See Was It So, Shoeless Joe? Here is the letter I sent them:
"David
M. Shribman's review of "The Betrayal" by Charles Fountain ("Was It So,
Shoeless Joe?" Oct. 31) seems to have a major statistical error. It
reads "In the Series they (the White Sox) batted .255, significantly
higher than their .215 season average." But Baseball Reference shows the
White Sox to have a team batting average of .287 during the 1919 season
while batting just .224 during the World Series.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1919_WS.shtml"
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Did Chris Sale Have Bad Luck This Year?
It seems like he pitched worse in high leverage situations than otherwise this year and that has not been the case before. The table below shows his OPS allowed for High, Medium and Low leverage situations from 2012-15. All data from Baseball Reference and the BR Play Index.
So he allowed a much higher OPS in High leverage cases than otherwise. But it looks like he did better in High leverage cases in 2012 & 2013. So maybe he had some good luck then. My guess is that most pitchers have this kind of pattern, where they have bad luck one year and good luck the next or vice-versa (I hope I can take a look at that).
But I did look at how pitchers in general did over the years 2012-15 (with stats for each pitcher being cumulative). I only looked at pitchers who had 100+ IP in all three leverage situations, so I think that means only starters got in (or mostly starters-the only guy with under 500 total IP was Wade Davis and I took him out).
Then I calculated a weighted average (by batters faced) of the OPS allowed for all three leverage situations over the years 2012-15 for this group. There were 72 pitchers (Chris Sale was removed as well). Here are the results:
So pitchers generally do just a bit worse in High and Medium cases than Low cases (in the long run, as I combined years). So Sale might have had bad luck this year, after some good luck in the past.
| Year | High | Medium | Low |
| 2012 | 0.639 | 0.626 | 0.715 |
| 2013 | 0.556 | 0.618 | 0.693 |
| 2014 | 0.612 | 0.522 | 0.607 |
| 2015 | 0.709 | 0.658 | 0.616 |
So he allowed a much higher OPS in High leverage cases than otherwise. But it looks like he did better in High leverage cases in 2012 & 2013. So maybe he had some good luck then. My guess is that most pitchers have this kind of pattern, where they have bad luck one year and good luck the next or vice-versa (I hope I can take a look at that).
But I did look at how pitchers in general did over the years 2012-15 (with stats for each pitcher being cumulative). I only looked at pitchers who had 100+ IP in all three leverage situations, so I think that means only starters got in (or mostly starters-the only guy with under 500 total IP was Wade Davis and I took him out).
Then I calculated a weighted average (by batters faced) of the OPS allowed for all three leverage situations over the years 2012-15 for this group. There were 72 pitchers (Chris Sale was removed as well). Here are the results:
| High | 0.706 |
| Medium | 0.706 |
| Low | 0.692 |
So pitchers generally do just a bit worse in High and Medium cases than Low cases (in the long run, as I combined years). So Sale might have had bad luck this year, after some good luck in the past.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Dizzy Dean's 1934 Season, When He Went 30-6
The Cardinals came in first place, just 2 games ahead of the Giants. The Giants were only one game out going into the final day of the season. Dean won a complete game on that day.
Dean was outstanding the last two months of the season. In August, his ERA was 1.41 in 51 IP (46H, 33K, 10BB, 2 HR).
In September, his ERA was 1.54 in 64.1 IP (45H, 41K, 16BB, 3HR). He started 7 games, completing 6 AND he pitched 5 games in relief (for the whole season, he started 33 games and pitched 17 in relief).
In the last 6 days of the season, he pitched 3 complete games, allowing just a total of 2 earned runs (one game was on 2 days rest and the other was on 1 day of rest!!). In those three games, he had 20H, 19K, 3BB, 1HR. He won all three games.
He saved 2 games in September (he had a total of 7 saves that year with a 4-2 record as a reliever). On September 11, he had a 2.1 IP save the day after pitching a complete game. He also pitched one-third of an inning on September 12.
He did have a gap of 12 days when he did not pitch at all, from August 12-August 24. He had a 10 day suspension. For details, see A Closer Look: Dizzy Dean Wins 30 in 1934 by Gabriel Schechter. There was also a victory awarded to him in a questionable decision by the official scorer. Otherwise, he wins only 29.
Twice he pitched 3 innings in relief the day after pitching 9 innings. Another time it was 2.1 IP the day after pitching 9 innings. Still another time it was 2 IP the day after pitching 8 innings. In all, he pitched in relief six times the day after starting and going at least 8 innings.
