The Sports Stats Guy

Note for links: In the past I have linked the names of players to Baseball-Reference (BRef), but for catchers, I am linking to FanGraphs due to BRef not incorporating framing into their WAR calc for catchers, while FanGraphs does. Catcher is an interesting position in baseball, one of contradictions. When a fan imagines the prototypical backstop, besides the iconic equipment and glove, an athletic specimen is generally not the first thing that comes to mind. Shortstops, center fielders, third basemen, those positions all require a certain mix of arm strength, agility, speed (in the case of the CF), and instincts. Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Adrian Beltre, they all spring to the forefront of examples of elite athletes. And it's true that all of those are important defensive spots, especially SS. As for catchers? Well, the above picture is a pretty good representation of appearances throughout the history of the game: a stocky, short player, but one with a strong arm whose things an...

Disclaimer: When I use  WAR  without a "b" or "f" in front of it, I am referring to my modified version which calculates park factors differently from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs. Additionally, "wRC+" also refers to my own calculation, slightly different from FG (in that I separate the leagues and also include IBBs). Finally, using my calculations of WAR and wRC+, I have calculated waaWL% separate from BRef. However, versions of WAR, wRC+, and waaWL% are close to what those aforementioned sites have. We started this series looking at the top 10 second basemen of all-time, with numbers 10-6 getting their opportunity in the spotlight. Now, we head to the top 5, and amongst this group are, in my view, the second greatest top 5 of any position (only behind the top 5 CFs). We have arguably the best RH hitter ever, the first superstar in the history of the AL, two elite speedsters with terrific hitting peaks, and the man who broke the color barrier and is ...