• Career A.L. Pitching WAR Leaders In D.H. Era

    Posted by on January 14th, 2013 · Comments (16)

    Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, Playing in the AL, From 1973 to 2012, sorted by greatest WAR for Pitchers:

    Rk Player WAR From To Age G W L W-L% SV IP ERA ERA+
    1 Roger Clemens 117.0 1984 2007 21-44 625 316 166 .656 0 4377.2 3.21 139
    2 Mike Mussina 78.1 1991 2008 22-39 537 270 153 .638 0 3562.2 3.68 123
    3 Bert Blyleven 68.7 1973 1992 22-41 483 210 181 .537 0 3542.2 3.38 119
    4 Chuck Finley 53.9 1986 2002 23-39 510 193 169 .533 0 3112.0 3.85 115
    5 Dave Stieb 53.5 1979 1998 21-40 443 176 137 .562 3 2895.1 3.44 122
    6 Mariano Rivera 52.7 1995 2012 25-42 1051 76 58 .567 608 1219.2 2.21 206
    7 Frank Tanana 52.1 1973 1993 19-39 609 233 221 .513 1 4005.1 3.62 107
    8 Pedro Martinez 51.9 1998 2004 26-32 203 117 37 .760 0 1383.2 2.52 190
    9 Kevin Appier 48.6 1989 2004 21-36 381 158 127 .554 0 2388.2 3.75 121
    10 Dennis Eckersley 48.3 1975 1998 20-43 869 169 134 .558 324 2642.0 3.47 117
    11 David Wells 46.5 1987 2006 24-43 584 211 133 .613 13 2985.0 4.11 110
    12 CC Sabathia 46.3 2001 2012 20-31 366 180 100 .643 0 2433.2 3.60 122
    13 Jimmy Key 46.1 1984 1998 23-37 470 186 117 .614 10 2591.2 3.51 122
    14 Nolan Ryan 46.0 1973 1993 26-46 381 170 144 .541 1 2737.1 3.26 114
    15 Andy Pettitte 45.8 1995 2012 23-40 417 208 116 .642 0 2611.0 3.95 115
    16 Mark Buehrle 45.7 2000 2011 21-32 390 161 119 .575 0 2476.2 3.83 120
    17 Roy Halladay 45.6 1998 2009 21-32 313 148 76 .661 1 2046.2 3.43 133
    18 Kenny Rogers 45.5 1989 2008 24-43 750 214 155 .580 28 3226.2 4.28 107
    19 Ron Guidry 45.4 1975 1988 24-37 368 170 91 .651 4 2392.0 3.29 119
    20 Bret Saberhagen 44.8 1984 2001 20-37 314 136 95 .589 1 1995.1 3.33 127
    21 Randy Johnson 43.6 1989 2006 25-42 341 164 93 .638 2 2269.0 3.60 121
    22 Jim Palmer 42.6 1973 1984 27-38 354 168 104 .618 3 2556.1 2.93 126
    23 Brad Radke 42.6 1995 2006 22-33 378 148 139 .516 0 2451.0 4.22 113
    24 Mark Langston 42.4 1984 1999 23-38 411 163 143 .533 0 2704.2 4.01 108
    25 David Cone 40.0 1986 2001 23-38 263 113 75 .601 0 1689.1 3.70 126
    26 Jack Morris 39.3 1977 1994 22-39 549 254 186 .577 0 3824.0 3.90 105
    27 Jamie Moyer 37.0 1989 2006 26-43 470 183 125 .594 0 2778.0 4.10 109
    28 Frank Viola 34.9 1982 1996 22-36 336 138 117 .541 0 2255.2 3.82 113
    29 Mark Gubicza 34.9 1984 1997 21-34 384 132 136 .493 2 2223.1 3.96 109
    30 Gaylord Perry 34.3 1973 1983 34-44 277 115 114 .502 0 2069.0 3.45 113
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
    Generated 1/13/2013.

    .
    Again, this is “A.L. stats only.” Seeing this, I have to say that Mike Mussina does have a case for Cooperstown.

    Filed under Baseball History,Season Finders · ·

    Comments on Career A.L. Pitching WAR Leaders In D.H. Era

    1. KPOcala
      January 14th, 2013 | 12:48 pm

      Roger Clemens was THAT much better than anyone else?! No, there’s no ‘evidence’ that PEDS enhance baseball performance….
    2. Raf
      January 14th, 2013 | 1:27 pm

      @ KPOcala:
      Clemens peaked at 11.6 in 1997 with the Jays, behind that is his 1990 campaign where he posted a 10.3 season.

      Moose’s high is 7.9. Clemens beat that on 5 separate occasions, 4 of them while with the Red Sox (1986-87, 1990, 1992).
    3. Steve L.
      January 14th, 2013 | 2:12 pm

      @ KPOcala:
      And, that doesn’t include his stats in Houston.
    4. MJ Recanati
      January 14th, 2013 | 2:33 pm

      KPOcala wrote:

      Roger Clemens was THAT much better than anyone else?! No, there’s no ‘evidence’ that PEDS enhance baseball performance….

      To be fair, Clemens accumulated 77.7 bWAR from 1984-1996. If the anecdotes are to be believed, Clemens didn’t start using PED’s until after he was traded to the Blue Jays for the 1997 season, as a sort of “in your face” to the Red Sox for doubting whehther he could still be productive.