He also pitched in relief in both ends of a double header on September 23rd, after a complete game on Sept. 21. Then he pitched a complete game on Sept. 25 followed by CGs on Sept. 28 & Sept. 30!
Then he started game 1 of the World Series on October 3, on just 2 days rest and got a complete game victory. His next start was Oct. 7. He lost in 8 IP, but it was still a complete game. He then started game 7 on October 9, on only one day of rest. He pitched a complete game shut out against a lineup that included the following Hall of Famers:
Mickey Cochrane
Charlie Gehringer
Goose Goslin
Hank Greenberg
So he had 6 starts in a 15 day stretch and completed all of them. He allowed only 5 earned runs in 26 IP in the World Series.
From Baseball Reference:
Dean's 1934 splits
Dean's 1934 game logs
Dean's post season game logs
Dean was outstanding the last two months of the season. In August, his ERA was 1.41 in 51 IP (46H, 33K, 10BB, 2 HR).
In September, his ERA was 1.54 in 64.1 IP (45H, 41K, 16BB, 3HR). He started 7 games, completing 6 AND he pitched 5 games in relief (for the whole season, he started 33 games and pitched 17 in relief).
In the last 6 days of the season, he pitched 3 complete games, allowing just a total of 2 earned runs (one game was on 2 days rest and the other was on 1 day of rest!!). In those three games, he had 20H, 19K, 3BB, 1HR. He won all three games.
He saved 2 games in September (he had a total of 7 saves that year with a 4-2 record as a reliever). On September 11, he had a 2.1 IP save the day after pitching a complete game. He also pitched one-third of an inning on September 12.
He did have a gap of 12 days when he did not pitch at all, from August 12-August 24. He had a 10 day suspension. For details, see A Closer Look: Dizzy Dean Wins 30 in 1934 by Gabriel Schechter. There was also a victory awarded to him in a questionable decision by the official scorer. Otherwise, he wins only 29.
Twice he pitched 3 innings in relief the day after pitching 9 innings. Another time it was 2.1 IP the day after pitching 9 innings. Still another time it was 2 IP the day after pitching 8 innings. In all, he pitched in relief six times the day after starting and going at least 8 innings.
He also pitched in relief in both ends of a double header on September 23rd, after a complete game on Sept. 21. Then he pitched a complete game on Sept. 25 followed by CGs on Sept. 28 & Sept. 30!
Then he started game 1 of the World Series on October 3, on just 2 days rest and got a complete game victory. His next start was Oct. 7. He lost in 8 IP, but it was still a complete game. He then started game 7 on October 9, on only one day of rest. He pitched a complete game shut out against a lineup that included the following Hall of Famers:
Mickey Cochrane
Charlie Gehringer
Goose Goslin
Hank Greenberg
So he had 6 starts in a 15 day stretch and completed all of them. He allowed only 5 earned runs in 26 IP in the World Series.
From Baseball Reference:
Dean's 1934 splits
Dean's 1934 game logs
Dean's post season game logs
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Post Season Game Scores Of 90+
They are from the Baseball Reference Play Index. If you click on the link you may need to be a subscriber to see it. You might try this one, too.
The list is posted below, although not without all the stats for each pitcher. If you click on the date, you can see the box score.
Roger Clemens has the highest ever, 98, in the 2000 ALCS. In 9 IP.
Whose record did he break? (2 guys, each had 97)
Those two guys each pitched more than 9 innings. So whose 9 IP record did Clemens break? (2 guys, each had 94)
Who is the only guy to have 2 90+ Game Scores in post season history?
Who had the only no-decision with a 90+? (his team also lost the game) There are 21 such games (going back to 1903) and 20 of them gave the pitcher a win.
Who are the only teammates to have 90+ Game Scores in the same year?
Who are the only pitchers to reach 90 in less than 9 IP? (2 guys)
This was all easy to find with the Baseball Reference Play Index. I was wondering about something and then when I saw the list, I thought it would make for some interesting questions.
The list is posted below, although not without all the stats for each pitcher. If you click on the date, you can see the box score.
Roger Clemens has the highest ever, 98, in the 2000 ALCS. In 9 IP.
Whose record did he break? (2 guys, each had 97)
Those two guys each pitched more than 9 innings. So whose 9 IP record did Clemens break? (2 guys, each had 94)
Who is the only guy to have 2 90+ Game Scores in post season history?
