Fun with Win Shares

On page 970 of The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (aff link), James uses win shares to compare several teams throughout history. He suggests many reasons for doing this, among which are “comparing groups of players” and “studying how pennants are won in one era as opposed to another.” With that in mind, here are win shares by position for every Padres team that has reached the post-season (I’ve included the ‘07 team for grins):

Yr C 1B 2B 3B SS LF CF RF S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 RA Bn Stf Tot
Statistics are through games of June 28, 2007, and are courtesy of Bill James’ Win Shares (pre-2005; aff link) and The Hardball Times. RA = relief ace (closer); Bn = bench players; Stf = pitchers other than S1 – S5 or RA.
‘84 12 15 23 16 16 21 25 35 12 12 11 10 1 15 22 30 276
‘96 7 16 11 38 9 16 27 17 11 11 10 10 7 20 30 33 273
‘98 10 22 23 20 15 30 15 19 26 15 9 8 0 20 35 27 294
‘05 10 8 15 4 17 17 15 35 17 5 3 1 0 8 56 40 251
‘06 12 17 18 1 13 20 28 23 12 12 10 10 4 11 37 39 267
‘07 6 14 11 3 9 6 10 4 11 9 6 5 1 6 12 20 133

Some random observations:

  • The ‘84 squad was incredibly balanced. The only real weaknesses were a lackluster bench (Tim Flannery, Luis Salazar, Bobby Brown) and fifth starter Andy Hawkins.
  • It’s easy to forget how completely dominant Trevor Hoffman used to be. He still gets the job done these days, but anyone who doubts Hoffman’s greatness needs to watch tapes of him from ‘96 and ‘98.
  • Brian Giles gets a lot of grief for not being the player in San Diego that he was in Pittsburgh, but he pretty much carried the Padres into the playoffs in ‘05. The list of Padres who have posted 30+ win shares in a single season is a short one:
    Player Year WS
    Tony Gwynn 1997 39
    Ken Caminiti 1996 38
    Tony Gwynn 1984 35
    Brian Giles 2005 35
    Dave Winfield 1979 33
    Mark Loretta 2004 33
    Gary Sheffield 1992 32
    Jack Clark 1989 31
    Phil Nevin 2001 31
    Tony Gwynn 1989 30
    Greg Vaughn 1998 30
    Ryan Klesko 2002 30

    Just something to bear in mind the next time you’re hating on OG.

  • I’d forgotten that the Padres essentially didn’t have a fifth starter in ‘96. Sean Bergman, Scott Sanders, and Tim Worrell all split time between the rotation and bullpen, doing a surprisingly good job in both roles. Bruce Bochy probably deserves more credit than he’s given for the way he handled that pitching staff.
  • The ‘98 squad was so good. Two horses at the top of the rotation, balanced lineup, dominant closer. If they’d faced anyone but a historically great Yankees team…
  • I hate to say it, but the ‘05 squad probably didn’t belong in the playoffs. Giles, Jake Peavy, and a great bench is a nice start, but it’s not enough.
  • The ‘06 squad, except for a gaping hole at third base, was pretty darned good. Last year’s team matches up well with the ‘84 and ‘96 versions. Note the rotation’s consistency from top to bottom.
  • I still haven’t seriously studied the market, but I’m starting to think it would be a mistake to dismiss Mike Cameron as a long-term option in center field. He’s got the same lean, rangy build that Steve Finley had, and like Finley, he keeps himself in great shape. Cameron is a streaky player who has been one of the Padres’ most effective weapons over the past two months and who was an absolute terror in ‘06 once he got healthy. Cameron is a year older than Finley was in his walk year, but given what I know about both players, I have a hunch (and that’s all it is) that Cameron will age well.

A little food for thought. Chew slowly…

58 Comments

  1. Ryan
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 7:52 am | Permalink

    This is a great chart. Is there a way to project out the 2007 win shares? And what kind of second half would Peavy or CY have to have to match Kevin Brown’s ‘98 Win Share total?

  2. Phantom
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 8:12 am | Permalink

    Very fun comparison. It’s interesting to see how much Adrian and Marcus’ early success have pushed their win shares up. It would be interesting to get an update on these like bi-weekly or monthly to see how people are doing.

  3. Ben B.
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 9:46 am | Permalink

    Since Peavy only pitched one inning yesterday, does that now allow him to pitch Friday instead of Maddux?

  4. Tom Waits
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 9:56 am | Permalink

    I don’t mind Peavy getting the extra rest, as long as it doesn’t take away a total start for the second half. 75 games left, he should get 15 whether he goes Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. He’s been healthy this year but not so much in the past.

