r/mlb

Per Baseball Reference (link), Kevin Brown put up 8.6 WAR in 1998, the most of any pitcher that year. Tom Glavine won the NL Cy Young, probably because he had the most wins. Glavine had a great season, and I'm not here to talk about voting criteria or argue that Kevin Brown should have won; I'm just curious as to why Kevin Brown's WAR was so high in the first place. Brown's 8.6 WAR was well above Glavine's 6.1, and even Greg Maddux's 6.6, despite Maddux and Brown having pretty similar stats:

Brown: 2.38 ERA, 257 IP, 49 BB, 257 K, 1.066 WHIP, 2.23 FIP, 0.3 HR9

Maddux: 2.22 ERA, 251 IP, 45 BB, 204 K, 0.980 WHIP, 2.81 FIP, 0.5 HR9

In addition, Maddux threw 2 more complete games, 2 more shutouts, beaned three fewer batters, threw six fewer wild pitches, and won the Gold Glove (for what that's worth).

So it seems WAR gives Brown the edge based on his strikeouts and, consequently, his FIP. Is WAR just really weighted toward FIP, or is there something else at play? In 1996, Brown again led NL pitchers in WAR: 7.9 compared to Smoltz's 7.4, where Brown had a much lower ERA and gave up fewer homers but Smoltz pitched more innings and had way more strikeouts, ultimately leading to a lower FIP.

This interests me because from what I understand, Baseball Reference computes pitching WAR mostly with Runs Allowed and Innings Pitched, unlike FanGraphs, which computes it with FIP.

I'd be interested in whatever information you guys have about why Kevin Brown's WAR was so much higher than his peers in these seasons despite similar stats. Let me know if factors like ballpark, team defense, or high-leverage situations that played a role in these cases. I know it was a long time ago but I figured I'd ask.

With about 35 games left in the season, it is probable that the majority of the teams in the American League Playoffs will have negative run differentials.

It’s never happened and, as far as I can tell, only 12 teams have ever made the playoffs with a negative run differential. We may get 4 this year: Minnesota (-41), Toronto (-49), Boston (-48), Cleveland (-22), Baltimore (-31), and Seattle (-46).

On top of that, Detroit is an astonishing 61-66 with a +82 and Houston is leading the West at 64-63.

[Edited for typos]

https://preview.redd.it/dbw0hb9g0mkh1.png?width=1146&format=png&auto=webp&s=9753c090a24055b74f4cdde060b7e28f4c23e794

Sorry if this has been asked but I couldn't find it if it had. I am just trying to understand why the Yankees and Red Sox aren't 2 and 3 instead of 4 and 5.

Red Sox: Caleb Durbin (5’6”)

Astros: Jose Altuve (5’6”)

White Sox: Rikuu Nishida (5’6”)

Angels: Gustavo Campero (5’6”)

Diamondbacks: Jorge Barrosa (5’6”)

Mariners: Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas, and Brock Rodden (5’7”)

Marlins: Javier Sanoja and Jared Serna (5’7”)

Braves: Ozzie Albies (5’7”)

Rays: Cedric Mullins (5’7”)

Athletics: Carlos Cortes (5’7”)

Brewers: Luis Lara (5’7”)

Cardinals: Bryan Torres (5’7”)

Padres: Yuki Matsui, Rodolfo Durán, and Samad Taylor (5’8”)

Guardians: José Ramírez, Cooper Ingle, and Steven Kwan (5’8”)

Tigers: Hao-Yu Lee and Kevin McGonigle (5’8”)

Blue Jays: Alejandro Kirk and Davis Schneider (5’8”)

Pirates: Nick Gonzales and Ronny Simon (5’8”)

Reds: Matt McLain and T.J Freidl (5’8”)

Giants: Nate Furman (5’8”)

Cubs: Justin Dean (5’8”)

Phillies: Christian Cairo (5’8”)

Nationals: Nasim Nuñez (5’8”)

Royals: Isaac Collins (5’8”)

Orioles: Rico Garcia, Christian Franklin, and Tyler O’Neill (5’9”)

Rangers: Cody Freeman, Cam Cauley, and Alejandro Osuna (5’9”)

Yankees: José Caballero and Jasson Domínguez (5’9”)

Dodgers: Mookie Betts and Alek Thomas (5’9”)

Rockies: Blas Castaño, Connor Norby, and Braxton Fulford (5’10”)

Twins: Kaelen Culpepper, Gabriel Gonzalez, and Austin Martin (5’10”)

Mets: A.J Ewing, Francisco Alvarez, Francisco Lindor, and Nick Morabito (5’10”)

Walter, who is CEO of Gugenheim that owns Dodgers, was using life insurance premiums to bankroll Lakers, Chelsea & Dodgers (that's fraud). Same group also owns the broadcast company that pays Dodgers more in broadcast rights than every other team in baseball, which Dodgers were using in circular financing to pay for salaries & decrease MLB revenue sharing.

Yankees: Spencer Jones and Aaron Judge (6’7”)

Red Sox: Tyron Guerrero (6’8”)

Rays: Joe Boyle, Chris Roycroft, and Tyler Wells (6’8”)

Orioles: Félix Bautista (6’8”)

Blue Jays: Cody Ponce (6’6”)

Guardians: Franco Aleman, Tim Herrin, Colin Holderman, Gavin Williams, Austin Peterson, and Hunter Gaddis (6’6”)

White Sox: Bryan Hudson (6’8”)

Tigers: Brant Hurter and Jacob Waguespack (6’6”)

Twins: Bailey Ober (6’9”)

Royals: Luke Little (6’8”)

Astros: Zach Dezenzo (6’5”)

Angels: Jack Kochanowicz (6’7”)

A’s: Elvis Alvarado, Scott Blewett, Joe Rock, and Yunior Tur (6’6”)

Rangers: Jordan Montgomery (6’6”)

Mariners: Cooper Criswell and Logan Gilbert (6’6”)

Mets: Tylor Megill (6’7”)

Phillies: Andrew Painter (6’7”)

Marlins: Eury Pérez (6’8”)

Nationals: Orlando Ribalta (6’7”)

Braves: Chris Sale (6’6”)

Brewers: Trevor Megill (6’8”)

Cardinals: Jordan Walker (6’6”)

Cubs: Gavin Hollowell (6’7”)

Reds: Nick Lodolo, Zach Maxwell, Brandon Williamson, Elly De La Cruz (6’6”)

Pirates: Noah Murdock (6’8”)

Dodgers: Paul Gervase (6’10”)

Padres: Lucas Giolito and Bryan Hoeing (6’6”)

Diamondbacks: A.J Puk (6’7”)

Giants: Sam Hentges (6’8”)

Rockies: McCade Brown (6’6”)

Tallest player in MLB (On a 40-man roster): Dodgers Paul Gervase (6’10”)