From Banks to Buckner

These rankings are based on four primary factors: WAR (Wins Above Replacement) according to baseball-reference.com, WAR according to fangraphs.com, peak WAR, and Playing Time. Playing Time (plate appearances for hitters and innings pitched for pitchers) is adjusted to match the scale of WAR by dividing career PA by 300 or career IP by 120.

I make several adjustments, the results of which are shown in the bWARadj, fWARadj , and PTadj columns. The WAR and Playing Time of relief pitchers and catchers are adjusted up, because those positions generally struggle to accumulate both WAR and PT. WAR and PT during the segregation era (1876-1946) are both discounted by 7.6% (see Jason Linden’s excellent analysis for that). I attempt to account for players who missed time due to military service, as well as players who played during the war-shortened seasons of 1918 and 1919, and the COVID-shortened 2020 season. No adjustments are made for strike-shortened seasons. Finally, I have applied a 20% discount to the stats of Sammy Sosa from the years 1998-2004 to account for his likely steroid use. This drops him from 7th on the list to 9th.

There are also bonus points added for various awards and achievements, seen below, to arrive at the player’s total ATC score:

MLB Hall of Fame5.00
MVP5.00
Cy Young5.00
Hank Aaron Award3.00
Rookie of the Year2.00
Roberto Clemente Award2.00
Gold Glove0.50
Silver Slugger0.50
All-Star Game selection0.50
Playoff Appearance/Pennant1.50
World Series Championship3.00
Playoff WPA (in place of WAR)
Playoff PT

Updated through October 5, 2022

Name bWAR fWAR
PA

IP
bWARadj fWARadj HighBR HighFG PTadj Bonuses ATC
1 Ernie Banks 67.9 63.2 10,396 67.9 63.2 49.1 45.4 34.7 22.5 282.8
2 Cap Anson 85.0 81.6 10,123 79.2 76.1 40.5 39.2 31.4 12.9 279.7
3 Ron Santo 72.2 72.2 8,979 72.2 72.2 39.8 38.7 29.9 12.0 264.8
4 Ryne Sandberg 68.1 60.9 9,276 68.1 60.9 36.6 34.0 30.9 27.2 257.8
5 Gabby Hartnett 55.1 52.6 7,135 62.9 60.0 32.5 32.3 27.1 18.1 232.8
6 Billy Williams 61.9 58.9 9,504 61.9 58.9 33.8 32.5 31.7 10.0 228.8
7 Fergie Jenkins 55.0 55.2
2,673.7 56.2 55.9 26.7 29.4 22.9 11.5 202.5
8 Stan Hack 55.5 56.0 8,509 51.3 51.8 28.2 27.6 26.2 16.1 201.1
