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, Fergie Jenkins is listed on the Phillies roster for the duration of his career while the Pirates claim Barry Bonds and the Rays declare Carl Crawford. 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 print edition is coming soon. Additional information and a discussion forum are available at TuataraSoftware.com.

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 1999 Texas Rangers         OWAR: 50.4     OWS: 284     OPW%: .512

GM Tom Grieve acquired 79% (38 of 48) of the ballplayers on the 1999 Rangers roster. 38 of the 48 team members were selected through the Amateur Draft process. Based on the revised standings the “Original” 1999 Rangers placed six games behind the Mariners in the American League Western Division race. Texas (83-79) claimed the Wild Card by a one-game margin over Chicago and Kansas City.

Perennial All-Star backstop Ivan Rodriguez enhanced his trophy case with the 1999 A.L. MVP award. “Pudge” produced a .332 BA while notching career-bests in home runs (35), RBI (113), runs scored (116), base hits (199) and stolen bases (25). Rodriguez collected 13 Gold Glove Awards including 10 in consecutive seasons (1992-2001). “Slammin’” Sammy Sosa launched 63 moon-shots, drove in 141 baserunners and registered 114 tallies. Juan “Igor” Gonzalez belted 39 round-trippers, knocked in 128 runs and delivered a .328 BA after an MVP season in the previous campaign.

Fernando Tatis (.298/34/107) enjoyed a career year over at the hot corner, scoring 104 runs and swiping 21 bags. Rusty Greer clubbed 41 doubles, 20 big-flies and plated 101 baserunners while eclipsing the .300 mark for the fourth successive season. Rich Aurilia (.281/22/80) and Mike Stanley (.281/19/72) supplied additional thump towards the bottom of the lineup. Warren Morris parlayed a .288 BA and 15 long balls into a third-place finish in the Rookie of the Year balloting.

Rodriguez slots into 13^th place in “The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract” among backstops. He certainly elevated his ranking after playing ten additional years following the publication of NBJHBA in 2001. Right fielders Sosa and Gonzalez are listed in 45^th and 52th place, respectively.

LINEUP	POS	WAR	WS
Warren Morris	2B	1.71	15.4
Ivan Rodriguez	C	5.22	28.63
Fernando Tatis	3B	5.05	23.74
Sammy Sosa	RF	4.98	26.64
Juan Gonzalez	DH/RF	2.88	24.42
Rich Aurilia	SS	3.06	18.11
Rusty Greer	LF	2.32	21.03
Mike Stanley	1B	1.82	13.67
Terrell Lowery	CF	-0.17	3.21
BENCH	POS	WAR	WS
Rey Sanchez	SS	2.59	11.29
Jose Hernandez	SS	2.3	16.33
Dean Palmer	3B	1.04	16.71
Hanley Frias	SS	0.22	4.42
Edwin Diaz	2B	0.17	0.62
Kevin L. Brown	C	0.12	0.58
Jon Shave	SS	0.09	1.98
Bill Haselman	C	-0.04	3.84
Jeff Frye	2B	-0.13	2.35
Ruben Mateo	CF	-0.26	1.9
Kelly Dransfeldt	SS	-0.26	0.8
Chad Kreuter	C	-0.58	3.51

Kevin J. Brown, the undisputed ace of the Texas rotation, compiled a record of 18-9 with a 3.00 ERA, 1.066 WHIP and 221 strikeouts. The balance of the starting staff submitted sub-par efforts in contrast to their career norms. Jeff Zimmerman (9-3, 2.36) fashioned a 0.833 WHIP and received an invitation to the Mid-Summer Classic during his rookie campaign.

