[Mick]

Last trivia question for me, for a while anyway.  

Which MLB Most Valuable Player had the worst relative season as determined by the lowest WAR?  As a reminder, WAR refers to Wins Above Replacement and is a statistical amalgam indicating overall quality.  MVPs are typically in the 8.0+ range (Mays was 10.6 and 11.2 his two MVP years but he led the NL in WAR seven times), All-Stars are typically in the 4.0+ range (last year's Giants' representatives were Posey and Crawford; Posey's career WAR average is just over 4.0, Crawford's is just under 4.0) and MLB starters average 0.0 to 2.0.

One year, the Most Valuable Player's WAR was 2.3.  Who was it?

[Mick]

Last trivia question for me, for a while anyway.  

Which MLB Most Valuable Player had the worst relative season as determined by the lowest WAR?  As a reminder, WAR refers to Wins Above Replacement and is a statistical amalgam indicating overall quality.  MVPs are typically in the 8.0+ range (Mays was 10.6 and 11.2 his two MVP years but he led the NL in WAR seven times), All-Stars are typically in the 4.0+ range (last year's Giants' representatives were Posey and Crawford; Posey's career WAR average is just over 4.0, Crawford's is just under 4.0) and MLB starters average 0.0 to 2.0.

One year, the Most Valuable Player's WAR was 2.3.  Who was it?

[Hulk01]

I don't follow baseball, save a glance in some early seasons at how the Orioles are doing, but I am going to take a stab because I have a vague memory of many years ago, when Barry Larkin won the award.  I remember looking at his numbers, and I think seeing an article or two, the numbers and the articles agreeing that he had one of the crappiest MVP seasons ever.  A perfectly good season, but crappy if the bar is set at MVP.

I bet he's in the running for this award at least.

[Hulk01]

I don't follow baseball, save a glance in some early seasons at how the Orioles are doing, but I am going to take a stab because I have a vague memory of many years ago, when Barry Larkin won the award.  I remember looking at his numbers, and I think seeing an article or two, the numbers and the articles agreeing that he had one of the crappiest MVP seasons ever.  A perfectly good season, but crappy if the bar is set at MVP.

I bet he's in the running for this award at least.

[terry]

Willie Stargell?

[terry]

Willie Stargell?

[Leftcoast]

I’m going to guess one of the relievers who won.  Perhaps Dennis Eckersley?

[Leftcoast]

I’m going to guess one of the relievers who won.  Perhaps Dennis Eckersley?

[82lsju]

I cheated and googled it, I had never heard of the winner, but was familiar with the second place finisher.......it was a long time ago.......

[82lsju]

I cheated and googled it, I had never heard of the winner, but was familiar with the second place finisher.......it was a long time ago.......

[BobK]

Hope it wasn’ t Bob Elliott

[BobK]

Hope it wasn’ t Bob Elliott

[82lsju]

Hope it wasn’ t Bob Elliott

it was not

[82lsju]

Hope it wasn’ t Bob Elliott

it was not

[Mick]

Willie Stargell?

You are correct, Sir!  Stargell's 1979 award was more of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dennis Eckersley's was pretty low at 2.9.

[Mick]

Willie Stargell?

You are correct, Sir!  Stargell's 1979 award was more of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dennis Eckersley's was pretty low at 2.9.

[82lsju]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

[82lsju]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

[terry]

Willie Stargell?

You are correct, Sir!  Stargell's 1979 award was more of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dennis Eckersley's was pretty low at 2.9.

I remember some controversy about Stargell at the time. Stargell tied Keith Hernandez of St. Louis for the MVP, even though Hernandez had better numbers, Stargell had missed a lot of games, and Stargell arguably wasn't even the best player on his own team (possibly behind Dave Parker). Stargell got a boost in the votes because he was the leader of the Pirates' "We are family" championship team. As Mick said, I remember it being somewhat of a career achievement award. I suppose this stuck in my mind because I was a Cardinals fan. :-)

[terry]

Willie Stargell?

You are correct, Sir!  Stargell's 1979 award was more of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dennis Eckersley's was pretty low at 2.9.

