Baserunning Values. This is especially true for AL pitchers who bat even less, and for relievers who would generally be pinch-hit for if their spot was to come up in the lineup. Feliz was a great player, but out of the nature of his position he generally isn't involved in the game enough to have a larger impact than a position player would. He had a Pitching Value of 10.72, but hurt himself defensively with a Fielding Value of -0.55. He added no value with his bat or on the bases, as he had 0 plate appearances the entire year. He was the 9th best relief pitcher in the AL, and the 4th best closer. Across all of MLB, he was the 21st best relief pitcher and the 6th best closer. Compared to the first-quartile centerfielder, Jackson got you 41.05 more singles, 11.31 more doubles, 6.22 more triples, 6.38 more stolen bases, 35.93 more putouts, 6.2 more assists, and 2 more double plays. He had an OPS of .745 vs the first-quartile of .679, and a wOBA of .329 vs the first-quartile of .307. In terms of Batting Value Average, the comparison is -.0948 vs -.1152. His fielding percentage of .985 doesn't stand out from the first-quartile of .986, but his range factor per game of 2.63 and range factor per 9 innings of 2.81 do compared to the first-quartiles of 2.38 and 2.54. Compared to the first-quartile closer, Feliz allowed 10.26 fewer non-HR hits, 1.63 fewer unintentional walks, 21.85 more strikeouts, 1.05 more groundball double plays, and 2.54 more other outs. He had an ERA of 2.73 vs the first-quartile of 2.93, a FIP of 2.96 vs the first-quartile of 3.23, and a BABIP of .246 vs the first-quartile of .288. In terms of Pitching Value Average, the comparison is .159 vs .0859. MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS The award that really needs no introduction. Given to the best players in both leagues. You can view the winners in 2010 here. NL Actual Winner: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds, First Base NL Player Value Winner: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, First Base I chose 2010 as my example Player Value season because I hoped to show that Votto deserved to win the MVP that year. I came up short, but am not disappointed with the results. Pujols led all of MLB and the NL with a total Player Value of 76.45. Albert has won 3 MVPs in his career, so this would supposedly be #4, although I haven't checked if any of his other 3 are justified or not. Votto finished 5th in MLB and 3rd in the NL with a total Player Value of 48.79. I have stripped Votto of his one MVP, but spoiler: Player Value has him deserving to have won it in 2017. Votto received 31 first place votes to Pujols' 1, and Votto had 443 vote points to Pujols' 279. Here's how Pujols and Votto compare by their Player Value components: Votto: 41.30 Batting Value, 0.45 Baserunning Value, 7.05 Fielding Value Pujols: 36.42 Batting Value, 0.54 Baserunning Value, 39.50 Fielding Value Votto had the highest Batting Value in the NL, so it's likely that MVP voters are biased towards offensive performance. Pujols was just a slightly worse hitter but a notably superior defender. Note that both players played 100% of their games at first base, so they have the same first-quartiles. Here's how they compare by their Player Value components, in rate form: Votto: -.0092 Batting Value Average, .0214 Baserunning Value Average, .3293 Fielding Value Average Pujols:-.0209 Batting Value Average, .0300 Baserunning Value Average, .3946 Fielding Value Average 1B First-Quartile: -.0906 BatVA, -.1065 BaseVA, .3393 FieldVA Here are their AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and wOBA first quartile comparisons: Votto: .324 vs .250, .424 vs .332, .600 vs .406, 1.024 vs .749, .438 vs .332 Pujols: .312 vs .250, .414 vs .332, .596 vs .406, 1.011 vs .749, .419 vs .332 Here are their traditional counting batting stats: Votto: 648 PA, 102 1B, 36 2B, 2 3B, 37 HR, 113 RBI, 83 uBB, 8 IBB, 7 HBP, 0 SH, 3 SF, 125 SO, 11 GIDP Pujols: 700 PA, 101 1B, 39 2B, 1 3B, 42 HR, 118 RBI, 65 uBB, 38 IBB, 4 HBP, 0 SH, 6 SF, 76 SO, 23 GIDP Here are their batting comparisons relative to their first quartiles: Votto: +17.84 1B, +10.42 2B, +2 3B, +18.07 HR, +25.67 uBB, +24.7 SO, +3.73 IBB, +4.76 HBP, +0 SH, -.73 SF, +.78 GIDP, -18.97 other Outs Pujols: +10.08 1B, +11.36 2B, +1 3B, +21.55 HR, +3.07 uBB, -32.35 SO, +33.38 IBB, +1.58 HBP, +0 SH, +1.97 SF, +11.96 GIDP, +31.73 other Outs Here are their fielding percentage, RFG, and RF9 comparisons to first quartiles: Votto: .9960 vs .9923, 8.51 vs 8.56, 8.84 vs 9.11 Pujols: .9980 vs .9923, 10.29 vs 8.56, 10.53 vs 9.11 Here are their traditional counting fielding stats: Votto: 1,283 Inn, 1,265 Ch, 1,132 PO, 128 A, 5 E, 101 DP Pujols: 1,380.67 Inn, 1,619 Ch, 1,458 PO, 157 A, 4 E, 146 DP Here are their fielding comparisons relative to their first quartiles: Votto: -44.18 assisted PO, -4.91 unassisted PO, +48.56 A, +1.03 E, -5.39 DP Pujols: +168.3 assisted PO, +18.7 unassisted PO, +71.52 A, -.27 E, +31.51 DP And lastly here are their baserunning comparisons: Votto: 16 SB, 5 CS, 76.19% Pujols: 14 SB, 4 CS, 77.78% Baseball Reference WAR had Votto at 7.0 and Pujols at 7.5. FanGraphs WAR had Votto at 6.9 and Pujols at 6.8, 1st and 2nd in the NL respectively. The worst overall player in the NL was Jorge Cantu, first and third baseman for the Florida Marlins & Texas Rangers, with a total Player Value of -48.29. Cantu played 97 games in the NL with the Marlins and 30 games in the AL