150. Jack Glasscock SS WARP+WAR=123.1
Blues/Hoosiers
1879-95
Translated BA/OBP/SLG .293/.350/.451
OPS+ 112
MVPQ (none) 1889 (15)
-The very first shortstop on the list; WAR (I use B-Ref) doesn't give positional value the importance I'd prefer, so shortstops, for example, are a little lower rated than is ideal; but our ability to analyze defense, particularly absent television games, is much less exact than our ability to analyze offense.
149. Elmer Flick RF 123.1
1898-10
Phillies/Indians
OPS+ 149
.314/.406/.559
MVPQ (none) Best season 1901 (15.6)
-An all time elite bat; I love me a 3/4/5 translated slashmark; Flick joins Shoeless Joe as the only guys on the list so far who post one (Olerud just missed, another reason why he was better than you think.)
148. Gabby Hartnett C 123.3
1922-41
Cubs
OPS+ 126
Cubs
OPS+ 126
.276/.361/.513
MVPQ none, Best season 1935 (12.5)
MVPQ none, Best season 1935 (12.5)
147. Will Clark 1B 123.4
1986-00
Giants/Rangers
OPS+ 137
.319/.401/.547
MVPQ 1989 19.7
-And the third 3/4/5 slashmark comes from Clark; my favorite ballplayer as a teenager. Will was the Giants first baseman for 8 seasons; even in a relatively limited time, he's the 5th greatest San Francisco Giant ever, by WAR+WARP.
1986 - 5.1
1987 - 9.5 (untranslated slashline in the NLCS .360/.429/.560
1988 - 15.8
1965-84
Orioles
ERA+ 126
-Maybe a tick overrated in our collective sense of him; it took 20 years to get this total value - he just isn't the equivalent of the Seaver/Carlton class of pitchers from that era. His fame adds to our thoughts, but Palmer's no higher than this.
145. Pud Galvin RHP 123.9
1875-92
Bisons/Pirates
ERA+ 108
MVPQ 1884 (25.4)
-Not Glavine; Galvin. Okay, here's the thing - WAR overrates pre 20th century players, and where it specifically happens is that guys like Galvin break the formula in years like 1884, in which he threw...wait for it...636 innings (which actually was fewer than the year before). That's just not the same game being played today. So, subjectively, you'd take Galvin off this list.
144. Willie Stargell LF/1B 124.1
1962-82
Pirates
OPS+ 147
.293/.376/.599
MVPQ 1973 (16.1)
-Willie Stargell had a big ole' bat.
143. Home Run Baker 3B 124.9
1908-22
Athletics/Yankees
OPS+ 135
.306/.362/.525
142. Billy Herman 2B 125.6
1931-47
Cubs/Dodgers
OPS+ 112
.306/.375/.450
MVPQ none, Best season 1935 (15.2)
-His name was William Jennings Bryan Herman
141. Hal Newhouser LHP 125.7
1939-55
Tigers
ERA+ 130
MVPQ 1944 (16.8), 1945 (19.9), 1946 (18.7)
-3 consecutive MVPQ seasons get Newhouser here (Bunning would do the same thing 20 years later); as a positive, Newhouser's adjusted ERA is the second best of any pitcher on the list thusfar (and behind just Halladay, who still might lose points on the tail end of his career, and will finish higher on the list obviously than he currently sits); as a negative, he is pitching against a diminished field during the War.
60 down. 140 to go. See you in a week.
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