ROTATION	POS	WAR	WS
Kevin J. Brown	SP	5.54	19.92
Darren Oliver	SP	3.94	12.45
Rick Helling	SP	3.78	12.52
Kenny Rogers	SP	2.97	11.57
Wilson Alvarez	SP	1.89	9.95
BULLPEN	POS	WAR	WS
Jeff Zimmerman	RP	3.67	14.64
Mike Venafro	RP	1.19	7.36
Mark Petkovsek	RP	0.84	9.49
Terry Mathews	RP	0.31	2.54
Danny Kolb	RP	0.13	1.9
Brian Bohanon	SP	1.63	9.68
Ryan Dempster	SP	1.45	6.98
Jim Brower	SP	0.42	1.87
Robb Nen	RP	0.07	7.89
Danny Patterson	RP	-0.08	2.64
Mike Cather	RP	-0.17	0
Corey Lee	RP	-0.2	0
Jonathan Johnson	RP	-0.26	0
Bobby Witt	SP	-0.28	4.52
Billy Taylor	RP	-0.3	5.54
Dan Smith	SP	-0.34	1.73
Tony Fossas	RP	-0.39	0
Ryan Glynn	SP	-0.42	0
Scott Eyre	RP	-0.66	0
Doug Davis	RP	-0.66	0
Julio Santana	SP	-1	0.17
Matt Whiteside	RP	-1.1	0

The “Original” 1999 Texas Rangers roster

NAME	POS	WAR	WS	General Manager	Scouting Director
Kevin Brown	SP	5.54	19.92	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Ivan Rodriguez	C	5.22	28.63	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Fernando Tatis	3B	5.05	23.74	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Sammy Sosa	RF	4.98	26.64	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Darren Oliver	SP	3.94	12.45	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Rick Helling	SP	3.78	12.52	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Jeff Zimmerman	RP	3.67	14.64	Doug Melvin	Chuck McMichael
Rich Aurilia	SS	3.06	18.11	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Kenny Rogers	SP	2.97	11.57	Eddie Robinson	Joe Klein
Juan Gonzalez	RF	2.88	24.42	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Rey Sanchez	SS	2.59	11.29	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Rusty Greer	LF	2.32	21.03	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Jose Hernandez	SS	2.3	16.33	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Wilson Alvarez	SP	1.89	9.95	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Mike Stanley	1B	1.82	13.67	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Warren Morris	2B	1.71	15.4	Doug Melvin
Brian Bohanon	SP	1.63	9.68	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Ryan Dempster	SP	1.45	6.98	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Mike Venafro	RP	1.19	7.36	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Dean Palmer	3B	1.04	16.71	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Mark Petkovsek	RP	0.84	9.49	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Jim Brower	SP	0.42	1.87	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Terry Mathews	RP	0.31	2.54	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Hanley Frias	SS	0.22	4.42	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Edwin Diaz	2B	0.17	0.62	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Danny Kolb	RP	0.13	1.9	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Kevin Brown	C	0.12	0.58	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Jon Shave	SS	0.09	1.98	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Robb Nen	RP	0.07	7.89	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Bill Haselman	C	-0.04	3.84	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Danny Patterson	RP	-0.08	2.64	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Jeff Frye	2B	-0.13	2.35	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Terrell Lowery	CF	-0.17	3.21	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Mike Cather	RP	-0.17	0	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Corey Lee	RP	-0.2	0	Doug Melvin
Ruben Mateo	CF	-0.26	1.9	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Jonathan Johnson	RP	-0.26	0	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Kelly Dransfeldt	SS	-0.26	0.8	Doug Melvin
Bobby Witt	SP	-0.28	4.52	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Billy Taylor	RP	-0.3	5.54	Eddie Robinson
Dan Smith	SP	-0.34	1.73	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Tony Fossas	RP	-0.39	0	Eddie Robinson
Ryan Glynn	SP	-0.42	0	Doug Melvin	Sandy Johnson
Chad Kreuter	C	-0.58	3.51	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Scott Eyre	RP	-0.66	0	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Doug Davis	RP	-0.66	0	Doug Melvin
Julio Santana	SP	-1	0.17	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson
Matt Whiteside	RP	-1.1	0	Tom Grieve	Sandy Johnson

Honorable Mention

The “Original” 2001 Rangers              OWAR: 48.4     OWS: 278     OPW%: .513

Sosa shredded opposition pitching to the tune of a .328 BA while launching 64 moon-shots, registering 160 RBI and scoring a League-best 146 runs. Aurilia delivered career-bests with a .324 BA, 37 dingers, 97 ribbies and 114 tallies as he topped the circuit with 206 safeties. Gonzalez swatted 35 big-flies and knocked in 140 baserunners. Zimmerman notched 28 saves and Brown furnished a 2.65 ERA in 19 starts.

On Deck

The “Original” 1924 Senators

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