with the Rangers. The worst player that solely played in the NL was Pedro Feliz, first and third baseman for the Houston Astros & St. Louis Cardinals, with a total Player Value of -44.19. Cantu had a bWAR of -1 and an fWAR of -.5, while Feliz had a bWAR of -0.4 and an fWAR of -2.3, the worst in the NL. AL Actual Winner: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers, Left Field AL Player Value Winner: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees, Second Base Cano finished 3rd in MLB and 1st in the AL with a total Player Value of 64.45. Cano has no actual MVPs in his career, so this would be his first. Hamilton finished 4th in MLB and 2nd in the AL with a total Player Value of 59.55. You may recall that Hamilton was a Red and nearly the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 before being traded for Edison Volquez. So the Reds could have had both of the MVPs on their team in 2010. At least Player Value makes it so that it would only be both of the almost MVPs on their team. Here's how Hamilton and Cano compare by their Player Value components: Hamilton: 48.48 Batting Value, 0.57 Baserunning Value, 10.50 Fielding Value Cano: 35.99 Batting Value, -0.34 Baserunning Value, 28.81 Fielding Value Hamilton also had the highest Batting Value in the AL, which further shows how MVP voters are biased towards offensive performance. Cano was just a slightly worse hitter but a superior defender, relative to his position. Here how they compare by their Player Value components, in rate form: Hamilton: -.0085 Batting Value Average, .0900 Baserun Value Average, .0814 Fielding Value Average Cano: -.0489 Batting Value Average, -.0660 Baserun Value Average, .1898 Fielding Value Average Hamilton's First-Quartile: -.1016 BatVA, -.0531 BaseVA, .0723 FieldVA Cano's First-Quartile: -.1107 BatVA, -.0671 BaseVA, .1700 FieldVA Here are their AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and wOBA first quartile comparisons: Hamilton: .359 vs .259, .411 vs .331, .633 vs .384, 1.044 vs .724, .445 vs .322 Cano: .319 vs .267, .381 vs .329, .534 vs .375, .914 vs .700, .391 vs .311 Here are their traditional counting batting stats: Hamilton: 571 PA, 111 1B, 40 2B, 3 3B, 32 HR, 100 RBI, 38 uBB, 5 IBB, 5 HBP, 1 SH, 4 SF, 95 SO, 11 GIDP Cano: 696 PA, 127 1B, 41 2B, 3 3B, 29 HR, 109 RBI, 43 uBB, 14 IBB, 8 HBP, 0 SH, 5 SF, 77 SO, 19 GIDP Here are their batting comparisons relative to their first quartiles: Hamilton: +30.55 1B, +17.17 2B, +1.08 3B, +24.29 HR, +.24 uBB, +12.63 SO, +3.93 IBB, +2.57 HBP, +.76 SH, +1.66 SF, +4.97 GIDP, -12.3 other Outs Cano: +19.45 1B, +13.14 2B, +1.65 3B, +21.7 HR, -2.39 uBB, -3.08 SO, +13.71 IBB, +3.67 HBP, -1.54 SH, +1.93 SF, +9.76 GIDP, +10.68 other Outs Here are their fielding percentage, RFG, and RF9 comparisons to first quartiles: Hamilton: .9850 vs .9835, 1.99 vs 1.84, 2.29 vs 2.00 Cano: .9960 vs .9803, 4.89 vs 4.29, 4.99 vs 4.66 Here are their traditional counting fielding stats: Hamilton: 1,034.67 Inn, 267 Ch, 254 PO, 9 A, 4 E, 2 DP Cano: 1,393.33 Inn, 776 Ch, 341 PO, 432 A, 3 E, 114 DP Here are their fielding comparisons relative to their first quartiles: Hamilton: +31.94 PO, +5.82 A, +2.61 E, +2 DP Cano: +50.18 PO, +27.81 A, -3.8 E, +23.19 DP And lastly here are their baserunning comparisons: Hamilton: 8 SB, 1 CS, 88.89% Cano: 3 SB, 2 CS, 60% Baseball Reference WAR has Hamilton at 8.7 and Cano at 8.1, while FanGraphs WAR has Hamilton at 8.4 and Cano at 6.4. Hamilton led all of MLB and the AL in fWAR. The worst overall player in the AL was Brandon Wood, third baseman and shortstop for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, with a total Player Value of -34.18. He had a bWAR of -1.5 and an fWAR of -1.7. Adam Moore of the Seattle Mariners had the worst fWAR at -2.4, and he had a total Player Value of -23.31. Now I will dive into 1st-team and 2nd-team selections for both the AL and NL, as well as MLB overall. Each starting position gets one spot, besides pitchers. Starting pitchers get 5 spots, as is the usual rotation size. Relief pitchers get two spots, and closers get one spot. I've also added a miscellaneous spot for safety, which will be used by diverse outfielders that didn't play at least 50% of their games at one outfield position, utility players that didn't play at least 50% of their games at any one position, outfielders that finish in the top 6 among all outfielders but not among the top 2 in a specific outfield position, or relievers/closers that finish in the top 6 among relievers/closers but not among the top 4 relievers or top 2 closers. The flexibility is intended so that every year there's hopefully at least somebody that qualifies, and this prevents worthy guys from being left out. This safety spot will only be used for the NL and AL teams. For the MLB, I'll put the safety player where I think makes the most sense, if he qualifies. Here are your teams, with each player's total Player Value and WAR (as calculated by Baseball Reference), for reference. FIRST-TEAM NL C: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs, 33.75 Player Value, 3.3 WAR 1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, 76.45 Player Value, 7.5 WAR 2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies, 42.39 Player Value, 5.8 WAR 3B: Scott Rolen, Cincinnati Reds, 28.96 Player Value, 4.1 WAR SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies, 76.10 Player Value, 6.7 WAR LF: Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals, 