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, Frank E. Thomas is listed on the White Sox roster for the duration of his career while the Yankees declare Fred McGriff and the Twins claim Rod Carew. 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 will be available soon. Additional information and a discussion forum are available 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 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers      OWAR: 47.1     OWS: 289     OPW%: .546

Five General Managers shaped the roster of the 2012 Dodgers over a 24-year period. Henry Blanco (1989) and Miguel Cairo (1990) were acquired before Paco Rodriguez was born! 37 of the 49 team members were selected through the Amateur Draft process. Notable exceptions (signed as amateur free agents) include Hiroki Kuroda, Adrian Beltre and Carlos Santana. Based on the revised standings the “Original” 2012 Dodgers edged the Diamondbacks by two games to secure the National League Western Division crown.

Adrian Beltre paced Los Angeles with 28 Win Shares, collected his fourth Gold Glove Award and posted a .321 BA with 36 round-trippers. Three backstops made significant contributions to the Dodgers in 2012 as A.J. Ellis, Russell Martin and Carlos Santana combined for 52 circuit clouts. Matt “The Bison” Kemp batted .303 with 23 jacks in an injury-shortened campaign and first-sacker Paul Konerko swatted 26 big-flies.

LINEUP	POS	WAR	WS
Alejandro DeAza	LF/CF	2.78	17.96
A. J. Ellis	C	3.86	21.15
Adrian Beltre	3B	4.16	28.4
Matt Kemp	CF	2.92	20.41
Paul Konerko	1B	2.24	18.69
Shane Victorino	RF/LF	2.31	18.05
Tony Abreu	2B	-0.07	1.24
Dee Gordon	SS	-0.36	3.86
BENCH	POS	WAR	WS
Russell Martin	C	3.26	11.15
Carlos Santana	C	3.12	19.28
Justin Ruggiano	CF	2.24	12.17
David Ross	C	1.28	7.63
Franklin Gutierrez	CF	0.9	4.56
Xavier Paul	LF	0.34	2.91
Trayvon Robinson	LF	0.32	2.54
Elian Herrera	LF	0.28	4.7
Ivan De Jesus	2B	-0.08	0.71
Jason Repko	CF	-0.13	0.2
Jerry Sands	LF	-0.15	0.11
Scott Van Slyke	RF	-0.31	0.39
Koyie Hill	C	-0.33	0.17
Blake DeWitt	2B	-0.36	0.21
Henry Blanco	C	-0.4	1.46
Josh Bell	3B	-0.45	0.25
Miguel Cairo	1B	-1.08	1.01
James Loney	1B	-1.28	4.62

Clayton Kershaw (14-9, 2.53) led the National League in ERA and WHIP (1.023) while placing runner-up in the Cy Young balloting. Hiroki Kuroda notched a career-best 16 victories along with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.165 WHIP. The bullpen excelled as Jonathan Broxton, Joel Hanrahan and Kenley Jansen saved a collective 90 games.

ROTATION	POS	WAR	WS
Clayton Kershaw	SP	6.1	19.56
Hiroki Kuroda	SP	5.38	16.72
Eric Stults	SP	1.71	6.82
Edwin Jackson	SP	1.64	8.43
Chad Billingsley	SP	1.53	8.3
BULLPEN	POS	WAR	WS
Kenley Jansen	RP	1.52	13.48
Jonathan Broxton	RP	1.17	10.11
Joel Hanrahan	RP	1.16	10.39
Wesley Wright	RP	0.84	4.61
Javy Guerra	RP	0.77	5.1
Steve Johnson	SP	1.53	5.08
Nathan Eovaldi	SP	0.7	3.86
James McDonald	SP	0.64	7.12
Scott Elbert	RP	0.63	3.36
Ted Lilly	SP	0.3	3.36
Paco Rodriguez	RP	0.2	0.65
Josh Lindblom	RP	0.11	4.07
Bryan Morris	RP	0.03	0.36
Josh Wall	RP	-0.05	0.34
Rubby De La Rosa	RP	-0.17	0
Shawn Tolleson	RP	-0.31	1.7
Takashi Saito	RP	-0.83	0
Cory Wade	RP	-1.18	0