9 Sammy Sosa 58.8 60.7 7,898 51.4 53.0 25.7 25.8 23.2 21.7 200.9
10 Frank Chance 46.1 48.1 5,102 43.6 45.3 27.2 29.0 16.1 22.8 184.0
11 Mordecai Brown 48.1 41.0
2,329.0 48.0 41.3 27.5 20.3 19.6 25.1 181.9
12 Rick Reuschel 49.2 47.7
2,290.0 49.4 48.1 26.7 22.2 19.2 2.0 167.6
13 Mark Grace 44.1 44.1 8,234 44.1 44.1 19.4 20.0 27.4 8.7 163.8
14 Joe Tinker 45.6 46.7 6,166 42.1 43.2 19.6 19.8 18.9 19.1 162.6
15 Charlie Root 38.2 39.9
3,137.3 40.2 41.6 22.7 22.1 27.8 6.1 160.4
16 Johnny Evers 39.6 41.2 5,653 36.6 38.1 19.4 19.6 17.4 25.8 156.8
17 Anthony Rizzo 36.6 32.1 5,639 38.5 33.5 19.3 16.8 20.2 23.4 151.7
18 Billy Herman 42.1 40.4 6,166 38.9 37.3 21.8 20.8 19.0 12.6 150.4
19 Hippo Vaughn 40.7 35.8
2,216.3 40.9 35.8 22.6 17.0 18.3 14.5 149.1
20 Phil Cavarretta 36.3 33.5 7,511 33.9 31.2 23.7 22.4 23.3 11.3 145.8
21 Greg Maddux 34.9 36.6
2,016.0 34.9 36.7 20.6 19.1 16.8 15.2 143.3
22 Wild Bill Hutchinson 41.6 43.1
3,022.3 38.4 39.8 20.2 21.5 23.3 0.0 143.2
23 Carlos Zambrano 43.1 36.5
1,826.7 43.2 36.7 21.1 16.2 15.4 9.2 141.9
24 Pete Alexander 43.2 35.4
1,884.3 41.2 33.7 23.6 16.5 14.9 7.9 137.8
25 Jimmy Ryan 36.0 37.3 7,560 33.3 34.5 20.0 20.3 23.2 2.8 133.6
26 Clark Griffith 47.2 33.8
2,188.7 43.6 31.2 21.7 13.7 16.9 4.6 131.7
27 Bill Nicholson 38.4 37.9 5,615 35.6 35.1 18.6 19.2 17.4 4.0 129.8
28 Kris Bryant 27.7 30.7 3,626 28.6 30.9 14.8 16.8 12.9 25.1 129.0
29 Bob Rush 32.7 38.1
2,132.7 33.0 38.8 17.3 17.5 18.1 1.0 125.6
30 Claude Passeau 34.7 33.9
1,914.7 32.9 32.6 17.1 15.5 15.4 11.6 125.2
31 Ned Williamson 36.3 38.1 4,522 33.9 35.5 16.4 17.0 14.0 6.9 123.6
32 Wildfire Schulte 21.7 28.5 6,620 20.1 26.3 13.5 15.6 20.3 27.1 122.9
33 Lon Warneke 30.5 26.2
1,624.7 30.7 27.3 18.9 14.4 14.3 11.2 116.8
34 Johnny Kling 25.8 20.1 3,876 29.5 23.0 19.3 15.0 14.7 13.6 115.1
35 John Clarkson 36.6 30.8
1,730.7 33.8 28.5 17.7 13.2 13.3 8.3 114.8
36 Kerry Wood 26.6 24.4
1,279.0 28.4 26.3 17.8 16.1 11.6 10.9 111.1
37 Bill Dahlen 34.1 35.8 4,521 31.5 33.1 15.7 15.9 13.9 0.0 110.1
38 Bruce Sutter 18.4 16.0
493.0 31.7 27.6 16.8 14.4 7.1 12.0 109.6
39 Bill Lee 27.4 28.2
2,271.3 26.1 26.9 19.0 13.6 18.2 4.2 107.9
40 Kiki Cuyler 26.3 29.2 4,196 24.3 27.0 13.0 14.7 12.9 13.6 105.6