35.70 Player Value, 5.9 WAR CF: Chris Young, Arizona Diamondbacks, 32.07 Player Value, 5.4 WAR RF: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds, 29.04 Player Value, 4.7 WAR SP1: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals, 38.42 Player Value, 6.4 WAR SP2: Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves, 28.96 Player Value, 6.0 WAR SP3: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies, 22.91 Player Value, 8.3 WAR SP4: Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros & Philladelphia Phillies, 22.82 Player Value, 5.7 WAR SP5: Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies, 21.89 Player Value, 7.3 WAR RP1: Evan Meek, Pittsburgh Pirates, 19.80 Player Value, 2.5 WAR RP2: Luke Gregorson, San Diego Padres, 18.26 Player Value, 0.4 WAR CP: Billy Wagner, Atlanta Braves, 13.77 Player Value, 2.5 WAR Misc: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, 35.80 Player Value, 5.9 WAR Carlos Gonzalez finished 3rd in MLB and 1st in the NL among outfielders, but he did not play more than 50% of his games at any specific outfield position. SECOND-TEAM NL C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves, 32.40 Player Value, 3.6 WAR 1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds, 48.79 Player Value, 7.0 WAR 2B: Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks, 38.01 Player Value, 4.3 WAR 3B: David Wright, New York Mets, 26.93 Player Value, 2.8 WAR SS: Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks, 33.67 Player Value, 4.0 WAR LF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers, 30.36 Player Value, 5.7 WAR CF: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates, 28.42 Player Value, 3.8 WAR RF: Jayson Werth, Philadelphia Phillies, 20.26 Player Value, 4.5 WAR SP1: R.A. Dickey, New York Mets, 21.86 Player Value, 4.2 WAR SP2: Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals, 19.55 Player Value, 2.7 WAR SP3: Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins, 18.92 Player Value, 6.6 WAR SP4: Yovanni Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers, 18.41 Player Value, 3.1 WAR SP5: Mat Latos, San Diego Padres, 16.92 Player Value, 3.1 WAR RP1: Hung-Chih Kuo, Los Angeles Dodgers, 14.93 Player Value, 3.3 WAR RP2: Brandon Lyon, Houston Astros, 13.13 Player Value, 1.7 WAR CP: Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs, 12.50 Player Value, 2.7 WAR Misc: Omar Infante, Atlanta Braves, 16.16 Player Value, 3.1 WAR Omar Infante finished 1st in MLB and in the NL among utility players that didn't play at least 50% of their games at any specific position. FIRST-TEAM AL C: Victor Martinez, Boston Red Sox, 17.57 Player Value, 3.6 WAR 1B: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers, 43.71 Player Value, 6.5 WAR 2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees, 64.45 Player Value, 8.1 WAR 3B: Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox, 35.88 Player Value, 7.8 WAR SS: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox, 37.82 Player Value, 5.6 WAR LF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers, 59.55 Player Value, 8.7 WAR CF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles, 23.47 Player Value, 2.5 WAR RF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays, 35.23 Player Value, 7.0 WAR DH: Jim Thome, Minnesota Twins, 20.06 Player Value, 3.6 WAR SP1: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, 41.50 Player Value, 7.1 WAR SP2: Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics, 28.63 Player Value, 3.9 WAR SP3: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox, 27.38 Player Value, 5.7 WAR SP4: Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners & Texas Rangers, 26.44 Player Value, 3.5 WAR SP5: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers, 24.68 Player Value, 4.3 WAR RP1: Scott Downs, Toronto Blue Jays, 12.00 Player Value, 1.8 WAR RP2: Brian Duensing, Minnesota Twins, 11.41 Player Value, 3.6 WAR CP: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees, 14.91 Player Value, 2.4 WAR SECOND-TEAM AL C: Jose Molina, Toronto Blue Jays, 11.27 1B: Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox, 40.38 Player Value, 4.7 WAR 2B: Orlando Hudson, Minnesota Twins, 22.41 Player Value, 2.9 WAR 3B: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays, 34.46 Player Value, 8.2 WAR SS: Cliff Pennington, Oakland Athletics, 28.62 Player Value, 4.5 WAR LF: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays, 45.92 Player Value, 7.0 WAR CF: Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays, 19.72 Player Value, 4.0 WAR RF: Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers, 33.51 Player Value, 4.1 WAR DH: Luke Scott, Baltimore Orioles, 14.96 Player Value, 3.8 WAR SP1: John Danks, Chicago White Sox, 23.83 Player Value, 5.1 WAR SP2: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox, 23.49 Player Value, 5.2 WAR SP3: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays, 22.81 Player Value, 4.7 WAR SP4: C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers, 22.31 Player Value, 4.9 WAR SP5: Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 21.66 Player Value, 5.3 WAR RP1: Joaquin Benoit, Tampa Bay Rays, 10.96 Player Value, 2.2 WAR RP2: Daniel Bard, Boston Red Sox, 9.81 Player Value, 3.1 WAR CP: Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays, 12.18 Player Value, 2.1 WAR Misc: Brett Gardner, New York Yankees, 23.43 Player Value, 7.4 WAR Misc: Joakim Soria, Kanas City Royals, 