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, Nolan Ryan is listed on the Mets roster for the duration of his career while the Expos / Nationals declare Gary Carter and the Marlins claim Josh Beckett. 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. Additional information and 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 1983 St. Louis Cardinals     OWAR: 54.8     OWS: 310     OPW%: .517

GM Bing Devine acquired 73.1% (30/41) of the ballplayers on the 1983 Cardinals roster. Based on the revised standings the “Original” 1983 Cardinals edged the Expos by a single contest while pacing the National League in OWAR and OWS for the second consecutive season.

Jose Cruz (.318/14/92) topped the Senior Circuit with 189 base knocks and registered 30 Win Shares. Terry Kennedy (.284/17/98) and Ted “Simba” Simmons (.308/13/108) shared responsibilities behind the dish. First baseman Keith “Mex” Hernandez earned his sixth straight Gold Glove Award. Larry Herndon (.302/20/92) posted career-bests in batting average, hits, doubles and RBI.

Simmons ranked tenth among catchers according to Bill James in “The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract.” In total, eight ballplayers from the 1983 Cardinals roster registered in the “NBJHBA” top 100 rankings including Steve Carlton (15^th-P), Keith Hernandez (16^th-1B), Jose Cruz (29^th-LF), Andy Van Slyke (32^nd-CF), Tom Herr (40^th-2B), Garry Templeton (42^nd-SS) and Terry Kennedy (52^nd-C).

LINEUP	POS	WAR	WS
Jerry Mumphrey	CF	2.67	17.37
Tom Herr	2B	1.86	12.24
Keith Hernandez	1B	5.15	22.54
Jose Cruz	LF	5.9	30.07
Larry Herndon	RF/LF	2.81	21.25
Terry Kennedy	C	3.22	25.17
Ken Oberkfell	3B	2.37	16.6
Garry Templeton	SS	0.68	9.81
BENCH	POS	WAR	WS
Ted Simmons	C	2.93	18.46
Jim Dwyer	RF	1.6	9.25
Andy Van Slyke	LF	1.56	10.86
Leon Durham	LF	1.26	12.58
George Bjorkman	C	0.59	2.3
Bill Stein	2B	0.51	5.79
Tito Landrum	RF	0.21	1.48
Kelly Paris	3B	0.18	3.02
Bob Meacham	SS	0.12	1.89
Mike Vail	1B	0.1	2.18
Jeff Doyle	2B	-0.01	0.87
Glenn Brummer	C	-0.08	1.98
Gene Roof	LF	-0.08	0.06
Marc Hill	C	-0.27	2.02
Jim Adduci	1B	-0.27	0.06
Bake McBride	RF	-0.43	3.23
Mike Ramsey	2B	-0.57	3.52

The Redbirds’ rotation featured John Denny (19-6, 2.37), the league-leader in victories and 1983 NL Cy Young Award winner. Steve “Lefty” Carlton tallied 15 wins while striking out a League-leading 275 batsmen. Jerry Reuss contributed a 2.94 ERA along with a 12-11 record. Luis DeLeon saved 13 contests and furnished an ERA of 2.68 with a 1.045 WHIP.

ROTATION	POS	WAR	WS
John Denny	SP	6.76	22.46
Steve Carlton	SP	4.76	18.22
Jerry Reuss	SP	3.63	14.76
Danny Cox	SP	0.51	4.26
Jim Gott	SP	0.39	6.75
BULLPEN	POS	WAR	WS
Luis DeLeon	RP	1.6	13.13
Victor Cruz	RP	0.73	4.07
Mike Proly	RP	0.52	4.49
Ralph Citarella	RP	0.26	1.11
Bill Caudill	RP	-0.06	6.16
Bob Forsch	SP	-0.21	6.24
Jeff Keener	RP	-0.22	0
Tom Dixon	RP	-0.25	0
Mike Torrez	SP	-0.33	6.46
Kevin Hagen	SP	-0.38	0.39
Eric Rasmussen	SP	-0.45	1.87

 

The “Original” 1983 St. Louis Cardinals roster

 

