White Sox WARs

WILBUR WOOD

     Of the many new statistics which have inundated baseball fans over the past decade or two, perhaps the most interesting is WAR (wins above replacement). This stat seeks to measure a player's value to his team by determining the number of wins he was responsible for. A WAR of 5.0, for example, means that the team won five more games with the given player in the lineup than it would have won with an average player in his place.
     Not including 19th-century pitchers who appeared in almost every game, the highest single-season WAR of all time was Babe Ruth's 14.7 in 1923. The Bambino is also the career leader in WAR with 190.0.
     What about White Sox WARs? In 1971, lefty knuckleballer Wilbur Wood went 22-13 with an earned-run average of 1.91, completed 22 of his 42 starts, tossed seven shutouts, and allowed exactly one baserunner (hits and walks combined) for each of his 334 innings. His performance on the mound earned him a WAR of 10.7, the highest figure for any pitcher or position player in club history.
     Alas, in those days before the designated hitter, Wood's contributions at the plate left something to be desired. He went 5-for-96 (.052), with no doubles, no triples, no homers, and no runs batted in. His WAR as a batter, even though it was measured against other pitchers, was minus 0.7, reducing his overall figure for the season to 10.0. In the list of all-time leading White Sox WARs below, we've cut Wilbur and his fellow hurlers some slack, listing their figures as pitchers only, and not docking them for their lack of hitting prowess.
     Among position players, unsung shortstop Ron Hansen cracked the top ten single-season White Sox WARs in 1964, largely on the strength of his 2.8 figure on defense. Hansen's 4.6 on offense gave him a total WAR of 7.4, tied for seventh place among all position players in club history. On the other side of the coin, Dick Allen, Frank Thomas, and Albert Belle all tallied negative scores on defense, but these were more than offset by their offensive production.

Top Ten White Sox WARs, single season (pitchers)

  1. Wilbur Wood (1971), 10.7
  2. Eddie Cicotte (1917), 10.0
  3. Red Faber (1921), 9.9
  3. Ed Walsh (1912), 9.9
  5. Wilbur Wood (1972), 9.7
  6. Ed Walsh (1908), 9.5
  7. Eddie Cicotte (1919), 8.8
  8. Ed Walsh (1910), 8.7
  9. Thornton Lee (1941), 8.2
10. Ed Walsh (1911), 8.2


Top Ten White Sox WARs, single season (position players)

  1. Eddie Collins, 2B (1915), 10.1
  2. Dick Allen, 1B (1972), 9.3
  3. Minnie Minoso, LF (1954), 8.3
  4. Eddie Collins, 2B (1920), 8.0
  5. Luke Appling, SS (1936), 7.7
  6. Frank Thomas, 1B (1992), 7.6
  7. Albert Belle, LF (1998), 7.4
  7. George Davis, SS (1905), 7.4
  7. Ron Hansen, SS (1964), 7.4
  7. Joe Jackson, LF (1920), 7.4
  7. Frank Thomas, 1B (1991), 7.4


Top Ten White Sox WARs, career (pitchers)

  1. Ted Lyons (1923-1942), 58.8
  2. Red Faber (1914-1933), 55.2
  3. Ed Walsh (1904-1916), 55.0
  4. Billy Pierce (1949-1961), 50.3
  5. Wilbur Wood (1967-1978), 44.9
  6. Eddie Cicotte (1912-1920), 43.1
  7. Mark Buehrle (2000-present), 42.9
  8. Doc White (1903-1913), 29.9
  9. Thornton Lee (1937-1947), 28.0
10. Tommy John (1965-1971), 22.5


Top Ten White Sox WARs, career (position players)

  1. Frank Thomas, 1B-DH (1990-2005), 70.6
  2. Luke Appling, SS (1930-1950), 69.3
  3. Eddie Collins, 2B (1915-1926), 66.0
  4. Nellie Fox, 2B (1950-1963), 42.7
  5. Minnie Minoso, OF (1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964, 1976, 1980), 42.7
  6. Robin Ventura, 3B (1989-1998), 38.8
  7. Fielder Jones, OF (1901-1908), 35.1
  8. George Davis, SS (1902, 1904-1909), 33.4
  9. Luis Aparicio, SS (1956-1961, 1968-1970), 31.5
10. Carlton Fisk, C (1981-1993), 29.6