11.10 Player Value, 3.7 WAR Brett Gardner finished 6th in the AL among outfielders. This is applicable if we were to measure the 1st and 2nd teams by the top 3/6 outfielders in general, rather than the best LF, CF, and RF. Joakim Soria finished 5th in the AL among relievers/closers, but 3rd in the AL among closers. FIRST-TEAM MLB C: Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs, 33.75 Player Value, 3.3 WAR 1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, 76.45 Player Value, 7.5 WAR 2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees, 64.45 Player Value, 8.1 WAR 3B: Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox, 35.88 Player Value, 7.8 WAR SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies, 76.10 Player Value, 6.7 WAR LF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers, 59.55 Player Value, 8.7 WAR CF: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, 35.80 Player Value, 5.9 WAR RF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays, 35.23 Player Value, 7.0 WAR DH: Jim Thome, Minnesota Twins, 20.06 Player Value, 3.6 WAR SP1: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners, 41.50 Player Value, 7.1 WAR SP2: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals, 38.42 Player Value, 6.4 WAR SP3: Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves, 28.96 Player Value, 6.0 WAR SP4: Trevor Cahill, Oakland Athletics, 28.63 Player Value, 3.9 WAR SP5: Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox, 27.38 Player Value, 5.7 WAR RP1: Evan Meek, Pittsburgh Pirates, 19.80 Player Value, 2.5 WAR RP2: Luke Gregorson, San Diego Padres, 18.26 Player Value, 0.4 WAR CP: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees, 14.91 Player Value, 2.4 WAR Carlos Gonzalez had a LF/CF/RF split of 39%/36%/25%, so he was very nearly perfectly split between all outfield positions. Given his frequent CF playing time and the fact that Chris Young had the lowest Player Value among the specific outfield position leaders, I decided to make Cargo the 1st-team CF and move Young to the 2nd-team. This squad has a total Player Value of 655.14, a mean Player Value of 38.54, and a median Player Value of 35.23. WAR doesn't like Gregorson or Cahill as much, but agrees for the most part. SECOND-TEAM MLB C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves, 32.40 Player Value, 3.6 WAR 1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds, 48.79 Player Value, 7.0 WAR 2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies, 42.39 Player Value, 5.8 WAR 3B: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays, 34.46 Player Value, 8.2 WAR SS: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox, 37.82 Player Value, 5.6 WAR LF: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays, 45.92 Player Value, 7.0 WAR CF: Chris Young, Arizona Diamondbacks, 32.07 Player Value, 5.4 WAR RF: Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers, 33.51 Player Value, 4.1 WAR SP1: Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners & Texas Rangers, 26.44 Player Value, 3.5 WAR SP2: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers, 24.68 Player Value, 4.3 WAR SP3: John Danks, Chicago White Sox, 23.83 Player Value, 5.1 WAR SP4: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox, 23.49 Player Value, 5.2 WAR SP5: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies, 22.91 Player Value, 8.3 WAR RP1: Hung-Chih Kuo, Los Angeles Dodgers, 14.93 Player Value, 3.3 WAR RP2: Brandon Lyon, Houston Astros, 13.13 Player Value, 1.7 WAR CP: Billy Wagner, Atlanta Braves, 13.77 Player Value, 2.5 WAR As mentioned above, due to Carlos Gonzalez being the better overall player and his positional diversity, Chris Young gets demoted to 2nd-team MLB despite being the best majority CF in both leagues. Andrew McCutchen, the 2nd best majority CF in both leagues, gets excluded from 2nd-team MLB for this reason as well. Since the NL didn't have a DH in 2010, I didn't make a 2nd-team MLB spot for the DH, so Luke Scott misses out there. This squad has a total Player Value of 485.49, a mean Player Value of 28.56, and a median Player Value of 26.44. WAR doesn't like Lee as much, and likes Halladay much more. To get a better idea for how Player Value looks across the board for all positions, let's also create a team of the worst guys at each position, as well as a team for the guys that are closest to the first-quartile-quality player at each position: WORST-TEAM MLB C: Jason Kendall, Kansas City Royals, -25.12 Player Value, 0.5 WAR 1B: Casey Kotchman, Seattle Mariners, -19.36 Player Value, -0.8 WAR 2B: Chone Figgins, Seattle Mariners, -30.35 Player Value, 1.2 WAR 3B: Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins & Texas Rangers, -48.29 Player Value, -1.5 WAR SS: Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres, -16.95 Player Value, 0.1 WAR LF: Carlos Lee, Houston Astros, -36.07 Player Value, -2.2 WAR CF: Tony Gwynn Jr., San Diego Padres, -18.95 Player Value, 2.2 WAR RF: Jeff Francoeur, New York Mets & Texas Rangers, -18.46 Player Value, 1.1 WAR DH: Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays, -23.51 Player Value, -1.0 WAR SP1: Rodrigo Lopez, Arizona Diamondbacks, -29.84 Player Value, -1.2 WAR SP2: Ryan Rowland-Smith, Seattle Mariners, -29.78 Player Value, -2.7 WAR SP3: Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates, -25.49 Player Value, -1.3 WAR SP4: Charlie Morton, Pittsburgh Pirates, -23.59 Player Value, -2.6 WAR