Who had the only no-decision with a 90+? (his team also lost the game) There are 21 such games (going back to 1903) and 20 of them gave the pitcher a win.
Who are the only teammates to have 90+ Game Scores in the same year?
Who are the only pitchers to reach 90 in less than 9 IP? (2 guys)
This was all easy to find with the Baseball Reference Play Index. I was wondering about something and then when I saw the list, I thought it would make for some interesting questions.
| Player | Date | Tm | Series | App,Dec | IP | GSc |
| Roger Clemens | 10/14/2000 | NYY | ALCS | SHO9, W | 9 | 98 |
| Dave McNally | 10/5/1969 | BAL | ALCS | SHO11, W | 11 | 97 |
| Babe Ruth | 10/9/1916 | BOS | WS | CG 14, W | 14 | 97 |
| Tim Lincecum | 10/7/2010 | SFG | NLDS | SHO9, W | 9 | 96 |
| Roy Halladay | 10/6/2010 | PHI | NLDS | SHO9, W | 9 | 94 |
| Don Larsen | 10/8/1956 | NYY | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 94 |
| Ed Walsh | 10/11/1906 | CHW | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 94 |
| Josh Beckett | 10/12/2003 | FLA | NLCS | SHO9, W | 9 | 93 |
| Ken Holtzman | 10/9/1973 | OAK | ALCS | CG 11, W | 11 | 93 |
| Bob Gibson | 10/2/1968 | STL | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 93 |
| Kevin Brown | 9/29/1998 | SDP | NLDS | GS-8, W | 8 | 92 |
| Randy Johnson | 10/28/2001 | ARI | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 91 |
| Randy Johnson | 10/16/2001 | ARI | NLCS | SHO9, W | 9 | 91 |
| Cliff Lee | 10/18/2010 | TEX | ALCS | GS-8, W | 8 | 90 |
| Livan Hernandez | 10/12/1997 | FLA | NLCS | CG 9, W | 9 | 90 |
| Nolan Ryan | 10/14/1986 | HOU | NLCS | GS-9 | 9 | 90 |
| Mike Scott | 10/8/1986 | HOU | NLCS | SHO9, W | 9 | 90 |
| Vida Blue | 10/8/1974 | OAK | ALCS | SHO9, W | 9 | 90 |
| Monte Pearson | 10/5/1939 | NYY | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 90 |
| George Earnshaw | 10/6/1931 | PHA | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 90 |
| Bill Dinneen | 10/2/1903 | BOS | WS | SHO9, W | 9 | 90 |
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Interesting Splits For The Playoff Teams
To see the splits for MLB over the years 2010-14, go to Major League Situational Stats, 2010-2014. Here they are to provide reference for the numbers I give below:
Compiled using the Baseball Reference Play Index.
Here is what I have for the years 1991-2000. The relative differences are not too much different than they used to be.
At the end of this post I provide link for the batting and pitching splits pages of each team.
Rangers have an OPS differential of -.008 (.739-.747). But somehow they won 88 games. It could be their bullpen that made the difference. They allowed an OPS of just .667 in Late & Close situations. That is .080 below their overall OPS allowed, a much bigger than normal differential.
The Blue Jays had OPS of .878 with men on. With None on it was .735. 4 times normal gap. With RISP, it was .839. Again, abnormally high when compared to the None On OPS. Their batters had just a .716 OPS in Late & Close situations. Overall, it was .797. So they were abnormally low in Late & Close situations. Maybe that partly explains their 15-28 record in 1-run games.
Their pitchers allowed an OPS of .769 with RISP while with None On it was .688. That is much bigger than normal.
The Royals had an OPS differential of just .024 (.734 - .710). Using my estimate of
Winning Pct = .5 +1.3*OPSDIFF
That gives them a .531 pct., lower than their actual pct. of .586. So how did they do so well? They had a .778 OPS with runners on and .701 with none one. With RISP it was .772. Their pitchers allowed an OPS of just .668 with RISP while it was .700 with none on. That is impressive given that teams usually hit better with RISP.
The Royals pitchers allowed an OPS in Late & Close situations of just .629, far below their overall OPS allowed of .710. That beats the normal differential by quite a bit.