I remember some controversy about Stargell at the time. Stargell tied Keith Hernandez of St. Louis for the MVP, even though Hernandez had better numbers, Stargell had missed a lot of games, and Stargell arguably wasn't even the best player on his own team (possibly behind Dave Parker). Stargell got a boost in the votes because he was the leader of the Pirates' "We are family" championship team. As Mick said, I remember it being somewhat of a career achievement award. I suppose this stuck in my mind because I was a Cardinals fan. :-)

[Phogge]

A totally artificial stat. To me nothing is more important than RBI. Also to those who don’t care about wins anymore you cats probably haven’t heard of Vic Raschi or Allie Reynolds. All they did (almost) was win... 2-1, 5-4, 7-6 didn’t matter.

I wish the Fifties never ended.

[Phogge]

A totally artificial stat. To me nothing is more important than RBI. Also to those who don’t care about wins anymore you cats probably haven’t heard of Vic Raschi or Allie Reynolds. All they did (almost) was win... 2-1, 5-4, 7-6 didn’t matter.

I wish the Fifties never ended.

[lex24]

Kurt Gibson

Last trivia question for me, for a while anyway.  

Which MLB Most Valuable Player had the worst relative season as determined by the lowest WAR?  As a reminder, WAR refers to Wins Above Replacement and is a statistical amalgam indicating overall quality.  MVPs are typically in the 8.0+ range (Mays was 10.6 and 11.2 his two MVP years but he led the NL in WAR seven times), All-Stars are typically in the 4.0+ range (last year's Giants' representatives were Posey and Crawford; Posey's career WAR average is just over 4.0, Crawford's is just under 4.0) and MLB starters average 0.0 to 2.0.

One year, the Most Valuable Player's WAR was 2.3.  Who was it?

[lex24]

Kurt Gibson

Last trivia question for me, for a while anyway.  

Which MLB Most Valuable Player had the worst relative season as determined by the lowest WAR?  As a reminder, WAR refers to Wins Above Replacement and is a statistical amalgam indicating overall quality.  MVPs are typically in the 8.0+ range (Mays was 10.6 and 11.2 his two MVP years but he led the NL in WAR seven times), All-Stars are typically in the 4.0+ range (last year's Giants' representatives were Posey and Crawford; Posey's career WAR average is just over 4.0, Crawford's is just under 4.0) and MLB starters average 0.0 to 2.0.

One year, the Most Valuable Player's WAR was 2.3.  Who was it?

[Mick]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

[Mick]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

[82lsju]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

the article I linked to had 2.3, not sure why that's not the same as the 2.6 in your link

[82lsju]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

the article I linked to had 2.3, not sure why that's not the same as the 2.6 in your link

[Mick]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

the article I linked to had 2.3, not sure why that's not the same as the 2.6 in your link

Here's the original article I sourced.  Konstanty's WAR is mis-identified as -0.2, which is close to his batting WAR of -0.2.  His pitching WAR that year was 4.8.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/...all-stars/

[Mick]

what about 1925

AL MVP Roger Peckinpaugh in 1925: .294/.367/.379, 4 HR, 64 RBI, 2.3 WAR.

https://www.12up.com/posts/6223109-8-cra...f-all-time

answering partially my own question

What he won was the League Award, which was somewhat different than the MVP. The award was supposed to be give to the player who performed the "best all around service" to his team. Anyone who had won a previous award was ineligible, so Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, George Sisler and Walter Johnson, among others, couldn't be picked. Player coaches and managers were also ineligible

still doesn't really explain how he won over Al Simmons

Al Simmons in 1925: .387/.419/.599, 24 HR, 129 RBI, 6.2 WAR.

I have Peckinpaugh at 2.6, or am I misreading this?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/playe...ro01.shtml

the article I linked to had 2.3, not sure why that's not the same as the 2.6 in your link

Here's the original article I sourced.  Konstanty's WAR is mis-identified as -0.2, which is close to his batting WAR of -0.2.  His pitching WAR that year was 4.8.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/...all-stars/