Rounding Third Players of the Year vs. WAR

by Robert W. Tompkins

With the introduction of new statistical measures over the course of the last several decades, it has become possible to make clearer assessments of the relative value of players … or at least make it more of an argument. To that end, I began wondering in 2018 how my old measures that I used to select Hitters of the Year and Pitchers of the Year matched up against Baseball-Reference.com's Wins Above Replacement, also known as bWAR. Now, bWAR is not necessarily the best measure of player value, but it's certainly one of them. The main difference between bWAR and the R3 methods of calculating value is that bWAR includes fielding into the calculations—something the R3 HoY measurement did not do. So there is a significant gap sometimes between the value of the old R3 Hitter of the Year, and the bWAR best position player of each year, largely due to the inclusion of fielding metrics. If there was any validity to the methods I used for evaluating pitchers, there should not be much disagreement—perhaps an occasional nudging out of someone because of an attribute that I underappreciated.

This opens the door to a whole new slew of candidates for the New York Mets Hall of Heroes, and why should I not include them? If bWAR measures the true value of a player better than my Hitter of the Year calculations, then I say, "Let 'em in." This is in effect what I was aiming at when I decided to include Gold Glove award winners into the Hall, to recognize players whose chief contributions were defensive, and were not quite so impressive with the bat. It just shines the light on some other players who probably really deserved inclusion in the Hall, but that I was unequipped to evaluate properly. Nobody will be losing their place in the Hall because of the new inductees.

Anyway, here's a year-by-year comparison of the best players for each season in club history, up to 2018. I haven't included R3 tabulations, since they are recorded elsewhere, though noteworthy seasons are mentioned. New inductees are highlighted in gold.

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
1962 HoY: Frank Thomas	1962 PoY: Al Jackson Roger Craig finishes second to Al Jackson in the Pitcher of the Year calculations.	1962 PPoY: Frank Thomas Frank Thomas leads the first season's club with 2.5 WAR.	1962 PoY: Roger Craig Roger Craig beats Al Jackson, 2.5 WAR to 2.2. I'm not sure why; Jackson had a superior ERA, batting average, and fielding percentage, and only pitched two less innings than Craig. Since Craig is already a member of the Hall, no problem here.
1963 HoY: Ron Hunt	1963 PoY: Carl Willey	1963: PPoY: Ron Hunt Ron Hunt matches Frank Thomas' 2.5 WAWR from the year before.	1963 PoY: Carl Willey Carl Willey runs up a total of 4.2 WAR.
1964 HoY: Joe Christopher Ron Hunt finishes second to Joe Christopher in the Hitter of the Year calculations.	1964 PoY: Galen Cisco	1964: PPoY: Ron Hunt Ron Hunt leads the club with 3.2 WAR; Joe Christopher is second with 2.8 WAR. This difference can be attributed to the relative value of a second baseman compared to an outfielder.	1964 PoY: Galen Cisco
1965 HoY: Johnny Lewis	1965 PoY: Jack Fisher	1965 PPoY: Johnny Lewis	1965 PoY: Jack Fisher
1966 HoY: Ed Kranepool Kranepool just noses out Ken Boyer and Ron Hunt for Hitter of the Year.	1966 PoY: Dennis Ribant	1966 PPoYs: Ken Boyer and Ron Hunt (virtual tie) Boyer and Hunt each show up with 2.5 WAR, whereas Kranepool ends up with only 0.8! Among position players, Eddie Bressoud, Chuck Hiller, Cleon Jones, and Roy McMillan also top Kranepool's total.	1966 PoY: Dennis Ribant
1967 HoY: Tommy Davis	1967 PoY: Tom Seaver	1967 PPoY: Tommy Davis	1967 PoY: Tom Seaver Seaver establishes a new club standard of 6.6 WAR.
1968 HoY: Cleon Jones Ed Charles finishes third, following Cleon Jones and Ron Swoboda.	1968 PoYs: Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver (virtual tie)	1968 PPoY: Ed Charles Ed Charles (4.2 WAR) noses out Cleon Jones (4.1), due to exceptional defensive value. Our first new inductee!	1968 PoY: Tom Seaver Koosman finishes second to Seaver in WAR, but there's a fairly wide discrepancy (7.0 to 6.0).
1969 HoY: Cleon Jones	1969 PoY: Tom Seaver	1969 PPoY: Cleon Jones Cleon sets a new mark of 7.0 WAR for position players.	1969 PoY: Tom Seaver Seaver outdoes himself again, extending his club record to 7.2 WAR.