The Astros had an OPS differential of .071 (.752 - .681). Astros estimate to .592 but they actually had only .531. Their pitchers allowed a .660 OPS with None On but it was .713 with Men On and .707 with RISP. They allowed .684 Late & Close situations. So that is a weakness, given that normally it is lower than overall OPS allowed.
The Cardinals had an OPS differential of .040 (.716 - .676). Their hitters had a .713 OPS with None On but it only goes up to .719 with Men On and actually falls to .683 with RISP. In Late Close situations it is .713, so it drops off alot less than normal.
But the Cardinal pitchers have been great with Men On and with RISP. The allow a .711 OPS with None On but in the other two it is .618 & .630, respectively. Those are very large differentials considering that they usually go up.
The Cubs had an OPS differential of .057 (.719 - .662). So larger than the Cardinals'. Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .626 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .712 and .718. So the reverse of the Cardinals.They allowed only .608 in Late Close situations, a bigger drop off than normal.
The Dodgers had an OPS differential of .070 (.739 - .669). Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .633 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .724 and .721. They also allow .694 in Late & Close situations, well above their normal level, the reverse of the MLB average.
The Mets had an OPS differential of .040 (.712 - .672). The Mets don't appear to to have any interesting splits.
Dodger batting splits
Dodger pitching splits
Mets batting splits
Mets pitching splits
Cardinals batting splits
Cardinals pitching splits
Cubs hitting splits
Cubs pitching splits
Royals batting splits
Royals pitching splits
Astros batting splits
Astros pitching splits
Blue Jays batting splits
Blue Jays pitching splits
Rangers batting splits
Rangers pitching splits
Compiled using the Baseball Reference Play Index.
| Split | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Total | 923779 | 0.254 | 0.319 | 0.398 | 0.717 |
| None On | 520158 | 0.249 | 0.310 | 0.393 | 0.702 |
| Men On | 403621 | 0.261 | 0.332 | 0.405 | 0.737 |
| RISP | 238074 | 0.255 | 0.339 | 0.394 | 0.733 |
| Late & Close | 153559 | 0.240 | 0.316 | 0.365 | 0.681 |
Here is what I have for the years 1991-2000. The relative differences are not too much different than they used to be.
At the end of this post I provide link for the batting and pitching splits pages of each team.
Rangers have an OPS differential of -.008 (.739-.747). But somehow they won 88 games. It could be their bullpen that made the difference. They allowed an OPS of just .667 in Late & Close situations. That is .080 below their overall OPS allowed, a much bigger than normal differential.
The Blue Jays had OPS of .878 with men on. With None on it was .735. 4 times normal gap. With RISP, it was .839. Again, abnormally high when compared to the None On OPS. Their batters had just a .716 OPS in Late & Close situations. Overall, it was .797. So they were abnormally low in Late & Close situations. Maybe that partly explains their 15-28 record in 1-run games.
Their pitchers allowed an OPS of .769 with RISP while with None On it was .688. That is much bigger than normal.
The Royals had an OPS differential of just .024 (.734 - .710). Using my estimate of
Winning Pct = .5 +1.3*OPSDIFF
That gives them a .531 pct., lower than their actual pct. of .586. So how did they do so well? They had a .778 OPS with runners on and .701 with none one. With RISP it was .772. Their pitchers allowed an OPS of just .668 with RISP while it was .700 with none on. That is impressive given that teams usually hit better with RISP.
The Royals pitchers allowed an OPS in Late & Close situations of just .629, far below their overall OPS allowed of .710. That beats the normal differential by quite a bit.
The Astros had an OPS differential of .071 (.752 - .681). Astros estimate to .592 but they actually had only .531. Their pitchers allowed a .660 OPS with None On but it was .713 with Men On and .707 with RISP. They allowed .684 Late & Close situations. So that is a weakness, given that normally it is lower than overall OPS allowed.
The Cardinals had an OPS differential of .040 (.716 - .676). Their hitters had a .713 OPS with None On but it only goes up to .719 with Men On and actually falls to .683 with RISP. In Late Close situations it is .713, so it drops off alot less than normal.
But the Cardinal pitchers have been great with Men On and with RISP. The allow a .711 OPS with None On but in the other two it is .618 & .630, respectively. Those are very large differentials considering that they usually go up.
The Cubs had an OPS differential of .057 (.719 - .662). So larger than the Cardinals'. Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .626 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .712 and .718. So the reverse of the Cardinals.They allowed only .608 in Late Close situations, a bigger drop off than normal.