SP5: Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers, -23.32 Player Value, -0.4 WAR RP1: Blake Hawksworth, St. Louis Cardinals, -19.50 Player Value, -1.2 WAR RP2: Chad Gaudin, Oakland Athletics & New York Yankees, -17.00 Player Value, -1.0 WAR CP: Alfredo Simon, Baltimore Orioles, -7.27 Player Value, -0.4 WAR This squad has a total Player Value of -412.85, a mean Player Value of -24.29, and a median Player Value of -23.51. This was Simon's lone season in a closer role, but given his years as a Red I'm not surprised to see him as one of the worst pitchers here. Lee was at the end of his career; he hit 24 homers, but batted just .246 and wasn't a walk-machine either, in addition to being a poor fielder. Kendall was also winding down his career, while Morton was just getting started. WAR likes Gwynn Jr., Figgins, and Francoeur more. FIRST (QUARTILE)-TEAM MLB C: Henry Blanco, New York Mets, 0.23 Player Value, 0.0 WAR 1B: Ross Gload, Philadelphia Phillies, 0.54 Player Value, 0.3 WAR 2B: Luis Valbuena, Cleveland Indians, -0.29 Player Value, 0.0 WAR 3B: David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals, -0.29 Player Value, 0.7 WAR SS: Jerry Hairston Jr., San Diego Padres, 0.37 Player Value, 1.2 WAR LF: Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox, 0.16 Player Value, 0.3 WAR CF: Mike Cameron, Boston Red Sox, 0.87 Player Value, 0.1 WAR RF: Andruw Jones, Chicago White Sox, -0.06 Player Value, 1.9 WAR DH: Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians, 1.55 Player Value, 2.4 WAR SP1: Alex Sanabia, Florida Marlins, 0.20 Player Value, 0.1 WAR SP2: Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays, -0.23 Player Value, 1.8 WAR SP3: Bruce Chen, Kansas City Royals, -0.25 Player Value, 3.0 WAR SP4: Josh Tomlin, Cleveland Indians, 0.26 Player Value, 0.4 WAR SP5: James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers & Pittsburgh Pirates, 0.32 Player Value, -0.3 WAR RP1: Shawn Camp, Toronto Blue Jays, -0.01 Player Value, 1.7 WAR RP2: Jason Berken, Baltimore Orioles, 0.02 Player Value, 1.3 WAR CP: Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati Reds, 0.23 Player Value, 0.3 WAR I tried to set some basic playing time requirements so that we'd get a team of full-time first-quartile quality players, rather than just a bunch of players that hardly played. This squad has a total Player Value of 3.61, a mean Player Value of 0.21, and a median Player Value of 0.20. Mainly forgetful players, but Pierre, Cameron, and Jones were all towards the end of their careers. Cordero had 40 saves, but a 3.84 ERA as a closer. Hairston Jr. spent some time as a Red and he is the "meh" type of player that I think is really indicative of first-quartile quality. WAR likes Hairston Jr., Camp, Berken, Morrow, Chen, Hafner, and Jones much more than Player Value does. These guys are the borderline acceptable players; anyone consistently playing worse needs some concentrated training, a position change, or to be removed from the team. Just want a list of the top 25 players in MLB in 2010, regardless of position? If so, then here ya go: TOP 25 PLAYERS IN MLB 1. Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals, 76.45 Player Value 2. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies, 76.10 Player Value 3. Robinson Cano, 2B, New York Yankees, 64.45 Player Value 4. Josh Hamilton, LF/CF, Texas Rangers, 59.55 Player Value 5. Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds, 48.79 Player Value 6. Carl Crawford, LF, Tampa Bay Rays, 45.92 Player Value 7. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers, 43.71 Player Value 8. Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies, 42.39 Player Value 9. Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners, 41.50 Player Value 10. Paul Konerko, 1B/DH, Chicago White Sox, 40.38 Player Value 11. Aubrey Huff, 1B/LF/RF, San Francisco Giants, 38.75 Player Value 12. Adam Wainwright, SP, St. Louis Cardinals, 38.42 Player Value 13. Kelly Johnson, 2B, Arizona Diamondbacks, 38.01 Player Value 14. Alexei Ramirez, SS, Chicago White Sox, 37.82 Player Value 15. Rickie Weeks, SS, Milwaukee Brewers, 35.91 Player Value 16. Adrian Beltre, 3B, Boston Red Sox, 35.88 Player Value 17. Carlos Gonzalez, LF/CF/RF, Colorado Rockies, 35.80 Player Value 18. Matt Holliday, LF, St. Louis Cardinals, 35.70 Player Value 19. Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins, 35.24 Player Value 20. Jose Bautista, RF/3B, Toronto Blue Jays, 35.23 Player Value 21. Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays, 34.46 Player Value 22. Justin Morneau, 1B, Minnesota Twins, 34.14 Player Value 23. Geovany Soto, C, Chicago Cubs, 33.75 Player Value 24. Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks, 33.67 Player Value 25. Nelson Cruz, RF/LF, Texas Rangers, 33.51 Player Value BASERUNNING VALUE Up until now I've neglected sharing any baserunning results because it makes up an insignificant portion of a player's total Player Value, for most players. Currently only stealing is incorporated into Baserunning Value. Players get +.15 for each stolen base and -.39 for each caught stealing. Like usual, players are compared to their positional first-quartile. The best baserunner in 2010 was Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, with a Baserunning Value of 3.69. He stole 42 bases and was caught 9 times, which is an 82.35% clip, well above his positional first-quartile of 51.29%. Baseball Reference has Ichiro with an Rbaser of 3, which is their baserunning component of bWAR. FanGraphs had Ichiro with an UBR of -1.3, a wGDP of 1.8, and a wSB of 4.1, for a total of 4.6 baserunning runs. wSB is the closest thing to what Baserunning Value is currently measuring, since I lack additional baserunning data at the moment. Ichiro ranked 8th in wSB in 2010. The player with the highest wSB was Juan Pierre of the Chicago White Sox at 5.7, who stole 68 bases and was caught 18 times. That's a clip of 79.07%, compared to his first-quartile of 60.80%. Pierre had a Baserunning Value of 0.86. The 2nd most Baserunning Value was Coco Crisp of the Oakland Athletics at 2.64, who stolen 32 bases and was caught 3 times, a clip of 91.43% compared to his first-quartile of 61.65%. FanGraphs has him at a wSB of 4.9, the 5th most overall. Crisp's Rbaser was 7 according to Baseball Reference. The worst baserunner in 2010 was Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a Baserunning Value of -3.98. He stole 19 bases but was caught a whopping 15 times, giving him a clip of just 55.88% comapred to the center field first-quartile of 62.50%. He has the 2nd lowest wSB according to FanGraphs at -2.7. Beating him out was Torii Hunter of the Los Angeles Angeles with a wSB of -3.5, who had a Baserunning Value of -3.60, the 2nd worst. Hunter stole 9 bases and was caught 12 times, a clip of 42.86% vs his positional first-quartile of 55.65%. So at best, a player's Baserunning Value can add 3-4 runs and at worst it can take away 3-4 runs. Once I get more baserunning data and improve this portion of the metric the magnitudes will be a little higher, but nobody's gonna win the MVP or become a quality player solely based on their baserunning. PITCHING VALUE BY POSITION Like I did for Fielding Value and Batting Value, I'll now show that Pitching Value isn't particularly biased towards certain pitching roles. Here are the boxplots of Pitching Value by role in 2010: Since relievers are compared to relievers and starters are compared to starters, the best relievers are still able to have a quality Pitching Value. WAR needs to really on Leverage Index for the best relievers to be better than even average starters. Here we see that the best relievers compare favorably to the better starters. The best starters will still generally have a higher Pitching Value, since starters log so much more innings. Also, relief pitchers are able to have good Pitching Value and compare favorably to closers. Note that when comparing to first-quartiles, the AL and NL are separated for pitchers unlike any of the other positions, since in 2010 (and all seasons from 1973-2021) NL pitchers batted but AL pitchers typically didn't. It would be unfair to compare an NL pitcher that bats to an AL pitcher that doesn't, since the NL pitcher could add to his total Player Value via Batting Value, but the AL pitcher couldn't. For 2022 and on (when both leagues have a DH), as well as for 1972 and earlier (when there is no DH in either league), pitchers will be compared at a MLB level, rather than by league. This split also makes sense because NL pitchers had the benefit of pitching to other pitchers, while AL pitchers had to pitch to designated hitters that were much better at batting. Here are the summary statistics of Pitching Value by role: On average starters and relievers are about the same, and the best relievers can easily be among the top 25% of starters. PITCHING VALUE BY TEAM Since Pitching Value correlates well with runs allowed per game, then we'd expect teams that have players with the most Pitching Value to be the ones that allowed the least runs. Recall from my original Player Value post that Pitching Value Average can describe 84.62% of a team's runs allowed per game. Here are the boxplots of Pitching Value by team in 2010: Looks like the Pirates had terrible pitching, and they went 57-105 in 2010. The Padres and Braves appear to have had quality pitching, and they went 90-72 and 91-71, respectively. And here are the summary statistics of Pitching Value by team in 2010: Sure enough, the Padres and Braves had the best pitchers on average. Also up there were the Cardinals who went 86-76, and the Giants who went 92-70 and went on to win the World Series. The Pirates were indeed the worst, and also down there were the 65-97 Dbacks, and the 67-95 Royals. But the Rangers also grade poorly and went 90-72 and appeared in the World Series. The A's graded pretty well but went just 81-81. Let's cap it off by viewing the runs allowed by team in 2010: Sure enough, the Pirates, Dbacks, and Royals were among the leaders in runs allowed. The teams with the fewest runs allowed were the Padres, Cardinals, Athletics, Giants, and Braves. A team's average Pitching Value appears very indicative of its runs allowed. PLAYER VALUE BY POSITION And now we will finally wrap everything up, showing that total Player Value is not particularly biased towards any certain position. Here are the boxplots of Player Value by position: All positions have similar medians. Some positions have larger spreads and outliers, but this could likely just be a construct of 2010 in particular. The smaller spreads of RPs and DHs is probably due to those positions not being as valuable in general, due to not pitching as many innings and not playing defense. And here are the summary statistics of Player Value by position: These values can serve as a baseline for what makes a good/bad Player Value at each position. Across all