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
1970 HoY: Tommie Agee	1970 PoY: Tom Seaver	1970 PPoY: Tommie Agee	1970 PoY: Tom Seaver
1971 HoY: Cleon Jones	1971 PoY: Tom Seaver	1971 PPoY: Cleon Jones	1971 PoY: Tom Seaver Tom Terrific has a stunning 11.0 WAR season.
1972 HoY: John Milner Duffy Dyer actually finishes seventh on this list, behind Milner, Rusty Staub, Ed Kranepool, Willie Mays, Tommie Agee, and Wayne Garrett! Nobody hit well enough in 1972 to outdo the defensive value Dyer added as a catcher.	1972 PoY: Jon Matlack	1972 PPoY: Duffy Dyer Dyer comes in with 1.7 WAR, Willie Mays second with 1.6, and Wayne Garrett and John Milner in a virtual tie with 1.5 each.	1972 PoY: Jon Matlack
1973 HoY: Rusty Staub Wayne Garrett, with his best year at the plate, finishes third after Staub and John Milner.	1973 PoY: Tom Seaver	1973 PPoY: Wayne Garrett Over the next few years, Rusty Staub's continual poor defensive metrics will hurt him. This time he finishes fourth to the whole Mets infield, with Garrett (4.3), Felix Millan (3.2), and Bud Harrelson (2.4) besting Rusty's 2.1 WAR. Garrett is already in the Hall of Heroes, or this would have put him in.	1973 PoY: Tom Seaver Seaver matches his personal club record by notching another 11.0 WAR season.
1974 HoY: Rusty Staub Top five Hitters of the Year: Staub, John Milner, Cleon Jones, Wayne Garrett, Bud Harrelson.	1974 PoY: Jon Matlack	1974 PPoY: Bud Harrelson Top totals in WAR for the year: Harrelson (2.3), John Milner (1.7), Cleon Jones (1.6), Jerry Grote (1.2), Wayne Garrett (1.2), Ed Kranepool (0.3), Felix Millan (0.1), and Rusty Staub (0.1). Apparently Buddy's defense was that good, and Rusty's was that bad.	1974 PoY: Jon Matlack
1975 HoY: Rusty Staub Del Unser finished third, behind Staub and Dave Kingman.	1975 PoY: Tom Seaver	1975 PPoY: Del Unser Rusty's defense costs him again. Top three in WAR are Del Unser (3.5), Jerry Grote (3.2), and Staub (3.0).	1975 PoY: Tom Seaver
1976 HoY: John Milner	1976 PoY: Tom Seaver	1976 PPoY: John Milner	1976 PoY: Tom Seaver
1977 HoY: Len Randle	1977 PoY: Nino Espinosa	1977 PPoY: Len Randle	1977 PoY: Nino Espinosa
1978 HoY: Lee Mazzilli and John Stearns (virtual tie)	1978 PoY: Craig Swan	1978 PPoY: John Stearns Lee Mazzilli finishes second, but there is quite a wide margin between them (5.3 WAR to 3.3).	1978 PoY: Craig Swan
1979 HoY: Lee Mazzilli	1979 PoY: Craig Swan	1979 PPoY: Lee Mazzilli	1979 PoY: Craig Swan

