My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.
1905 111-51 World Champions (d. A’s 4 games to 1)
C Roger Bresnahan 3.9
1B Dan McGann 4.9
2B Billy Gilbert 2.1
SS Bill Dahlen 4.9
3B Art Devlin 4.05
LF Sam Mertes 2.55
CF Mike Donlin 5.55
RF George Browne 1.1
Uti Sammy Strang 2.15
Uti Frank Bowerman 1.25
SP Christy Mathewson 9.6 MVPQ
SP Joe McGinnity 2.8
SP Red Ames 1.15
SP Dummy Tayor 1.5SP Hooks Wiltse 3.35
-Mathewson, by all accounts a helluva good guy, punched a teenage heckler in the mouth in April, a hundred years later, every sportswriter would proclaim Barry Bonds baseball's ultimate villain for being grumpy. At end of the season, Mathewson threw three complete game shutouts in the greatest pitching performance in World Series history through 2014.
