Rk | Player | WAR/pos | From | To | HR | RBI | SB | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike Trout | 46.9 | 2011 | 2016 | 165 | 484 | 134 | .306 | .404 | .560 |
2 | Ty Cobb | 46.7 | 1905 | 1911 | 36 | 601 | 341 | .359 | .407 | .501 |
3 | Mickey Mantle | 40.9 | 1951 | 1956 | 173 | 575 | 43 | .308 | .412 | .560 |
4 | Alex Rodriguez | 38.0 | 1994 | 2000 | 189 | 595 | 133 | .309 | .374 | .561 |
5 | Ken Griffey | 37.0 | 1989 | 1994 | 172 | 543 | 88 | .306 | .379 | .541 |
6 | Mel Ott | 36.8 | 1926 | 1933 | 176 | 711 | 38 | .315 | .412 | .548 |
7 | Rogers Hornsby | 36.1 | 1915 | 1920 | 36 | 360 | 71 | .323 | .384 | .467 |
8 | Jimmie Foxx | 36.0 | 1925 | 1932 | 174 | 667 | 29 | .336 | .432 | .625 |
9 | Arky Vaughan | 34.3 | 1932 | 1936 | 53 | 429 | 33 | .336 | .429 | .496 |
10 | Ted Williams | 34.2 | 1939 | 1942 | 127 | 515 | 11 | .356 | .481 | .642 |
11 | Al Kaline | 33.5 | 1953 | 1959 | 125 | 544 | 51 | .311 | .374 | .489 |
12 | Eddie Mathews | 31.5 | 1952 | 1956 | 190 | 492 | 26 | .279 | .388 | .559 |
13 | Andruw Jones | 31.0 | 1996 | 2001 | 150 | 465 | 106 | .268 | .337 | .487 |
14 | Vada Pinson | 30.9 | 1958 | 1963 | 102 | 446 | 131 | .309 | .355 | .492 |
15 | Johnny Bench | 30.7 | 1967 | 1972 | 154 | 512 | 20 | .271 | .334 | .488 |
The best player in the game might be having his best year yet - he's already at +9 WAR (more than a full win better than anybody else), with a .320 average, 26 HR, 103 runs, 87 RBI, 21 SB, and a league-leading .438 OBP.
The best young player who didn't go on to have a Hall of Fame career? Vada Pinson is the highest ranking player in the above list who is eligible for the Hall of Fame but isn't inducted, although Andruw Jones will probably join him when he becomes eligible in a couple years.
Vada Pinson a nobody, well I mean that in the sense that I bet it's a great story that I've never heard
ReplyDeleteMy dad's favorite player when as a kid.
DeleteThe Reds came up with Pinson and Frank Robinson in the '50s, and both were starters at age 20. Notice you don't see Robinson in the above list, which should tell you that Vada was at least as promising as Frank as a young player. But Pinson receded to average in the late '60s, while Robinson went to Baltimore, won the Triple Crown, and had the second half of a Hall of Fame career.
FYI: The author only listed the top 15. Frank Robinson wasn't far behind, he was #18 on that list.
DeleteWilliams would be much higher on that list if not for WWII. He was in military service in his age 24 season. The value listed for Williams is actually his year 23 WAR, which stayed flat till he returned to MLB at age 27.
ReplyDeleteYep. If Williams had played a full season in 1943, he would rank at least 4th on that list, and probably 3rd (behind only Trout and Cobb).
DeleteThe differences in games played are not shown here, some of these men were regulars before age 20 and some were not. As noted, Ted Williams missed his age 24 season.
ReplyDeleteVada Pinson should not be listed. While many sources have him playing regularly at age 20, he had lied about his birth year. He was actually 22 years old that season