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
1980 HoY: Lee Mzzilli	1980 PoY: Pat Zachry	1980 PPoY: Lee Mazzilli	1980 PoY: Pat Zachry
1981 HoY: Dave Kingman Hubie Brooks finishes second to Kingman in the Hitter of the Year rankings.	1981 PoY: Pete Falcone	1981 PPoY: Hubie Brooks Defense again! Kingman (0.7) finishes sixth among position players, following Brooks (2.6), John Stearns (1.9), Mookie Wilson (1.5), Joel Youngblood (1.5), and even Rusty Staub (1.0)!	1981 PoY: Pete Falcone
1982 HoY: Dave Kingman John Stearns finishes a close second to Kingman.	1982 PoY: Craig Swan	1982 PPoY: John Stearns Stearns (3.8), Mookie Wilson (2.0), Bob Bailor (1.9), Ron Hodges (1.6), Wally Backman (1.4), and Bruce Bochy (0.7) all come in ahead of Kingman, who ends up in a virtual tie with Mike Howard and Brian Giles (0.1)!	1982 PoY: Craig Swan
1983 HoY: Darryl Strawberry Keith Hernandez finishes a fairly close second to Darryl, despite playing less than 100 games with the Mets.	1983 PoY: Jesse Orosco	1983 PPoY: Keith Hernandez Must be defense again: Keith outdoes Darryl by quite a large margin, 4.4 WAR to 2.7.	1983 PoY: Jesse Orosco
1984 HoY: Keith Hernandez	1984 PoY: Dwight Gooden	1984 PPoY: Keith Hernandez	1984 PoY: Dwight Gooden
1985 HoY: Darryl Strawberry Gary Carter second to Strawberry.	1985 PoY: Dwight Gooden	1985 PPoY: Gary Carter Because a good-hitting catcher (6.9 WAR) is worth more than a good-hitting right fielder (4.8). A great-fielding first baseman (Keith Hernandez at 5.1) also slips in ahead of Strawberry.	1985 PoY: Dwight Gooden Doctor K shatters the season record with a 13.3 WAR season.
1986 HoY: Keith Hernandez	1986 PoY: Bob Ojeda Ojeda, Dwight Gooden, and Ron Darling are the top three.	1986 PPoY: Keith Hernandez	1986 PoY: Ron Darling Darling (4.4 WAR) squeaks out a victory over Ojeda and Gooden (4.3 each).
1987 HoY: Darryl Strawberry	1987 PoY: Dwight Gooden	1987 PPoY: Darryl Strawberry	1987 PoY: Dwight Gooden
1988 HoY: Darry Strawberry	1988 PoY: David Cone	1988 PPoY: Darryl Strawberry	1988 PoY: David Cone
1989 HoY: Howard Johnson	1989 PoY: Sid Fernandez	1989 PPoY: Howard Johnson HoJo has one of the Mets' best hitting seasons to date, with 6.9 WAR.	1989 PoY: Sid Fernandez

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
1990 HoY: Darryl Strawberry	1990 PoY: Frank Viola	1990 PPoY: Darryl Strawberry	1990 PoY: Frank Viola
1991 HoY: Howard Johnson	1991 PoY: David Cone	1991 PPoY: Howard Johnson	1991 PoY: David Cone
1992 HoY: Bobby Bonilla Dick Schofield comes in a ninth on this list, following Bobby Bo, Eddie Murray, Dave Magadan, Daryl Boston, Chico Walker, Howard Johnson, Vince Coleman, and Willie Randolph.	1992 PoY: Sid Fernandez	1992 PPoY: Dick Schofield A clear victory for defensive position and ability. Schofield (2.2 WAR) bests Eddie Murray (1.6), Chico Walker (1.5), and Bonilla and Dave Magadan (1.4 each).	1992 PoY: Sid Fernandez
1993 HoY: Bobby Bonilla	1993 PoY: Dwight Gooden	1993 PPoY: Bobby Bonilla	1993 PoY: Dwight Gooden
1994 HoY: Bobby Bonilla	1994 PoY: Bret Saberhagen	1994 PPoY: Bobby Bonilla	1994 PoY: Bret Saberhagen
1995 HoY: Bobby Bonilla Top three Hitters of the Year: Bonilla, Rico Brogna, and Jeff Kent.	1995 PoY: Bret Saberhagen and Jason Isringhausen (virtual tie)	1995 PPoY: Jeff Kent Defensive position takes the day, with Jeff Kent (3.2 WAR) topping Todd Hundley (2.6) and Bonilla (2.3). Rico Brogna also scored 2.3 WAR.	1995 PoY: Jason Isringhausen Izzy (3.0 WAR) tops Sabes (2.0).
1996 HoY: Bernard Gilkey	1996 PoY: Mark Clark John Franco finishes a distant second to Mark Clark.	1996 PPoY: Bernard Gilkey Bernard Gilkey sets a new club record for WAR by a positional player with his 8.1; Lance Johnson posts the second-highest mark to date with his 7.2.	1996 PoY: John Franco Mark Clark (1.1 WAR) finishes second to John Franco (1.4 WAR).
1997 HoY: John Olerud and Todd Hundley (virtual tie) Edgardo Alfonzo finishes third to Olerud and Hundley.	1997 PoY: Rick Reed	1997 PPoY: Edgardo Alfonzo Alfonzo's defensive versatility ends up giving him a huge advantage over John Olerud (6.2 WAR to 4.1).	1997 PoY: Rick Reed
1998 HoY: John Olerud	1998 PoY: Al Leiter	1998 PPoY: John Olerud Olerud checks in at second all-time for a Mets season to date, with 7.6 WAR.	1998 PoY: Al Leiter
1999 HoY: John Olerud In one of the greatest offensive displays ever put on by the Mets as a team, Olerud narrowly edges Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, and Mike Piazza for the team lead.	1999 PoY: Armando Benitez	1999 PPoY: Robin Ventura Ventura (6.7 WAR) outpaces Edgardo Alfonzo (6.0) and John Olerud (5.6).	1999 PoY: Armando Benitez