positions, players with a total Player Value of about 3.04 or more were among the top 25% of players. A total Player Value of 12.51 or more is the top 10%, 19.85 is the top 5%, and 37.88 is the top 1%. Conversely, players with a total Player Value of about -5.08 or less were among the bottom 25%, -10.51 is the bottom 10%, -14.94 is the bottom 5%, and -23.54 is the bottom 1%. In general, a Player Value of 20 serves as a rough baseline across all positions for an All-Star quality player. A Player Value of 40 serves as a rough baseline across all positions for an MVP-vote-receiving quality player. PLAYER VALUE BY TEAM Since a team's Player Value correlates well with its run differential per game, then we'd expect that the teams that have players with the most Player Value will be the ones that have the highest run differentials. Recall from my original Player Value post that Batting Value Average and Baserunning Value Average can describe 92.37% of a team's runs scored per game, while Fielding Value Average and Pitching Value Average can describe 86.1% of a team's runs allowed per game. These should also be the teams that win the most, since run differential per game correlates well with winning percentage (wins per game). Run differential per game can describe 89.31% of a team's winning percentage. Here are the boxplots of Player Value by team in 2010: A little hard to pick some of the teams out, but I can see that the 57-105 Pirates are towards the bottom, as are the 66-97 Orioles and the 61-101 Mariners. On the higher end looks to be the 91-71 Braves, the 91-71 Reds, the 94-68 Twins, and the 90-72 Padres. Here are the summary statistics of Player Value by team in 2010: Feel free to compare these side by side with the 2010 MLB standings here. We see the aforementioned Braves, Reds, and Twins with higher means. Also up there are the 86-76 Cardinals, the 97-65 Phillies, the 95-67 Yankees, the 89-73 Red Sox, and the 96-66 Rays. The Rockies had a pretty high average Player Value but went just 83-79. The Padres and Giants were pretty middle of the road but went 90-72 and 92-70. Recall that Pitching Value graded them appropriately, so it could be the case that Fielding Value is dominating the runs allowed explanation more than it should. We also see the aforementioned Orioles, Pirates, and Mariners with lower means. Also down there are the 67-95 Royals, the 69-93 Indians, the 69-93 Nationals, and the 65-97 Diamondbacks. The Angels and Astros had pretty low average Player Values but were able to go 80-82 and 76-86. Here is the run differential by team in 2010: Not surprising at this point, we see the Pirates, Orioles, Dbacks, Royals, and Mariners in the deep negatives. Astros are down there too, despite a near .500 record. Braves, Reds, Twins, Yankees, Phillies, Padres, Giants, Cardinals, Rays, Rangers in the higher positives. Here is the winning percentage by team in 2010, as well as the win differential by team in 2010: It comes to no surprise that we see the same teams towards the bottom and top. If we compare the run differential graph to the win differential graph, we see that the Rockies, Astros, Athletics, and Cardinals are some of the anomalies. For these teams it appears that it's not that Player Value is wrong at explaining a team's run differential, but rather that these teams just had a disconnect between their run differential and their winning percentage. They likely had some games where they got blown out or blew another team out; this has a larger impact on their run differential, but the same effect as any other win or loss on their win differential. I hope I have been able to show the value of Player Value as a metric! Player Value is measured in runs. Teams with a higher average Player Value are generally the same teams with higher run differentials and higher winning percentages. Teams with a lower average Player Value are generally the same teams with lower run differentials and lower winning percentages. If you want to be good, grab those guys with higher Player Values, and dump those guys with lower Player Values! FILES Time for the file dump! First, a note on the calculation of the first-quartile for each position. I do NOT include every single player at each position in the first-quartile. Rather, I create a subset of players based on playing time requirements. The idea is to get the starting players at each position for each team. I used the requirements of winning a Gold Glove as a baseline, which you can read about here. For the Gold Glove, position players must play in 698 innings by their team's 138th game. 138 games is equal to 1,242 total innings, so the requirement is about 56.2% of innings through the 138th game. I don't get or agree with the 138th game cutoff, so instead I extend this out to 162 games, which is 1,458 total innings. That makes the requirement 698/1458 = 47.9% of innings. For catchers, the requirement is 69 games by their team's 138th game, which is 50% of games. Extending this to 162 games, we get 69/162 = 42.6% of games or innings. With those requirements as a baseline, I set the first-quartile playing time requirement for position players to 45% of total season innings. Additionally, I required that a player played at least 70% of their innings at the position in question. Guys like Jose Bautista that had a 69%/29% split between RF/3B could greatly mess with their position's first-quartile since the fielding dynamics of different