The greatest player in baseball right now, our very own Jose Bautista, has accumulated 6.6 WAR (rWAR, to be specific) as we enter the unofficial second half of the season. We are all aware that has been a fantastic first half of the season for the Jedi, and that he still has 70 games to produce more WAR. This means that Jose Bautista can very possibly become one of the most valuable Blue Jays in franchise history because only 14 other Jays have ever finished an entire season with 6.6 WAR or more, and out of these 14, only 5 were position players.
So, just who are the greatest WARriors in franchise history?
First, the pitchers:
| Rk | Player | WAR | Year | Age | GS | CG | SHO | W | L | IP | BB | SO | HR | HBP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roger Clemens | 10.3 | 1997 | 34 | 34 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 264.0 | 68 | 292 | 2.05 | 222 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | Pat Hentgen | 8.4 | 1996 | 27 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 265.2 | 94 | 177 | 3.22 | 156 | 20 | 5 |
| 3 | Dave Stieb | 7.7 | 1984 | 26 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 267.0 | 88 | 198 | 2.83 | 146 | 19 | 11 |
| 4 | Roy Halladay | 7.5 | 2003 | 26 | 36 | 9 | 2 | 22 | 7 | 266.0 | 32 | 204 | 3.25 | 145 | 26 | 9 |
| 5 | Roger Clemens | 7.5 | 1998 | 35 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 6 | 234.2 | 88 | 271 | 2.65 | 174 | 11 | 7 |
| 6 | Roy Halladay | 6.9 | 2002 | 25 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 239.1 | 62 | 168 | 2.93 | 159 | 10 | 7 |
| 7 | Roy Halladay | 6.8 | 2009 | 32 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 10 | 239.0 | 35 | 208 | 2.79 | 159 | 22 | 5 |
| 8 | Dave Stieb | 6.8 | 1982 | 24 | 38 | 19 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 288.1 | 75 | 141 | 3.25 | 138 | 27 | 5 |
| 9 | Jimmy Key | 6.6 | 1987 | 26 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 261.0 | 66 | 161 | 2.76 | 164 | 24 | 2 |
Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=oIeCc
Then, the position players:
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SB | CS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Olerud | 8.2 | 1993 | 24 | 158 | 679 | 551 | 109 | 200 | 24 | 107 | 114 | 33 | 65 | 0 | 2 | .363 | .473 | .599 |
| 2 | Jesse Barfield | 7.3 | 1986 | 26 | 158 | 671 | 589 | 107 | 170 | 40 | 108 | 69 | 5 | 146 | 8 | 8 | .289 | .368 | .559 |
| 3 | Vernon Wells | 6.7 | 2006 | 27 | 154 | 677 | 611 | 91 | 185 | 32 | 106 | 54 | 0 | 90 | 17 | 4 | .303 | .357 | .542 |
| 4 | Jose Bautista | 6.6 | 2011 | 30 | 84 | 376 | 299 | 73 | 100 | 31 | 65 | 74 | 14 | 54 | 5 | 3 | .334 | .468 | .702 |
| 5 | Fred McGriff | 6.6 | 1989 | 25 | 161 | 680 | 551 | 98 | 148 | 36 | 92 | 119 | 12 | 132 | 7 | 4 | .269 | .399 | .525 |
| 6 | Jesse Barfield | 6.6 | 1985 | 25 | 155 | 612 | 539 | 94 | 156 | 27 | 84 | 66 | 5 | 143 | 22 | 8 | .289 | .369 | .536 |
Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/share.cgi?id=4gp6b
George Bell's MVP season in 1987 doesn't even appear on this list, having only accumulated 5.0 WAR during the season. (Alan Trammell, who finished 2nd that year, had a 8.4 WAR)
A simple (and probably completely inaccurate) linear projection over the remaining 70 games based on Bautista's accumulation of 6.6 WAR during 84 games will give him a 12.1 WAR for the season. The 12.1 mark has only been achieved or surpassed 13 times in MLB history: Babe Ruth (4x), Barry Bonds (3x), Mickey Mantle (2x), Rogers Hornsby, Carl Yastrzemski, Walter Johnson (pitcher), and Steve Carlton (pitcher)--the record holder being Ruth with a 14.7 WAR in 1923.
There are 19 Comments. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.