The Dodgers had an OPS differential of .070 (.739 - .669). Nothing unusual about their hitters but their pitchers allowed a .633 OPS with None On but it shoots way up with Men On and with RISP where it is .724 and .721. They also allow .694 in Late & Close situations, well above their normal level, the reverse of the MLB average.
The Mets had an OPS differential of .040 (.712 - .672). The Mets don't appear to to have any interesting splits.
Dodger batting splits
Dodger pitching splits
Mets batting splits
Mets pitching splits
Cardinals batting splits
Cardinals pitching splits
Cubs hitting splits
Cubs pitching splits
Royals batting splits
Royals pitching splits
Astros batting splits
Astros pitching splits
Blue Jays batting splits
Blue Jays pitching splits
Rangers batting splits
Rangers pitching splits
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Andrelton Simmons Will Likely Join Elite Who Have Led Their League In Defensive WAR Three Straight Years Or More
He leads the NL with 3.5 and Brandon Crawford has 2.9 going into today, the last day of the season. He would be the 12th guy to do it. Joe Tinker led the NL every year from 1905-09 except 1907, when his double play mate at 2B, Johnny Evers, led the league. Evers was 1st with 3.3 and Tinker was 2nd with 2.8.
Here are the players who have done it in the AL
Now the NL
Here are the players who have done it in the AL
| Year | American League | dWAR |
| 2001 | Rey Sanchez (KCR) | 2.4 |
| 2000 | Rey Sanchez (KCR) | 2.8 |
| 1999 | Rey Sanchez (KCR) | 2.7 |
| 1991 | Cal Ripken+ (BAL) | 3.4 |
| 1990 | Cal Ripken+ (BAL) | 3.4 |
| 1989 | Cal Ripken+ (BAL) | 3.4 |
| 1988 | Ozzie Guillen (CHW) | 3.4 |
| 1987 | Ozzie Guillen (CHW) | 3.7 |
| 1986 | Ozzie Guillen (CHW) | 3.1 |
| 1978 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 3.7 |
| 1977 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 3.4 |
| 1976 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 3.9 |
| 1975 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 4.9 |
| 1974 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 3.5 |
| 1973 | Mark Belanger (BAL) | 4 |
| 1936 | Billy Rogell (DET) | 1.5 |
| 1935 | Billy Rogell (DET) | 2.7 |
| 1934 | Billy Rogell (DET) | 2.2 |
| 1915 | George McBride (WSH) | 2.2 |
| 1914 | George McBride (WSH) | 3 |
| 1913 | George McBride (WSH) | 3.6 |
| 1912 | George McBride (WSH) | 2.7 |
Now the NL
| Year | National League | dWAR |
| 2015 | Andrelton Simmons (ATL) | 3.5 |
| 2014 | Andrelton Simmons (ATL) | 3.9 |
| 2013 | Andrelton Simmons (ATL) | 5.4 |
| 2002 | Andruw Jones (ATL) | 2.3 |
| 2001 | Andruw Jones (ATL) | 2.9 |
| 2000 | Andruw Jones (ATL) | 2.6 |
| 1989 | Ozzie Smith+ (STL) | 4.7 |
| 1988 | Ozzie Smith+ (STL) | 3.1 |
| 1987 | Ozzie Smith+ (STL) | 2.4 |
| 1949 | Pee Wee Reese+ (BRO) | 2.3 |
| 1948 | Pee Wee Reese+ (BRO) | 1.7 |
| 1947 | Pee Wee Reese+ (BRO) | 2.1 |
| 1922 | Dave Bancroft+ (NYG) | 2.7 |
| 1921 | Dave Bancroft+ (NYG) | 3.2 |
| 1920 | Dave Bancroft+ (2TM) | 4 |
| 1919 | Art Fletcher (NYG) | 3.9 |
| 1918 | Art Fletcher (NYG) | 3.4 |
| 1917 | Art Fletcher (NYG) | 5.1 |
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Is Manny Machado The Best Young 3B Man Since Eddie Mathews?
Maybe. Here are all the seasons of 6+ WAR for 3B men through age 22 using the Baseball Reference Play Index:
The only two guys to have two such seasons are Machado and Mathews. If the age is raised to 23, here is the list, Mathews has three and then Machado still has two. Only Dick Allen joins the group.