NAME	POS	WAR	WS	General Manager	Scouting Director
John Denny	SP	6.76	22.46	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jose Cruz	LF	5.9	30.07	Bob Howsam	George Silvey
Keith Hernandez	1B	5.15	22.54	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Steve Carlton	SP	4.76	18.22	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jerry Reuss	SP	3.63	14.76	Stan Musial
Terry Kennedy	C	3.22	25.17	Bing Devine	Jim Bayens
Ted Simmons	C	2.93	18.46	Stan Musial
Larry Herndon	LF	2.81	21.25	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jerry Mumphrey	CF	2.67	17.37	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Ken Oberkfell	3B	2.37	16.6	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Tom Herr	2B	1.86	12.24	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jim Dwyer	RF	1.6	9.25	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Luis DeLeon	RP	1.6	13.13	Bing Devine	Jim Bayens
Andy Van Slyke	LF	1.56	10.86	John Claiborne	Jim Bayens
Leon Durham	LF	1.26	12.58	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Victor Cruz	RP	0.73	4.07	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Garry Templeton	SS	0.68	9.81	Bing Devine	George Silvey
George Bjorkman	C	0.59	2.3	Bing Devine	Jim Bayens
Mike Proly	RP	0.52	4.49	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Bill Stein	2B	0.51	5.79	Bing Devine
Danny Cox	SP	0.51	4.26	Whitey Herzog	Fred McAlister
Jim Gott	SP	0.39	6.75	Bing Devine	Jim Bayens
Ralph Citarella	RP	0.26	1.11	John Claiborne	Jim Bayens
Tito Landrum	RF	0.21	1.48	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Kelly Paris	3B	0.18	3.02	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Bob Meacham	SS	0.12	1.89	Whitey Herzog	Fred McAlister
Mike Vail	1B	0.1	2.18	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jeff Doyle	2B	-0.01	0.87	Bing Devine	Jim Bayens
Bill Caudill	RP	-0.06	6.16	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Glenn Brummer	C	-0.08	1.98	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Gene Roof	LF	-0.08	0.06	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Bob Forsch	SP	-0.21	6.24	Bing Devine
Jeff Keener	RP	-0.22	0	Whitey Herzog	Fred McAlister
Tom Dixon	RP	-0.25	0	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Marc Hill	C	-0.27	2.02	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Jim Adduci	1B	-0.27	0.06	John Claiborne	Jim Bayens
Mike Torrez	SP	-0.33	6.46	Bob Howsam	George Silvey
Kevin Hagen	SP	-0.38	0.39	John Claiborne	Jim Bayens
Bake McBride	RF	-0.43	3.23	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Eric Rasmussen	SP	-0.45	1.87	Bing Devine	George Silvey
Mike Ramsey	2B	-0.57	3.52	Bing Devine	George Silvey

 

Honorable Mention

The “Original” 1982 Cardinals           OWAR: 54.7     OWS: 318     OPW%: .552

The majority of the Cardinals teams from 1977-1985 consistently achieved OWAR scores above 40 and/or OWS scores above 300. Due to the roster similarities I have selected the 1992 roster for additional comment.

The “Original” 1992 Cardinals           OWAR: 47.8     OWS: 286     OPW%: .563

Andy Van Slyke (.324/14/89) led the National League with 45 doubles and 199 base knocks while accruing a team-high 35 Win Shares. Van Slyke collected his fifth consecutive Gold Glove Award and placed fourth in the NL MVP balloting. In his second full season Ray Lankford (.293/20/86) nabbed 42 bags and established a career-high with 40 doubles. Terry Pendleton replicated the output from his MVP campaign in ’91, posting a .311 BA with 21 blasts and 105 ribbies. He delivered a League-leading 199 safeties, made his lone All-Star appearance and earned runner-up status in the MVP vote. Lance “One Dog” Johnson swiped 41 bases and topped the circuit with 12 triples. Mike Perez (9-3, 1.84) and Todd Worrell (5-3, 2.11) anchored the bullpen corps.

On Deck

The “Original” 1992 Padres

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