      Given that, 39.3 bWAR from 1997-2007 (excluding 2004-2006) makes it a somewhat different story.
    5. Evan3457
      January 14th, 2013 | 6:46 pm

      In my opinion, Moose has a very strong case…which I think will have a tough time winning. No 20-win seasons until his last, a mixed post-season record, no titles. And suspicions…not of PED use…just…suspicions.
    6. Raf
      January 14th, 2013 | 8:25 pm

      MJ Recanati wrote:

      If the anecdotes are to be believed, Clemens didn’t start using PED’s until after he was traded to the Blue Jays for the 1997 season, as a sort of “in your face” to the Red Sox for doubting whehther he could still be productive.

      He signed with the Jays after the 1996 season #nitpick :)

      I think McNamee and Clemens hooked up during the 1998 season. Canseco was also there in 1998. Supposedly they were connected from 1998-2001. Clemens had that outstanding 1997 season, but from a WAR perspective, his 1998 was similar to his last season in Boston (7.8 to 7.4).

      So using McNamee’s timeline, Clemens posted the following WAR
      98: 7.8
      99: 2.6
      00: 4.3
      01: 5.4

      You would think that he’d have a more consistent output.
    7. KPOcala
      January 15th, 2013 | 12:58 am

      I’m sure you guys recall how that Clemens made a point of showing the writers how intense, long, and grueling his workouts were. Anyone that has ever trained hard with weights and/or intense cardiovascular work knows how tired they are, to the point that a flight of stairs becomes a dread. In the mean time, Clemens is training like a bodybuilder, and a long distance runner, but still has something left for the mound? Come on. Try it sometime, and let me know what you did (no PEDS). I’d love to pick your brain………And we can’t assume anything when it comes to PED use. It was rampant in the seventies in most pro sports. And it really started to get going in baseball in the late 70′s, early ’80′s. BTW, amazing that Dave (horse’s ass) Stieb never got any support for the Hall. He had a hell of a career. I think it’s similar to the way Raines’ career was eclipsed by Henderson’s.
    8. KPOcala
      January 15th, 2013 | 1:01 am

      @ Evan3457: I’m curious Evan, what suspicions have you heard about Moose? Other than being too cerebral for baseball ;)

    9. Raf
      January 15th, 2013 | 7:31 am

      KPOcala wrote:

      Anyone that has ever trained hard with weights and/or intense cardiovascular work knows how tired they are, to the point that a flight of stairs becomes a dread. In the mean time, Clemens is training like a bodybuilder, and a long distance runner, but still has something left for the mound? Come on.

      With 5 days between starts? A couple of hours per day? Sure, why not?

      Maybe the first few workouts are tough and draining, but the body adjusts for the workload, and you make gains. This applies to running, lifting, whatever.
    10. KPOcala
      January 15th, 2013 | 11:40 am

      @ Raf:With the way that Clemens was reported to trained, at his age, no way…
    11. Raf
      January 15th, 2013 | 1:51 pm

      KPOcala wrote:

      @ Raf:With the way that Clemens was reported to trained, at his age, no way…

      Again, why not, if you’re training all year long. All he has to do is train a couple hours a day in season, between 30 some odd starts. Ramping up the workouts during the offseason. With focus and discipline, anyone can do it.
    12. KPOcala
      January 16th, 2013 | 12:21 am

      @ Raf: Raf, we’ll have to agree to disagree…
    13. Evan3457
      January 16th, 2013 | 12:39 am

      KPOcala wrote:

      @ Evan3457: I’m curious Evan, what suspicions have you heard about Moose? Other than being too cerebral for baseball

      See entry entitled “Bronx Bigot” on the glossary page of “The Joy of Sox” blog:

      http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/p/glossary.html

      As I say…suspicion…only, suspicion. May have no basis in fact at all.
    14. Evan3457
      January 16th, 2013 | 12:46 am

      Evan3457 wrote:

      KPOcala wrote:
      @ Evan3457: I’m curious Evan, what suspicions have you heard about Moose? Other than being too cerebral for baseball
      See entry entitled “Bronx Bigot” on the glossary page of “The Joy of Sox” blog:
      http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/p/glossary.html
      As I say…suspicion…only, suspicion. May have no basis in fact at all.

      Some further detective work on the subject can be found here, starting in the 12th paragraph:

      http://nypress.com/slack-gammons-the-dean-of-baseball-journalism-rises-to-his-level-of-incompetence/

      Believe it or don’t. It’s a statement that Gammons’ reported in 2000, and it took on a life of its own after Rob Neyer made a deduction based on the clues in the report.

      Me? I have no idea if its true or not. But word gets around, and HOF voting can be very political sometimes.

      Like this year’s anti-vote.
    15. Corey
      January 16th, 2013 | 9:25 am

      Evan3457 wrote:

      And suspicions…not of PED use…just…suspicions.

      Suspicions of what? Being a jerk? That’s all that I heard about Moose.
    16. Evan3457
      January 16th, 2013 | 7:22 pm

      Corey wrote:

      Evan3457 wrote:
      And suspicions…not of PED use…just…suspicions.
      Suspicions of what? Being a jerk? That’s all that I heard about Moose.

      See links above.

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