41 Hack Wilson 31.4 33.8 3,720 29.0 31.2 12.7 13.5 11.5 6.7 104.6
42 Lee Smith 18.8 15.3
681.3 31.9 26.0 17.0 12.4 9.5 7.6 104.4
43 Heinie Zimmerman 24.0 26.4 3,985 22.2 24.4 15.1 16.4 12.3 13.6 103.9
44 Kyle Hendricks 23.0 21.6
1,312.3 26.6 24.9 13.7 12.1 12.1 14.5 103.8
45 Aramis Ramirez 24.2 25.7 4,705 24.2 25.7 13.3 13.0 15.7 9.8 101.7
46 Larry Corcoran 26.4 27.6
2,338.3 24.4 25.5 12.7 12.4 18.0 8.3 101.3
47 Ed Reulbach 26.0 16.6
1,864.7 25.3 16.3 18.5 9.6 15.4 15.6 100.7
48 Javier Baez 21.6 19.9 3,069 23.0 20.8 14.9 14.1 11.6 14.7 98.9
49 Woody English 26.8 27.4 4,943 24.8 25.3 13.9 14.0 15.2 5.0 98.1
50 Andy Pafko 27.2 25.8 3,996 25.8 24.4 15.9 15.4 12.6 4.0 98.0
51 King Kelly 23.9 24.2 3,072 23.8 24.1 13.9 13.9 10.1 11.6 97.9
52 Jake Arrieta 19.1 19.0
889.3 19.1 19.0 13.6 12.3 7.4 24.9 96.4
53 George Gore 28.6 29.9 3,306 26.4 27.6 11.6 12.3 10.2 6.9 95.0
54 Orval Overall 19.3 21.3
1,135.0 18.6 20.7 12.3 10.3 9.2 21.9 93.0
55 Bill Hands 24.4 23.4
1,564.0 25.7 24.3 15.0 14.2 13.8 0.0 92.9
56 Willson Contreras 20.6 15.1 2,818 27.0 21.4 9.8 8.8 12.9 12.8 92.7
57 Derrek Lee 22.6 22.3 4,021 22.6 22.3 14.3 13.3 13.4 5.8 91.6
58 Rick Sutcliffe 24.1 22.3
1,267.3 24.1 22.3 12.2 10.8 10.6 11.5 91.5
59 Johnny Schmitz 16.4 14.7
1,198.7 27.7 23.8 13.0 10.0 15.0 0.9 90.4
60 Solly Hofman 16.3 18.9 3,544 15.1 17.5 11.1 12.4 10.9 21.2 88.1
61 Tom Burns 22.6 23.3 5,156 20.9 21.5 11.0 11.2 15.9 6.9 87.7
62 Riggs Stephenson 24.5 25.6 3,965 22.6 23.7 12.7 13.3 12.2 3.1 87.6
63 Jody Davis 17.1 18.5 3,688 21.3 23.0 11.1 11.1 15.3 5.4 87.3
64 Jimmy Sheckard 19.1 23.5 4,402 17.6 21.7 8.5 10.0 13.5 13.8 85.2
65 Jack Taylor 21.6 20.3
1,810.0 20.3 19.1 14.4 9.5 14.2 6.5 84.0
66 Charlie Hollocher 23.6 23.7 3,394 23.1 23.3 11.6 12.2 11.0 1.6 82.8
67 Fred Pfeffer 21.3 23.1 4,628 19.7 21.3 12.4 13.0 14.3 2.8 82.8
68 Harry Steinfeldt 19.3 20.4 3,004 17.8 18.8 9.4 9.8 9.2 16.2 81.3
69 Dick Ellsworth 18.3 19.5
1,613.3 18.5 19.7 15.5 12.6 13.6 0.5 80.5
70 Jon Lester 13.5 17.0
1,002.7 13.2 17.5 8.6 9.1 9.2 22.8 80.4
71 Andre Dawson 18.8 17.2 3,520 18.8 17.2 8.9 7.7 11.7 15.7 80.1
72 Guy Bush 15.5 17.2
2,201.7 16.1 18.2 13.7 9.7 19.0 3.2 79.8
73 Larry French 22.1 20.4
1,486.0 22.0 20.4 11.4 9.5 12.4 3.6 79.3
74 Pat Malone 18.8 22.8