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
2000 HoY: Edgardo Alfonzo	2000 PoY: Al Leiter and Mike Hampton (virtual tie)	2000 PPoY: Edgardo Alfonzo	2000 PoY: Mike Hampton Al Leiter (4.3 WAR) finishes second to Mike Hampton (5.3).
2001 HoY: Mike Piazza	2001 PoY: Al Leiter Kevin Appier finishes a close second to Al Leiter.	2001 PPoY: Mike Piazza	2001 PoY: Kevin Appier Appier (3.4 WAR) noses out Rick Reed (2.8) and Al Leiter (2.6).
2002 HoY: Mike Piazza In a close race, Piazza edges Edgardo Alfonzo.	2002 PoY: Al Leiter	2002 PPoY: Edgardo Alfonzo In another triumph of positional versatility, Fonzie outpaces Mike Piazza, 5.0 WAR to 3.0 WAR.	2002 PoY: Al Leiter
2003 HoY: Cliff Floyd	2003 PoY: Steve Trachsel	2003 PPoY: Cliff Floyd	2003 PoY: Steve Trachsel
2004 HoY: Mike Piazza The top six Hitters of the Year are Piazza, Mike Cameron, Cliff Floyd, Kazuo Matsui, Ty Wigginton, and David Wright.	2004 PoY: Al Leiter	2004 PPoY: David Wright Appearing in only 69 games as a rookie, David Wright totals 2.2 WAR, which sets the standard for the team, followed by Mike Cameron (1.5), Ty Wigginton (1.1), Kazuo Matsui (1.0), Richard Hidalgo (0.9), Vance Wilson (0.8), Wilson Delgado (0.7), Cliff Floyd (0.7), Jose Reyes (0.5), Shane Spencer (0.4), Danny Garcia (0.3), and finally, tied for twelfth, Eric Valent and Mike Piazza (0.2 each).	2004 PoY: Al Leiter
2005 HoY: David Wright	2005 PoY: Pedro Martinez	2005 PPoY: David Wright	2005 PoY: Pedro Martinez
2006 HoY: Carlos Beltran	2006 PoY: Billy Wagner Wags narrowly outpaces Tom Glavine.	2006 PPoY: Carlos Beltran Carlos Beltran sets a new season mark for the Mets with 8.2 WAR.	2006 PoY: Tom Glavine Tom Glavine (3.2 WAR) leads Billy Wagner (2.2) for the pitchers' crown.
2007 HoY: David Wright	2007 PoY: Oliver Perez Tom Glavine finshes a distant sixth here, following Oliver Perez, John Maine, Orlando Hernandez, Billy Wagner, and Aaron Heilman	2007 PPoY: David Wright David Wright breaks Carlos Beltran's just-established club record by recording 8.3 WAR.	2007 PoY: Tom Glavine Once again, bWAR likes Tom Glavine a lot better than Rounding Third, as it awards him the season crown with 2.6 WAR. Following him are Orlando Hernandez (2.5), John Maine (2.4), Billy Wagner (1.7), and Oliver Perez (1.7).
2008 HoY: David Wright David Wright puts up the best pure hitting season ever for a Met, outdoing Carlos Beltran in just about every way.	2008 PoY: Johan Santana	2008 PPoY: Carlos Beltran Somehow Beltran (7.0 WAR) edges David Wright (6.9), despite Wright's better hitting statistics and positional advantage (third base over outfield). But Beltran's fielding excellence overshadows Wright's fielding mediocrity, at least for this season.	2008 PoY: Johan Santana
2009 HoY: David Wright David Wright suffers through a bad year but appears in 144 games. Luis Castillo is third, also not faring particularly well, but appears in 142 games. Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan are both superb, but appear in less than 90 games each and check in at second and fourth on the list respectively.	2009 PoY: Johan Santana	2009 PPoY: Angel Pagan Angel Pagan's brilliant defense in center field along with his solid hitting earn him the top spot (4.0 WAR). Carlos Beltran checks in at 3.6 and David Wright follows with 3.2.	2009 PoY: Johan Santana