  5. Mark Ase
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 10:18 am | Permalink

    About Cameron…it takes 2 to make a deal. I think Cameron is going to jump at the chance to get back closer to home in Atlanta.

  6. Posted July 11, 2007 at 10:59 am | Permalink

    I think the thing with Cameron is going to be that some team out there will give him 3 or 4 years at maybe $7-8 million or more. I have a hard time believing that the Padres FO would commit that money to a player that may not be starting in 2 years. If Dave Roberts gets the money and years he got Cammy will get his too and I personally don’t see the Padres taking a risk for that much money and that many years on a visably declining talent. That’s just me though.

  7. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 11:05 am | Permalink

    Cammy will not be back next year, he would have already signed an extension if he was. Alderson is like AJ smith they put a price on a player and if they dont accept that price then they let them go.

  8. Phantom
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:09 pm | Permalink

    SI.com has their mid-season grades for the NL West. I can’t believe the Rox have a higher grade than the Pads…

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/baseball/fungoes_blog/2007/07/nl-west-midseason-grades.html

  9. Farquaad
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:10 pm | Permalink

    anybody want to venture a guess what our outfield would look like if both Cameron and Bradley are gone after this year?

  10. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:28 pm | Permalink

    Re: 9 Headly LF, Giles CF, P-Mac RF

  11. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:29 pm | Permalink

    j/k I think it will be:

    LF: P-Mac
    CF: Rowand
    RF: Giles

    Bench:
    Sledge
    Bocachica

  12. Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:32 pm | Permalink

    9.

    No! I don’t want to imagine that or the batting lineup. Moves are definitely going to have to be made before then hopefully 1 or 2 of them soon. But who?

  13. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:33 pm | Permalink

    8 … thanks for the link … I’m OK with the Padres and Rox grades … it’s nice that grade not = wins … we all know wins … it seems like his grades are relative to expectations … and the Padres are pretty close to expectations and the Rox are exceding expectations … fair enough … especially when he says this …

    Facing the likes of Jake Peavy and Chris Young in the postseason could be death to anyone’s World Series dreams.

    :-)

  14. St. Oops
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

    7: They dropped extension talks back in April when Cammy was hitting a buck something and looking generally awful. From what we hear, the front office doesn’t like dealing with extension talks during the season and no one was interested in signing Cammy in April, but things have obviously changed since then.

    Whatever happens, I hope our solution is better than some combination of 4A players a la Sledge and the like.

  15. Ben B.
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 1:10 pm | Permalink

    I think if Bradley stays healthy and plays good defense he’ll be re-signed to play center next year. That’s what I’m rooting for at least, since I dislike Rowand and Byrnes (and it would mean Bradley helped the team a bunch this year). Andruw Jones is a fun pipe dream, but he and Tori Hunter will probably be too expensive.

    Tim Sullivan wrote an article today in the UT about how difficult it will be to resign Peavy in two and a half years. It’s pretty ridiculous to even hypothesize about that at this point because so many things happen, especially to pitchers, in that amount of time.

    http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070711/news_1s11sullivan.html

  16. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 1:12 pm | Permalink

    Padres 08 Lineup:

    RF: Giles
    2B: Giles
    CF: Byrnes
    1B: Gonzalez
    3B: Kouz
    SS: Greene
    C: Bard
    LF: P-Mac/Headley

    Bench:
    Blum
    Laforest
    Sledge
    Bochachica
    P-Mac/Headley

    Starters:
    Peavy
    Young
    Maddux
    Hensley
    Germano/Hampson

    Pen:
    Hoffy
    Bell
    Meredith
    Ring
    Germano/Hampson
    Cassidy
    Cameron

    total opening day payroll = $50 mil with a promise for a deadline move

  17. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 1:27 pm | Permalink

    A reminder that Baseball Prospectus is having a “free week” … here’s an article with a look forward at the 2nd half …

    http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6442

  18. Schlom
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 1:52 pm | Permalink

    I think that it will be Kouzmanoff and not Headley that ends up in leftfield. I also doubt that Bradley will be on the team next year, he just doesn’t seem like the kind of player that you want to keep on your team for more than half a season. I’d certainly like them to resign Cameron, but I bet they are extremely gunshy on signing aging players to extensions as they don’t want a replay of the Klesko, Nevin, Giles mess. Here’s the ultimate pipedream: LaRussa and Pujols are feuding in St. Louis, maybe they could trade for Albert?

  19. Posted July 11, 2007 at 1:55 pm | Permalink

    18.

    What leads you to believe it will be Headley and not Kouz at 3rd?

  20. Ben B.
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:00 pm | Permalink

    Headley has a much better defensive reputation at third than Kouz does.

