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. 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 teams with the biggest single-season difference in the WAR and Win Shares for the “Original” vs. “Actual” rosters for every Major League organization. “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

AWAR – Wins Above Replacement for players on “actual” teams

AWS – Win Shares for players on “actual” teams

APW% – Pythagorean Won-Loss record for the “actual” teams

Assessment

The 1984 San Francisco Giants 

OWAR: 42.9     OWS: 294     OPW%: .508     (82-80)

AWAR: 27.7      AWS: 198     APW%: .407     (66-96)

WARdiff: 15.2                        WSdiff: 96  

The “Original” 1984 Giants ended the season with a winning record but merely earned a fifth place finish, 9 games behind the Astros. Gary “Sarge” Matthews established a career-best with 101 runs scored while pacing the circuit with 103 walks and a .410 OBP. Chili Davis contributed a .315 BA and merited his first All-Star invitation. Dave “Kong” Kingman walloped 35 four-baggers and knocked in a personal-best 118 baserunners. Bob Brenly achieved his lone All-Star nod with a .291 BA, 20 dingers and 80 ribbies. Jack Clark supplied a .320 BA with 11 long balls prior to a season-ending injury in mid-June. Dan “Dazzle” Gladden ignited the offense following his recall from the minor leagues in late June, posting a .351 BA and swiping 31 bags.

Jack Clark is ranked 27^th among right fielders according to Bill James in “The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract.” “Original” Giants teammates listed in the “NBJHBA” top 100 rankings include George Foster (34th-LF), Gary Matthews (46th-LF), Garry Maddox (56th-CF), Chili Davis (64th-RF), Chris Speier (68th-SS) and Dave Kingman (98th-LF).  Al Oliver (31th-CF), Manny Trillo (49th-2B) and Dusty Baker (54th-LF) make the register for the “Actual” Giants. 

  Original 1984 Giants                              Actual 1984 Giants

LINEUP	POS	OWAR	OWS	LINEUP	POS	AWAR	AWS
Gary Matthews	LF	2.68	22.93	Jeffrey Leonard	LF	2.38	20.37
Dan Gladden	CF	2.81	16.46	Dan Gladden	CF	2.81	16.46
Chili Davis	RF/CF	4.19	21.58	Chili Davis	RF/CF	4.19	21.58
John Rabb	1B	-0.14	1.01	Scot Thompson	1B	0.35	6.89
	2B			Manny Trillo	2B	0.76	8.83
Johnnie LeMaster	SS	-0.47	7.23	Johnnie LeMaster	SS	-0.47	7.23
Chris Brown	3B	0.31	2.26	Joel Youngblood	3B	-0.89	9.5
Bob Brenly	C	3.58	21.32	Bob Brenly	C	3.58	21.32
BENCH	POS	OWAR	OWS	BENCH	POS	AWAR	AWS
Dave Kingman	DH	2.49	21.48	Jack Clark	RF	2.01	11.84
George Foster	LF	1.16	18.27	Dusty Baker	RF	1.19	8.81
Jack Clark	RF	2.01	11.84	Al Oliver	1B	-0.85	6.56
Bob Kearney	C	0.26	8.63	Steve Nicosia	C	0.79	4.99
Garry Maddox	CF	0.53	6.67	Brad Wellman	2B	-0.45	3.74
Chris Speier	SS	-0.24	2.96	Chris Brown	3B	0.31	2.26
Rob Deer	LF	0.28	1.24	Fran Mullins	3B	0.24	2.08
Randy Gomez	C	-0.02	0.18	Gene Richards	LF	-0.04	1.92
Tom O’Malley	3B	-0.5	0.03	Rob Deer	LF	0.28	1.24
Jose Morales	–	-0.19	0	John Rabb	1B	-0.14	1.01
Casey Parsons	–	-0.01	0	Duane Kuiper	2B	-1.06	0.82
				Randy Gomez	C	-0.02	0.18
				Joe Pittman	SS	-0.17	0.12
				Alejandro Sanchez	RF	-0.4	0.08
				Tom O’Malley	3B	-0.29	0.01

Bob Knepper rebounded from an 11-28 mark in the previous two campaigns to achieve a 15-10 record with a 3.20 ERA and 1.190 WHIP. Gary Lavelle notched 12 saves and fashioned a 2.76 ERA as the primary closer. Frank Williams collected 9 victories in a long relief role during his rookie year.