Rounding Third Hitters and Pitchers of the Year		bWAR Position Players and Pitchers of the Year
2010 HoY: David Wright Wright is followed by Ike Davis and Angel Pagan on the lists this year.	2010 PoY: R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana (virtual tie)	2010 PPoY: Angel Pagan Once again Angel Pagan surprises by taking the top spot with 5.3 WAR. Ike Davis comes in second with 3.3 and David Wright is third with 2.8.	2010 PoY: Johan Santana Santana beats R.A. Dickey in bWAR, 4.9 to 4.2.
2011 HoY: Jose Reyes	2011 PoY: R.A. Dickey	2011 PPoY: Jose Reyes	2011 PoY: R.A. Dickey
2012 HoY: David Wright	2012 PoY: R.A. Dickey	2012 PPoY: David Wright	2012 PoY: R.A. Dickey
2013 HoY: David Wright	2013 PoY: Matt Harvey	2013 PPoY: David Wright	2013 PoY: Matt Harvey
2014 HoY: Lucas Duda The season leaders for Hitter of the Year are Duda, Daniel Murphy, Curtis Granderson, David Wright, and Juan Lagares.	2014 PoY: Jacob deGrom	2014 PPoY: Juan Lagares Another win for superior defense, as Juan Lagares (5.3 WAR) bests Lucas Duda (3.7) for the season honors.	2014 PoY: Jacob deGrom
2015 HoY: Curtis Granderson	2015 PoY: Jacob deGrom	2015 PPoY: Curtis Granderson	2015 PoY: Jacob deGrom
2016 HoY: Yoenis Cespedes	2016 PoY: Noah Syndergaard	2016 PPoY: Yoenis Cespedes	2016 PoY: Noah Syndergaard
2017 HoY: Michael Conforto	2017 PoY: Jacob deGrom	2017 PPoY: Michael Conforto	2017 PoY: Jacob deGrom
2018 HoY: Brandon Nimmo	2018 PoY: Jacob deGrom	2018 PPoY: Brandon Nimmo	2018 PoY: Jacob deGrom

In summary, while there is a lot of agreement between the Rounding Third awards and the bWAR leaders, there is plenty of room for discussion. And the vast majority of it has to do with the proper valuation of defense, both in terms of positional value and in excellence at the craft. These factors are still being debated as to how they should be enumerated, but the inclusion of four more defensive whizzes in to the Hall of Heroes does nothing to diminish that august edifice. Welcome, Ed Charles, Duffy Dyer, Del Unser, and Dick Schofield.

* * * * *

back to the Essays Table of Contents - New York Mets Hall of Records Home Page - Rounding Third baseball card shop

* * * * *

Would you like to comment on this article?

View comments others have written on this article.