  21. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:04 pm | Permalink

    it would make more sense to convert Headley, he has the rest of the year in AA to learn the position, Headley is smaller and quicker and would be better suited to roam LF in petco.

  22. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:05 pm | Permalink

    Re: 20 Kouz has shown that he can play 3B at the ML level.

  23. Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:18 pm | Permalink

    I would be very hard pressed to criticize Kouz’s defense at 3rd this year and it’s not like Headley is revered as the 2nd coming of Brooks Robinson I would think that it will be Headley making the move. Headley learning Left in the minors makes more sense to me than Kouz learning it in the majors. If Kouz was kicking balls all over the yard I would understand but he is surprising a lot of people that said he defense would kill us.

  24. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:48 pm | Permalink

    Cumberland made his pro debut today for the AZL Padres …

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2007_07_11_pdrrok_angrok_1&t=g_box&did=milb

    … going 0-for-1 in a PH appearance … in an otherwise *very* uneventful game.

  25. The Fathers
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:49 pm | Permalink

    Well, except for the fact the Kouz is last among 10 qualified NL 3B in fielding percentage, last in range factor, and sixth in zone rating, we shouldn’t conclude that he is kicking balls all over the yard. ;)

    I like the guy, but his D took a major turn for the worse about the time his O started picking up.

  26. Posted July 11, 2007 at 2:59 pm | Permalink

    Ouch well I guess he hasn’t seemed as bad as those numbers would lead you to believe. Whatever, I don’t really care who’s playing 3rd as long as they produce.

  27. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:03 pm | Permalink

    16: you think marcus will be on the team next year, what about Headley at 2nd?

    25: Most of that comes with being a rookie. He has been just fine at 3rd, Headley might make the move to left or maybe 2nd?… who knows minor league players are hard to predict. I’d like to see Headley put up another solid year first.

    BTW… did Matt Antonelli get moved up, he is on the Missions roster…

  28. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:08 pm | Permalink

    Re: 27 Headley would not move to 2B because Antonelli will be there in 09.

    The pads will excersize Giles option in 08 for 2 reasons:

    1. Make Brian happy and keep club house moral up.
    2. keep the seat warm for Antonelli in 09 (who could they get for one year?)

  29. Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:08 pm | Permalink

    WOW!!! Antonelli did get moved up. That’s kinda crazy! He deserves it though! I am really anxious to see how he performs. There are some good players on that roster now!

  30. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:11 pm | Permalink

    Huffman moved up as well, this must all be new because I cheked the SA roster after lunch and they were not on there. Good move’s im bummed because im going to a storm game on the 21st and i was really looking forward to seeing Antonelli.

  31. Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:13 pm | Permalink

    The Portland roster also has Eric Sogard on it an apparently he has played 1 game already. There was probably an injury or something but something to keep your eye on anyways.

  32. Tom Waits
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:29 pm | Permalink

    28: Headley would also not move to second because he would be very, very bad there. He doesn’t have a lot of range at 3rd. No experience turning two. Completely sabotaging his chance to succeed.

    LF is so much easier to learn. One of them may go there, one of them may get traded, one may get hurt. But neither will be at second base.

  33. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:33 pm | Permalink

    Giles will be the 2B next year, it makes way to much sense.

  34. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:34 pm | Permalink

    Im disapointed that they did not move up Freese and move Headley to LF.

  35. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:36 pm | Permalink

    on the Beavers Roster under status Stansberry is listed as “Reserve List (Minors)” does anyone know what that means?

  36. Mark Lucas
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    Does anybody know why Schmidt hasn’t made an appearance yet?
    At least not that I’ve seen in the boxes.

  37. Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    34.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if they waited until after the trade deadline to do anything with Headley. He’s more valuble as a top minor league 3rd baseman for trade bait than a potential future LF’r. I am still seeing rumors about Adam Dunn and Chase’s name is attatched to them. I think that if they want to get a REAL impact bat he will probably have to be the bait.

  38. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:44 pm | Permalink

    Re: 37 good point

  39. Steve C
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 3:52 pm | Permalink

    Re: 36 I would imagine that they are giving him a rest, he has thrown alot of innings this year down south.

  40. Tom Waits
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:00 pm | Permalink

    37: Yes, good point (echoing 38).

    39: They said they were going to keep his innings very short this year. They didn’t watch Carrillo’s innings close enough his first season, even though he might have gotten hurt anyway.

  41. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:07 pm | Permalink

    33: I dont think it makes that much sense, but they dont have much better options. Is it possible Antonelli makes it up next spring?

    36: My guess is they are easing him in, he just made that appearance in Petco before the ASB. I am guessing he is throwing bullpens getting ready for a start or second starter spot in rookie ball.