positions can be very different. Bautista had 112 assists (mainly due to his time at 3B), much more than most rightfielders, so his inclusion in the RF first-quartile calculation would greatly skew the results. Since Bautista gets his own first-quartile calculation based on his positional proportion split, we avoid having skewed results when comparing him to other rightfielders. Since DHs don't play in the field, the requirement is based on 45% of season games, rather than innings. The Gold Glove requirement for pitchers is 138 innings by their team's 138th game. Extending to 162 games or 1,458 innings, that's 138/1458 = 9.5% of total innings. That seemed like a round enough amount, so I set the first-quartile playing time requirement for starting pitchers to 9.50% of total season innings. We need a distinct first-quartile for relievers though, and you'll be hard pressed to find a relief pitcher that reaches 138 innings. I looked at the percent of total starters that reach 138 innings and used that to find an equivalent threshold for relievers. This came out to me setting the first-quartile playing time requirement for relief pitchers to 2.375% of total season innings. A typical good starter will log you about 200 innings, while a typical good reliever will log you about 50 innings. Since relievers pitch about 1/4 of the innings, I set their threshold at 1/4 of 9.5%, which is 2.375%. 9.5% of all innings is 138 innings, and 2.375% of all innings is 34.5 innings. The median number of innings for starters in 2010 was 137.8, and for relievers was 30. Using the thresholds described above, 49.5% of starters qualified and 46.3% of relievers qualified. The below files show the players that were used for the first-quartile calculation for each position:
The files below show the first-quartile values for the different positions. I used these to show the offensive expectations by position for my Batting Value post and the defensive expectations by position for my Fielding Value post.
The files below are the sort of "master files" for the 2010 Player Value example. They have the data for basically all of the things I've shared. The "2010PlayerValues" file will be of particular interest. It has the batting, baserunning, fielding, and appearance data for every position player in 2010. It also has their per opportunity values, how they compare to the first-quartile, and all of the components of Player Value. I've highlighted the Gold Glove winners, Silver Slugger winners, and the members of the 1st team, 2nd team, Worst team, and 1st-Quartile team. The "2010PitcherValues" file is basically the equivalent for pitchers, but the "2010pitchersComb" file has the different teams. That file combines the pitcher seasons of the AL and the NL, which is necessary for any pitcher that played part of their season in the AL and part in the NL. The main pitcher changes of 2010 of Oswalt and Lee remained in the same league, so this isn't that big of a deal. One example would be Jake Westbrook, who played for the Indians and the Cardinals. The "2010allplayerTotalPlayerValue" file combines the position players and the pitchers for a definitive list of the best players in 2010, according to Player Value.
Lastly, the R files below show how I processed all of this data and calculated Player Value for each player. Shout out to the Lahman package/dataset for providing the baseline player data. You'll need R/RStudio to be able to run the code and replicate the data. The first one is for the position players, the second one is for the pitchers, and the third one combines them to create some of the plots from above and the "2010allplayerTotalPlayerValue" file above. The "Yearly_wOBA_weights" workbook is read in by the R files, so it is needed as well. That file is essentially just a download from the FanGraphs Guts! page, which you can find here. The last file I posted in my initial Player Value post, but it shows the work behind the assumption that 90% of first base putouts are assisted, and that 93% of catcher putouts are via strikeout.
The file below is a summary list of the different award winners for 2010, according to Player Value.
Well, another lengthy post down, but that wraps up the rollout of the 2010 example season for Player Value. I will certainly go into less detail when sharing the results of the other seasons! The goal here was to display how Player Value is a quality measure of, well, the value of players. It tracks similarly but still distinctly to WAR, explains a team's ability to win well, and is a much simpler and more transparent metric.
I imagine my next post will be applying Player Value to the 2022 season to see how the Judge vs Ohtani discussion plays out. The 2022 season won't be in the Lahman dataset yet, so I'll have to grab all the data in a more manual way. After that, as I mentioned under my blurb about Austin Jackson above, I'm working on getting more data to use for Baserunning Value to improve it. I also look forward to updating and fine tuning my Hall of Fame predictive model. Thank you everyone for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Statting Lineup Newsletter Signup Form: If you'd like to receive email updates for each new post that I make, sign up for the Statting Lineup newsletter using the link below: https://weebly.us18.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ab653f474b2ced9091eb248b1&id=3a60f3b85f
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