In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team. Therefore, Rusty Staub is listed on the Astros roster for the duration of his career while the Athletics declare “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and the Blue Jays claim Tony Fernandez. I calculated revised standings for every season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition.  Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills.

Expanding on my research for the book, the following series of articles will reveal the finest single-season rosters for every Major League organization based on overall rankings in OWAR and OWS along with the general managers and scouting directors that constructed the teams. “Hardball Retrospective” is available in digital format on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, GooglePlay, iTunes and KoboBooks. The paperback edition is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and CreateSpace. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com.

Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here.

Terminology

OWAR – Wins Above Replacement for players on “original” teams

OWS – Win Shares for players on “original” teams

OPW% – Pythagorean Won-Loss record for the “original” teams

Assessment

The 1907 Philadelphia Phillies    OWAR: 56.2     OWS: 349     OPW%: .527

Based on the revised standings the “Original” 1907 Phillies finished in a tie for fourth place, only six games behind the front-running Cubbies. Philadelphia paced the National League in OWS and OWAR.

Sherry Magee batted .328 with a League-best 85 RBI and a team-leading 37 Win Shares. Elmer Flick supplied a .302 BA and legged out 18 three-base hits. Nap Lajoie rapped 30 doubles and pilfered 24 bases. The keystone combo of Ed Abbaticchio and Kid Elberfeld swiped 57 bags. Roy A. Thomas posted a .374 OBP and led the League in walks for the seventh time in eight seasons. “Silent” John Titus provided a solid option as a fourth outfielder, belting 23 doubles and 12 triples while hitting at a .275 clip.

Nap Lajoie places sixth among second basemen according to Bill James in “The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract.” Teammates listed in the “NBJHBA” top 100 rankings include Magee (21^st-LF), Flick (23^rd-RF), Thomas (29^th-CF), Kid Gleason (72^nd-2B), Elberfeld (75^th-SS) and John Titus (76^th-RF).

LINEUP	POS	WAR	WS
Roy Thomas	CF	2.55	20.78
Nap Lajoie	1B/2B	7.5	30.2
Sherry Magee	LF	7.13	37.68
Elmer Flick	RF	4.95	34.39
Kid Elberfeld	SS	2.9	21.36
Fred Jacklitsch	C	0.84	8.17
Ed Abbaticchio	2B	2.27	20.54
	3B
BENCH	POS	WAR	WS
John Titus	RF	2.16	23
Doc Marshall	C	0.44	2.67
George Browne	RF	0.39	12.1
Mickey Doolin	SS	0.06	12.08
Paul Sentell	SS	-0.06	0.02
Red Dooin	C	-0.21	7.72
Del Howard	LF	-1.08	7.34
Kid Gleason	2B	-1.44	1.12

Doc White fashioned a 2.26 ERA and a 1.058 WHIP while topping the leader boards with a 27-13 record. Tully Sparks delivered a 22-8 mark with a 2.00 ERA and 1.026 WHIP as he completed 24 of 31 starts. Johnny Lush (10-15, 2.68) and “Smiling” Al Orth (14-21, 2.61) rounded out the Phillies’ rotation. George McQuillan (4-0, 0.66) yielded only three earned runs in 41 innings pitched during his inaugural campaign.

ROTATION	POS	WAR	WS
Doc White	SP	4.37	23.84
Tully Sparks	SP	3.63	23.54
Johnny Lush	SP	0.53	12.13
Al Orth	SP	-0.06	15.29
BULLPEN	POS	WAR	WS
Harry Coveleski	RP	0.7	2.75
King Brady	RP	-0.02	0.13
George McQuillan	SP	2.32	7.19
Fred Burchell	SP	-0.09	0.27
Jesse Whiting	RP	-0.28	0
John McCloskey	RP	-0.58	0
Bill Duggleby	SP	-1.42	1.9
Bill Bernhard	SP	-1.54	0

The “Original” 1907 Philadelphia Phillies roster

NAME	POS	WAR	WS	General Manager	Scouting Director
Nap Lajoie	2B	7.5	30.2
Sherry Magee	LF	7.13	37.68
Elmer Flick	RF	4.95	34.39
Doc White	SP	4.37	23.84
Tully Sparks	SP	3.63	23.54
Kid Elberfeld	SS	2.9	21.36
Roy Thomas	CF	2.55	20.78
George McQuillan	SP	2.32	7.19
Ed Abbaticchio	2B	2.27	20.54
John Titus	RF	2.16	23
Fred Jacklitsch	C	0.84	8.17
Harry Coveleski	RP	0.7	2.75
Johnny Lush	SP	0.53	12.13
Doc Marshall	C	0.44	2.67
George Browne	RF	0.39	12.1
Mickey Doolin	SS	0.06	12.08
King Brady	RP	-0.02	0.13
Paul Sentell	SS	-0.06	0.02
Al Orth	SP	-0.06	15.29
Fred Burchell	SP	-0.09	0.27
Red Dooin	C	-0.21	7.72
Jesse Whiting	RP	-0.28	0
John McCloskey	RP	-0.58	0
Del Howard	LF	-1.08	7.34
Bill Duggleby	SP	-1.42	1.9
Kid Gleason	2B	-1.44	1.12
Bill Bernhard	SP	-1.54	0

Honorable Mention

The “Original” 1978 Phillies   OWAR: 57.7     OWS: 320     OPW%: .547

Clashing with the Expos and the Bucs into the final week of the ’78 season, Philadelphia emerged in third place, only two games behind Pittsburgh. The Fightin’ Phillies led the circuit in OWAR and placed runner-up to the Pirates in OWS. Greg “The Bull” Luzinski launched 35 moon-shots and knocked in 101 baserunners. First-sacker Andre Thornton blasted 33 long balls, tallied 105 RBI and scored a personal-best 97 runs. Larry Hisle delivered a .290 BA with career-bests in home runs (34) and RBI (115). Mike Schmidt struggled through a sub-par season at the dish but played stellar defensive at the hot corner, winning his third of nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards. Shortstop Larry Bowa contributed 27 steals and a .294 BA while backstop John “Bad Dude” Stearns pilfered 25 bases. Fergie “Fly” Jenkins furnished a record of 18-8 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.080 WHIP. Dick Ruthven provided 15 wins with a 3.38 ERA. Mike G. Marshall anchored the relief corps with 10 victories and 21 saves.

On Deck

The “Original” 2001 Mariners

References and Resources

Baseball America – Executive Database

Baseball-Reference

James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York, NY.: The Free Press, 2001. Print.

James, Bill, with Jim Henzler. Win Shares. Morton Grove, Ill.: STATS, 2002. Print.

Retrosheet – Transactions Database

Seamheads – Baseball Gauge

Sean Lahman Baseball Archive