    37: ya i dont think they would do all that much with him in LF until next spring.

    Why isnt Headley in Portland and Freese in SA?

  42. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:09 pm | Permalink

    40: Do you think they are starting to look at Carrillo as more of a reliever now?

  43. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:12 pm | Permalink

    I just notices Dylan Axelrod is on the rookieball roster. I dunno why I didnt notice him before. I liked what I saw from him in the CWS

  44. Tom Waits
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:27 pm | Permalink

    41: Because Portland is a train wreck. They want their best prospects in a good, winning environment. Also, Headley’s likely to see better overall pitchers in AA than he will in AAA. I’d like to see Freese moved faster, he’s old for A ball.

    42: No. But he threw over 180 innings in 2005 between college and the minors, which was crazy.

  45. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 4:53 pm | Permalink

    PCL is just getting destroyed its already 4-0 in the top of the 1st

  46. Malcolm
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 5:00 pm | Permalink

    Geoff.funny you should analyze win shares at this time. Did you happen to see the quote in baseballgraphs.com(main index) that on page 14 of Bill Jame’s Win Shares he gave implicit permission for in season WS calculation?”Despite the ‘Book of Values’ given in this volume, you may wish to figure Win Shares for some other team, such as next year’s SAN DIEGO PADRES, as of the ALL STAR BREAK, or your son’s little-league team” One thing, depending on the timing there should be 14 more shares floating around this year. 49×3=147. I appreciate your good work that highlights the strenghs & weaknesses of this team.

  47. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 5:58 pm | Permalink

    46 … re: “14 more win shares floating around” … what’s it mean when the calculated WS varies from actual W’s? Is it similar to delta’s in actual Ws vs “expected Ws” (like on http://www.coolstandings.com )?

  48. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 6:07 pm | Permalink

    27 … where are you seeing a San Antonio roster?

    The SA roster at milb.com doesn’t show Antonelli (as of right now, anyway) …

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=510&stn=true&sid=t510

  49. Malcolm
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 6:14 pm | Permalink

    LM, Your reference is to expeced wins using a variation of the Pythagorean Theorem which is based on runs scored and runs scored upon. As I understand it WS, by it’s nature, should always be 3x runs scored. Except for 2007, all years on Geoff’s chart conform to that ratio. Possibly the WS and runs for 2007 were computed at different times.

  50. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 6:29 pm | Permalink

    48: Interesting, both Huffman and Antonelli are not on the SA Missions roster anymore. It was in MiLB.com a couple hours ago when I posted it.

  51. Malcolm
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 6:44 pm | Permalink

    25. Glad YOU brought that up. Anyone, is it correct that Kouz only played 111 game at 3rd in the minors and none last year? See The Baseball Cube data. I’m guessing he’s OF- bound.

  52. Malcolm
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 7:22 pm | Permalink

    Antonelli is still with the Storm. He just missed a HR this minute- has a walk and a hit.

  53. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 8:22 pm | Permalink

    Plenty of offense at San Antonio tonight …

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_07_11_sanaax_mroaax_1

  54. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 8:23 pm | Permalink

    And at Lake Elsinore …

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_07_11_lncafa_lesafa_1

    … Huffman with HR #15!

  55. LynchMob
    Posted July 11, 2007 at 9:34 pm | Permalink

    31 … Sogard is playing for Eugene tonight …

    http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_07_11_eveasx_eugasx_1

    … milb.com does show him going 0-for-3 in 1 game for Portland … huh.

  56. Steve C
    Posted July 12, 2007 at 7:17 am | Permalink

    Huffman was on this roster:

    http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&did=milb&cid=510

    yesterday afternoon, but he is not now, maybe it was a typo.

  57. SDSUBASEBALL
    Posted July 12, 2007 at 11:06 am | Permalink

    56: So was Antonelli

  58. Posted July 13, 2007 at 9:14 am | Permalink

    #1: Brown had 26 win shares in ‘98, which is just insane for a pitcher. At the ASB, Peavy had 12 and CY had 11. Neither will catch Brown, but one or both could crack 20, which would be impressive.

    #9: I’d rather not. ;-)

    #18: Klesko and Nevin aren’t good comps for Cameron; different positions, different body types. I think Finley is more instructive in this case. I also maintain that Giles still has value; if nothing else, he almost single-handedly brought the Padres back to the playoffs in ‘05.

    #46: You are correct, Malcolm, about the number of WS. These were through 6/28. The THT numbers have been updated through the ASB since I wrote this, and the Padres are credited with 15 more WS (I’m guessing there’s a rounding error in there somewhere).

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