Which Player Do You Want?

[Misunderestimated]

To the extent that I really understand its components I have one issue with WAR as the Uber Stat.... It only gives credit what a player does that a exceeds replacement value and actually subtracts what a player's performance does that does not meet this level.... Thus a players performance -- wha he actually achieved can be disregarded and sometimes used to negate his career achievements. In other words I don't accept the premise that value about replacement is the best indicator of career value.
It's just not the right way to assess achievement.....A bad season (or seasons) at the end of a career can actually detract from a players value. I think that what a player actually accomplishes should always have some positive value.
The end of Albert Pujols's career illustrates my point. During his last six years Pujols essentially flirted with a career WAR score of 100 -- a truly awesome achievement.*
Excepting his final miraculous season (2022) these last years (2017-21) were not good. Baseball reference gives him a Negative War score of 1.8.... But during these five seasons Pujols did actually hit over 85 HRs and score nearly 200 Runs (and he wasn't just a DH).. To me that "ain't nothing" -- it has to have some affirmative value in measuring Pujols's career. That's my quibble with WAR.

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At his retirement Pujols was just over 100 WAR (101.7)-- making him the 21st position player to reach 100 WAR ... The last guy to get there was AROD and the next will be Trout if he can keep up his performance for a few more years. If you remove the PED guys the last offensive player to make it to 100 WAR was Rickey Henderson.

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by Misunderestimated

Excepting his final miraculous season (2022) these last years (2017-21) were not good. Baseball reference gives him a Negative War score of 1.8.... But during these five seasons Pujols did actually hit over 85 HRs and score nearly 200 Runs (and he wasn't just a DH).. To me that "ain't nothing" -- it has to have some affirmative value in measuring Pujols's career. That's my quibble with WAR.

Isn't WAR telling you that in those last years a replacement value player would have been better than Pujols? Therefore Pujol's playing, instead of a replacement player, hurt the team. Makes sense that he loses WAR points for that. Assuming the numbers are correct of course

[JollyElm]

Let me try to lower the temperature a little bit by posting a pic from our visit to The Yankee Clipper's birthplace site out here...

dimaggiobirthplace.jpg