1,632.0 18.7 22.5 10.4 10.8 13.4 3.1 79.0
75 Ryan Dempster 18.5 17.4
1,182.7 19.4 19.2 14.2 11.0 11.2 3.7 78.6
76 Bill Lange 23.2 24.8 3,620 21.5 22.9 10.1 11.0 11.1 0.0 76.6
77 Ken Holtzman 16.1 18.7
1,447.0 15.7 18.4 13.1 14.5 12.3 2.0 76.0
78 Hank Sauer 19.0 18.5 3,569 18.6 18.2 10.0 9.9 11.7 5.7 74.1
79 Randy Hundley 11.8 12.8 3,489 14.8 16.0 13.3 13.4 14.5 1.0 72.9
80 Jimmy Slagle 14.4 18.8 3,984 13.3 17.4 8.2 9.1 12.1 12.7 72.8
81 Rogers Hornsby 16.2 16.8 1,321 15.0 15.5 11.3 11.9 4.1 12.2 70.0
82 Augie Galan 18.2 17.7 3,781 16.8 16.4 10.4 10.6 11.6 3.5 69.3
83 Bob O’Farrell 14.5 12.6 2,188 16.8 14.6 14.8 13.1 8.4 1.4 69.1
84 Glenn Beckert 16.3 9.9 5,371 16.3 9.9 12.8 9.6 17.9 2.5 69.0
85 Billy Jurges 15.8 17.2 4,082 14.6 15.9 9.2 9.5 12.6 5.1 66.8
86 Bill Bonham 14.4 18.3
1,152.3 15.8 19.5 10.3 10.4 10.5 0.0 66.5
87 Abner Dalrymple 16.4 17.8 3,321 15.2 16.4 8.4 8.8 10.2 6.9 66.0
88 Leon Durham 15.3 14.5 3,659 15.3 14.5 10.1 9.5 12.2 3.6 65.2
89 Paul Minner 17.2 20.1
1,196.3 17.4 20.4 7.7 9.4 10.2 0.0 65.1
90 Geovany Soto 9.5 13.7 2,097 11.8 17.0 9.6 11.8 8.7 5.7 64.7
91 Charlie Grimm 10.1 12.7 5,467 9.3 11.7 7.3 8.3 16.8 10.1 63.6
92 Don Kessinger 9.4 7.5 7,065 9.4 7.5 9.7 9.4 23.6 4.0 63.6
93 Mark Prior 16.5 17.3
657.0 16.5 17.3 9.8 9.7 5.5 4.4 63.2
94 Carlos Marmol 10.3 6.5
542.3 17.8 11.3 12.9 9.2 7.4 3.6 62.2
95 Alfonso Soriano 8.3 18.1 3,696 8.3 18.1 6.9 11.6 12.3 4.3 61.5
96 Jack Pfiester 9.1 13.7
1,028.3 9.0 13.5 6.9 7.7 8.4 13.7 59.3
97 Jason Heyward 8.9 8.7 2,836 11.5 11.3 6.5 6.8 10.5 11.7 58.1
98 Carl Lundgren 12.2 9.3
1,322.0 11.6 9.1 9.6 5.4 10.8 11.6 58.0
99 Vic Saier 15.2 17.3 3,243 14.0 16.0 8.5 9.4 10.0 0.0 57.9
100 Rick Wilkins 12.2 11.8 1,567 15.1 14.6 9.8 10.0 6.5 0.0 55.9
101 Warren Hacker 12.9 9.4
1,091.7 14.1 10.5 13.1 7.6 10.0 0.0 55.2
102 Frank Demaree 12.3 12.8 2,924 11.4 11.8 8.3 8.8 9.0 5.5 54.8
103 Fred Goldsmith 10.7 16.4
1,516.7 9.9 15.2 6.6 6.7 11.7 4.2 54.2
104 Sheriff Blake 11.0 13.3
1,455.3 11.0 13.1 8.9 7.5 12.0 1.4 54.0
105 Jon Lieber 12.9 16.6
874.3 13.2 16.6 6.4 7.4 7.6 2.0 53.1
106 Ian Happ 9.9 9.7 2,291 12.3 13.1 6.0 7.1 8.9 5.6 52.9
107 Hank Wyse 13.0 12.8
1,063.0 13.0 12.8 8.3 7.8 8.9 2.0 52.7
108 Addison Russell 11.3 11.8 2,212 11.3 11.8 5.5 5.3 7.4 11.2 52.4