Here is the top 10 in WAR through age 22:
If we raise the age to 23 we have
| Rk | Player | WAR | Year | Age |
| 1 | Dick Allen | 8.8 | 1964 | 22 |
| 2 | Eddie Mathews | 8.3 | 1953 | 21 |
| 3 | Eddie Mathews | 7.8 | 1954 | 22 |
| 4 | Jimmy Williams | 6.9 | 1899 | 22 |
| 5 | Manny Machado | 6.5 | 2015 | 22 |
| 6 | Manny Machado | 6.4 | 2013 | 20 |
| 7 | Hank Blalock | 6.4 | 2003 | 22 |
| 8 | Aurelio Rodriguez | 6.4 | 1970 | 22 |
| 9 | Freddie Lindstrom | 6.3 | 1928 | 22 |
The only two guys to have two such seasons are Machado and Mathews. If the age is raised to 23, here is the list, Mathews has three and then Machado still has two. Only Dick Allen joins the group.
| Rk | Player | WAR | Year | Age |
| 1 | Dick Allen | 8.8 | 1964 | 22 |
| 2 | Eddie Mathews | 8.3 | 1953 | 21 |
| 3 | Troy Glaus | 7.8 | 2000 | 23 |
| 4 | Eddie Mathews | 7.8 | 1954 | 22 |
| 5 | George Brett | 7.5 | 1976 | 23 |
| 6 | Eddie Mathews | 7.3 | 1955 | 23 |
| 7 | Evan Longoria | 7.0 | 2009 | 23 |
| 8 | Frankie Frisch | 6.9 | 1921 | 23 |
| 9 | Jimmy Williams | 6.9 | 1899 | 22 |
| 10 | Ron Santo | 6.7 | 1963 | 23 |
| 11 | Rogers Hornsby | 6.7 | 1919 | 23 |
| 12 | Scott Rolen | 6.6 | 1998 | 23 |
| 13 | Manny Machado | 6.5 | 2015 | 22 |
| 14 | Manny Machado | 6.4 | 2013 | 20 |
| 15 | Hank Blalock | 6.4 | 2003 | 22 |
| 16 | Aurelio Rodriguez | 6.4 | 1970 | 22 |
| 17 | Dick Allen | 6.4 | 1965 | 23 |
| 18 | Freddie Lindstrom | 6.3 | 1928 | 22 |
| 19 | Edgardo Alfonzo | 6.2 | 1997 | 23 |
| 20 | Gary Sheffield | 6.2 | 1992 | 23 |
| 21 | Eric Chavez | 6.0 | 2001 | 23 |
Here is the top 10 in WAR through age 22:
| Rk | Player | WAR | From | To | Age |
| 1 | Eddie Mathews | 18.4 | 1952 | 1954 | 20-22 |
| 2 | Manny Machado | 16.9 | 2012 | 2015 | 19-22 |
| 3 | Buddy Lewis | 12.6 | 1935 | 1939 | 18-22 |
| 4 | Freddie Lindstrom | 12.5 | 1924 | 1928 | 18-22 |
| 5 | Buddy Bell | 9.6 | 1972 | 1974 | 20-22 |
| 6 | Bill Dahlen | 9.0 | 1891 | 1892 | 21-22 |
| 7 | Bob Horner | 8.9 | 1978 | 1980 | 20-22 |
| 8 | Dick Allen | 8.8 | 1963 | 1964 | 21-22 |
| 9 | Denny Lyons | 8.3 | 1885 | 1888 | 19-22 |
| 10 | Adrian Beltre | 8.2 | 1998 | 2001 | 19-22 |
If we raise the age to 23 we have
| Rk | Player | WAR | From | To | Age |
| 1 | Eddie Mathews | 25.7 | 1952 | 1955 | 20-23 |
| 2 | George Davis | 18.2 | 1890 | 1894 | 19-23 |
| 3 | Manny Machado | 16.9 | 2012 | 2015 | 19-22 |
| 4 | Buddy Lewis | 16.2 | 1935 | 1940 | 18-23 |
| 5 | Dick Allen | 15.2 | 1963 | 1965 | 21-23 |
| 6 | Freddie Lindstrom | 15.0 | 1924 | 1929 | 18-23 |
| 7 | George Brett | 14.5 | 1973 | 1976 | 20-23 |
| 8 | Denny Lyons | 13.8 | 1885 | 1889 | 19-23 |
| 9 | Buddy Bell | 12.5 | 1972 | 1975 | 20-23 |
| 10 | Billy Nash | 12.1 | 1884 | 1888 | 19-23 |