  Original 1984 Giants                                   Actual 1984 Giants

ROTATION	POS	OWAR	OWS	ROTATION	POS	AWAR	AWS
Bob Knepper	SP	2.16	12.43	Bill Laskey	SP	-0.02	4.8
Pete Falcone	SP	0.91	5.33	Mike Krukow	SP	-1.04	3.94
John Montefusco	SP	0.58	3.27	Jeff D. Robinson	SP	-0.67	2.84
Jeff D. Robinson	SP	-0.67	2.84	Atlee Hammaker	SP	0.96	2.28
Mark Calvert	SP	-0.39	0.22	George Riley	SP	0.19	0.98
BULLPEN	POS	OWAR	OWS	BULLPEN	POS	AWAR	AWS
Gary Lavelle	RP	1.78	7.85	Gary Lavelle	RP	1.78	7.85
Frank Williams	RP	0.43	5.7	Greg Minton	RP	-0.02	6.29
John Henry Johnson	RP	1.22	4.39	Frank Williams	RP	0.43	5.7
Scott Garrelts	SW	-1.13	0	Randy Lerch	RP	0.11	2.58
Gorman Heimueller	RP	-0.7	0	Bob Lacey	RP	-0.07	1.51
Mark Grant	SP	-1.1	0	Renie Martin	RP	-0.09	0.99
				Mark Calvert	SP	-0.39	0.22
				Mark W. Davis	SP	-1.91	0.18
				Jeff Cornell	RP	-1.25	0
				Scott Garrelts	SW	-1.13	0
				Mark Grant	SP	-1.1	0

Notable Transactions

Gary Matthews

November 17, 1976: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.

March 25, 1981: Traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bob Walk.

March 26, 1984: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Porfi Altamirano and Bob Dernier to the Chicago Cubs for Bill Campbell and Mike Diaz.

Dave Kingman

February 28, 1975: Purchased by the New York Mets from the San Francisco Giants for $150,000.

June 15, 1977: Traded by the New York Mets to the San Diego Padres for Paul Siebert and Bobby Valentine.

September 6, 1977: Selected off waivers by the California Angels from the San Diego Padres.

September 15, 1977: Traded by the California Angels to the New York Yankees for Randy Stein and cash.

November 2, 1977: Granted Free Agency.

November 30, 1977: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.

February 28, 1981: Traded by the Chicago Cubs to the New York Mets for Steve Henderson and cash.

January 30, 1984: Released by the New York Mets.

March 29, 1984: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.

George Foster

May 29, 1971: Traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Cincinnati Reds for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert.

February 10, 1982: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Mets for Greg Harris, Jim Kern and Alex Trevino.

Bob Knepper

December 8, 1980: Traded by the San Francisco Giants with Chris Bourjos to the Houston Astros for Enos Cabell.

Honorable Mention

The 1906 New York Giants 

OWAR: 65.9     OWS: 361     OPW%: .591     (91-63)

AWAR: 50.8       AWS: 287      APW%: .632    (96-56)

WARdiff: 15.1                        WSdiff: 74

The New York Giants secured the organization’s fourth consecutive pennant in 1906 with a record of 91-63, placing three games in front of the St. Louis Cardinals. Third-sacker Art Devlin pilfered 54 bases and delivered a .299 BA. Harry H. Davis topped the leader boards with 12 big-flies and 96 ribbies. Converted outfielder Cy Seymour nabbed 29 bags and drove in 80 baserunners while “Wee” Willie Keeler batted .304 with 23 steals. Christy Mathewson furnished 22 victories along with a 2.97 ERA. Left-hander Hooks Wiltse recorded 16 wins with an ERA of 2.27 and a WHIP of 1.143.

On Deck

What Might Have Been – The “Original” 2004 Royals

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

The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at “www.retrosheet.org”.

Seamheads – Baseball Gauge

Sean Lahman Baseball Archive