109 Larry Jackson 12.8 15.4
838.0 12.7 15.4 7.7 8.6 7.0 0.5 51.9
110 Pedro Strop 7.2 5.6
375.0 12.5 9.6 7.3 4.8 5.4 12.1 51.6
111 Silver Flint 6.9 7.5 2,650 8.0 8.7 8.9 8.9 10.2 6.9 51.5
112 Starlin Castro 10.6 11.4 3,764 10.6 11.4 6.7 6.3 12.5 3.4 50.9
113 Claude Hendrix 10.4 14.8
1,076.0 11.1 15.9 4.6 6.3 9.6 1.8 49.3
114 Peanuts Lowrey 11.5 9.2 2,889 13.1 10.5 6.4 6.1 10.7 2.1 49.0
115 Steve Trachsel 9.9 10.8
1,163.7 9.9 10.8 9.0 5.4 9.7 3.5 48.4
116 Sean Marshall 8.2 7.3
530.0 12.3 11.0 7.7 7.7 5.7 3.3 47.8
117 Eddie Waitkus 7.4 4.8 1,669 16.7 11.0 4.2 2.9 12.0 0.5 47.2
118 Sparky Adams 12.1 13.5 2,968 11.2 12.5 6.7 7.4 9.1 0.0 46.9
119 Ray Burris 10.4 10.3
1,068.7 10.6 11.5 8.8 6.0 9.8 0.0 46.8
120 Milt Pappas 16.7 10.8
763.0 16.7 10.8 7.2 4.3 6.4 1.0 46.5
121 Ted Lilly 14.2 11.2
705.7 14.2 11.2 6.4 5.0 5.9 3.6 46.3
122 Clyde McCullough 5.4 5.3 2,392 9.2 9.1 7.8 7.5 11.5 0.9 46.1
123 Shawon Dunston 9.7 5.2 4,842 9.7 5.2 7.1 5.1 16.1 2.7 46.0
124 Lefty Tyler 11.8 7.6
542.3 12.7 8.2 8.6 5.7 4.8 5.8 45.7
125 Burt Hooton 9.5 11.2
666.7 9.9 12.0 8.0 8.4 6.0 1.0 45.2
126 Kyle Schwarber 5.8 6.6 2,108 6.1 6.9 4.4 4.1 8.4 15.3 45.2
127 Bill Buckner 8.6 9.0 4,043 8.6 9.0 6.2 5.9 13.5 2.0 45.2
128 George Altman 9.9 8.8 2,454 9.9 8.8 8.7 7.9 8.2 1.5 45.0
129 Don Elston 9.5 1.1
754.7 15.5 1.5 11.8 4.4 10.2 1.0 44.4
130 Scott Sanderson 10.8 10.1
737.7 11.3 10.7 6.1 6.5 6.6 3.2 44.3
131 Larry Cheney 11.4 11.5
1,061.0 11.1 11.3 7.0 5.7 8.8 0.0 43.9
132 Yu Darvish 5.9 5.5
294.7 10.7 10.6 7.6 8.1 3.5 3.0 43.5
133 Vern Olsen 7.7 7.3
516.0 12.6 12.5 5.4 4.5 8.3 0.0 43.2
134 Les Lancaster 7.7 5.6
555.7 12.0 8.4 8.5 5.4 6.5 1.7 42.5
135 Mike Krukow 11.5 13.2
828.7 11.6 13.3 4.6 5.6 7.0 0.0 42.1
136 Rick Monday 11.2 9.7 2,972 11.2 9.7 5.9 5.4 9.9 0.0 42.1
137 Randy Jackson 10.2 9.4 2,887 10.1 9.3 6.2 5.8 9.5 1.0 42.1
138 Adolfo Phillips 12.2 10.8 1,577 12.2 10.8 7.2 6.3 5.3 0.0 41.8
139 Glen Hobbie 5.6 9.5
1,218.7 6.2 10.5 6.7 6.8 11.3 0.0 41.7
140 Steve Trout 10.9 10.5
746.7 11.1 10.8 5.6 5.1 6.4 2.7 41.6
141 Max Flack 8.0 9.6 3,391 8.0 9.5 5.6 6.0 10.9 1.6 41.6
142 Jose Cardenal 9.4 9.9 3,274 9.4 9.9 5.7 5.5 10.9 0.0 41.4

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