The “Original” 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers roster

NAME	POS	WAR	WS	General Manager	Scouting DIrector
Clayton Kershaw	SP	6.1	19.56	Ned Colletti	Logan White
Hiroki Kuroda	SP	5.38	16.72	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
Adrian Beltre	3B	4.16	28.4	Fred Claire	Terry Reynolds
A. J. Ellis	C	3.86	21.15	Dan Evans	Logan White
Russell Martin	C	3.26	11.15	Dan Evans	Logan White
Carlos Santana	C	3.12	19.28	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Matt Kemp	CF	2.92	20.41	Dan Evans	Logan White
Alejandro De Aza	CF	2.78	17.96	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Shane Victorino	LF	2.31	18.05	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Paul Konerko	1B	2.24	18.69	Fred Claire	Terry Reynolds
Justin Ruggiano	CF	2.24	12.17	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Eric Stults	SP	1.71	6.82	Dan Evans	Logan White
Edwin Jackson	SP	1.64	8.43	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Chad Billingsley	SP	1.53	8.3	Dan Evans	Logan White
Steve Johnson	SP	1.53	5.08	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Kenley Jansen	RP	1.52	13.48	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
David Ross	C	1.28	7.63	Fred Claire	Terry Reynolds
Jonathan Broxton	RP	1.17	10.11	Dan Evans	Logan White
Joel Hanrahan	RP	1.16	10.39	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Franklin Gutierrez	CF	0.9	4.56	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Wesley Wright	RP	0.84	4.61	Dan Evans	Logan White
Javy Guerra	RP	0.77	5.1	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Nathan Eovaldi	SP	0.7	3.86	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
James McDonald	SP	0.64	7.12	Dan Evans	Logan White
Scott Elbert	RP	0.63	3.36	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Xavier Paul	LF	0.34	2.91	Dan Evans	Logan White
Trayvon Robinson	LF	0.32	2.54	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Ted Lilly	SP	0.3	3.36	Fred Claire	Terry Reynolds
Elian Herrera	LF	0.28	4.7	Dan Evans	Logan White
Paco Rodriguez	RP	0.2	0.65	Ned Colletti	Logan White
Josh Lindblom	RP	0.11	4.07	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
Bryan Morris	RP	0.03	0.36	Ned Colletti	Logan White
Josh Wall	RP	-0.05	0.34	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Tony Abreu	2B	-0.07	1.24	Dan Evans	Logan White
Ivan De Jesus	2B	-0.08	0.71	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Jason Repko	CF	-0.13	0.2	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Jerry Sands	LF	-0.15	0.11	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
Rubby De La Rosa	RP	-0.17	0	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
Scott Van Slyke	RF	-0.31	0.39	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Shawn Tolleson	RP	-0.31	1.7	Ned Colletti	Logan White
Koyie Hill	C	-0.33	0.17	Kevin Malone	Ed Creech
Blake DeWitt	2B	-0.36	0.21	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Dee Gordon	SS	-0.36	3.86	Ned Colletti	Tim Hallgren
Henry Blanco	C	-0.4	1.46	Fred Claire	Ben Wade
Josh Bell	3B	-0.45	0.25	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
Takashi Saito	RP	-0.83	0	Ned Colletti	Logan White
Miguel Cairo	1B	-1.08	1.01	Fred Claire	Ben Wade
Cory Wade	RP	-1.18	0	Paul DePodesta	Logan White
James Loney	1B	-1.28	4.62	Dan Evans	Logan White

Honorable Mention

The “Original” 1973 Dodgers             OWAR: 45.9     OWS: 308     OPW%: .552

Jack Billingham (19-10, 3.04), Bill Singer (20-14, 3.22) and Don Sutton (18-10, 2.42) established a formidable rotation for the L.A. crew. Joe Ferguson (.263/25/88) topped the squad with 26 Win Shares. Ron Cey smashed 15 long balls and knocked in 80 runs in his rookie campaign. Los Angeles tied Cincinnati for second place with a record of 89-73 as Houston claimed the Western Division title with 92 victories.

On Deck

The “Original” 2005 Angels

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