SABR Series: Which Black Players Belong on SABR’s All-Time “Segregation Era” Baseball Team? with Larry McGill
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the National League, SABR is inviting members to participate in selecting a set of All-Time Eras Teams consisting of the greatest players in each era of baseball history. How do we level the statistical playing field so that black players whose greatest years took place between 1920 and 1948 get a fair shake?
As Larry Lester and John Thorn have long maintained, fair comparisons of Negro Leaguers with their white counterparts must rely on rates stats, rather than counting stats, because the shorter professional seasons of black baseball players before integration did not allow them to accumulate gaudy counting statistics in statistical categories like HRs and strikeouts.
But let’s go a step further. The metric of choice in most ‘greatest players’ discussions these days is WAR – wins above replacement. Because it is a counting stat, WAR suffers from the same limitations as other counting stats. So, let’s turn WAR into a rate stat, which could be called “WAR Production Rate” (or WPR). Using historical data from Baseball Reference, I have been able to compute both career and season-level WPR’s for all major league players meeting qualifying playing time requirements during the seasons in which they played.
Based in Washington DC, Larry McGill, Ph.D., is a member of the Babe Ruth and Bob Davids chapters of SABR and participates in the Negro Leagues and 19th Century research committees. His current baseball research interests are the role of black journalists in the founding of the Negro National League and devising fair methods for evaluating the accomplishments of Negro League players in the context of major league baseball history. Other interests include the Hall of Fame; the history of relief pitching; and the Baltimore Orioles. By day, he is a sociologist who consults with philanthropic organizations on research projects, impact assessment strategies, and ways they can contribute to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals.
Free for SABR and Museum members, included in regular admission for all other guests.