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Originally Posted by packs
Maybe the names match the reputations but I would say the WAR stat doesn't say a lot about who was a better player. Maybe there are some people who think Roger Clemens was a better pitcher (more valuable?) than Greg Maddux or Randy Johnson, but I wouldn't be one of them. I wouldn't say Kid Nichols was better than Tom Seaver either.
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I don't see WAR as a way to make absolute statements about who is better/more valuable, but I think it's more of a jumping off point.
Why does Player A seem to have more value than Player B? It gives us a chance to dig deeper into the statistical profile behind the player.
For instance, and to circle back around to this "Modern Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot," I think that both Dewey and Whitaker have higher WAR than many expect because of their ability to draw walks (among other things, such as defense), which is the classic "undervalued" statistic prior to 20 years ago.