First up, is a look at dominance from a WAR perspective. This is NOT going to be a look that compilers show up well in.
I'm going to call this, weighted WAR Ink. Some of you may know about Bill James' hall of fame metrics that include Black Ink, Gray Ink, and HoF Standards. Black Ink gives players a score (weighted by stat category) for how many times a player led their league in a stat. Gray Ink does the same, but instead of leading the leeague, you only need to be in the top 10. HoF Standards is a topic for another day.
My weighted WAR Ink score is simply going to be as follows, you get points for finishing the top 10 in WAR in a season. 1 point for 10th, 2 points for 9th, all the way up to 10 points for leading all of PEBA. This is going to really reward the guys who dominated for a short period of time, although sustained excellence will also show up. Still, because this is all of PEBA, you pretty much have to be top 5 in your league, IL or SL, to get on the list.
Through 2038, the top 50 weighted WAR Ink scores are as follows (+ indicates Hall of Famer):
Batters
Rank, Score - Player (Career)
Code: Select all
1. 70 - Gordon Knopp (2032-2039)
2. 63 - Rob Raines (2010-2029)+
3. 54 - Alejandro Luján (2022-2039)
4. 48 - Luis Cedeño (2021-2039)
5. 45 - Pat Barry (2021-2039)
6. 42 - Andrés Hernández (2021-2036)
7. 38 - Ricardo Mateo (2028-2039)
7. 38 - Michael Roberts (2034-2039)
9. 37 - Ronald Lowry (2011-2025)
10. 34 - Pat Lilly (2007-2021)+
11. 33 - Rafael Suárez (2011-2024)
11. 33 - Clarence Carpenter (2022-2039)
11. 33 - Pat Watson (2024-2039)
14. 29 - George Riley (2007-2020)
15. 27 - Vito van Wondel (2032-2039)
16. 26 - Jeff Cline (2007-2016)
17. 25 - Don Mercer (2016-2033)+
18. 23 - Yoshino Miyata (2007-2017)
18. 23 - Pablo Ortíz (2028-2039)
20. 22 - Gilbert Murray (2015-2030)
20. 22 - Tomás Martínez (2027-2039)
22. 21 - Ollie Morris (2007-2015)
22. 21 - Nathan Carter (2015-2026)
22. 21 - Javier Drake (2030-2039)
25. 19 - Leonard Ramsey (2016-2026)
25. 19 - Bartolo Mora (2025-2039)
27. 18 - Dave Nash (2016-2029)
27. 18 - Carlos Ryan (2022-2035)
29. 16 - Chris Holmes (2010-2026)
29. 16 - Jason Corbett (2013-2022)
31. 15 - Ramón Flores (2007-2016)
31. 15 - Britt Martin (2009-2018)
31. 15 - Rodrigo Vásquez (2030-2039)
34. 14 - Rubén Cruz (2007-2016)
34. 14 - Ángel Cortéz (2015-2026)
34. 14 - Ramón Leach (2016-2027)
34. 14 - António Santos (2027-2039)
38. 13 - Ralph Gunther (2011-2023)
38. 13 - Chris Long (2014-2033)
38. 13 - Javier Padilla (2016-2027)
41. 12 - Steve McDonald (2007-2020)
41. 12 - Ronald Harmon (2012-2023)
41. 12 - Jerry Long (2022-2033)
41. 12 - Okitsugu Shimizu (2024-2031)
41. 12 - Zhao-dao Lew (2036-2039)
46. 11 - Manuel González (2007-2017)
46. 11 - Arthur Collins (2015-2023)
46. 11 - Wilson Muñóz (2019-2036)
46. 11 - Shane Willis (2025-2039)
46. 11 - Sandor Vis (2032-2039)
46. 11 - Juan Mendoza (2032-2039)
46. 11 - Jin-song Zambrano (2035-2039)
Hall of Famer Tsumemasa Morimoto was never in the top 10 in PEBA WAR.
A great example of the compiler vs. peak department here is that Ronald Lowry (#9) vs. Chris Long (#38) disparity.
Pitchers
Rank, Score - Player (Career)
Code: Select all
1. 125 - Markus Hancock (2008-2026)+
2. 85 - Enrique Vázquez (2024-2037)+
3. 74 - Michel Provost (2016-2030)+
4. 64 - Conan McCullough (2007-2018)+
5. 57 - Randy Smith (2016-2032)+
6. 52 - Chris York (2012-2028)+
7. 51 - Manuel Corona (2012-2028)+
8. 41 - Motoyuki Hatsutori (2024-2033)
9. 35 - Dean O'Monahan (2007-2022)+
10. 33 - José Ojeda (2035-2039)
11. 31 - Nelson Anderson (2007-2017)
11. 31 - Jorge Castillo (2026-2039)
13. 29 - Luppe van Dam (2029-2039)
14. 28 - Gunner MacGruder (2014-2029)+
14. 28 - Neil Maes (2019-2032)
14. 28 - Yakamochi Suitani (2021-2034)+
14. 28 - Ernesto Molina (2021-2035)
14. 28 - Dean McNeil (2023-2038)
19. 27 - José Cruz (2007-2018)
20. 26 - Víctor Matos (2007-2016)
20. 26 - Fred Benjamin (2014-2029)
22. 22 - Cheh Zhang (2034-2039)
23. 21 - Félix Ortega (2011-2020)
23. 21 - Cheong-sang Yun (2031-2039)
25. 20 - Norberto Pacheco (2008-2014)
25. 20 - Carlos Rivera (2014-2031)
25. 20 - Owen Barse (2030-2039)
28. 19 - Jeffrey Mendoza (2028-2039)
29. 18 - Alfredo Velázquez (2014-2026)
30. 17 - Armando Gallegos (2009-2024)
30. 17 - Aaron Goater (2037-2039)
32. 16 - Kiyoemon Takeda (2011-2014)
33. 15 - Félix Maese (2014-2027)
33. 15 - Miguel Cantú (2015-2028)
33. 15 - Julián Thomas (2017-2028)
33. 15 - Orlando Trujillo (2028-2039)
37. 14 - Pedro Barrón (2010-2016)
37. 14 - Conner Hurst (2017-2033)
37. 14 - John Turner (2021-2037)
37. 14 - Jorge Medina (2027-2038)
37. 14 - Roberto Rivera (2032-2039)
42. 13 - José Díaz (2021-2032)
42. 13 - Manuel Pacheco (2021-2034)
44. 12 - George Thompson (2007-2014)
44. 12 - Félix Garza (2019-2027)
44. 12 - Takanobu Shirai (2021-2036)
47. 11 - Kijuro Kojima (2007-2015)
47. 11 - Roberto Rodríguez (2010-2027)
47. 11 - Seon-chin Pak (2019-2028)
47. 11 - Iwao Maruyama (2027-2038)
It's easy to forget how good Motoyuki Hatsutori was given the albatross contract he was known for at the end of his career.
And of course... is José Ojeda already a Hall of Famer at the age of 25? I mean, he's not technically eligible unless he plays 5 more years, right?
For my money, looking at both these lists, I think the top 10 on both have good Hall of Fame arguments as peak players. Although... that would mean Hatsutori should get in! Does he get any credit for dominating the LRS for 3 years after the merger?