MLB players with the most career WAR by position for each franchise Quiz by DJC83

Can you name the MLB players with the most career WAR by position for each franchise?

created by DJC83

Enter a player in the box below
Correctly named players will show up below
Answers do not have to be guessed in order
Source: Baseball Reference
Name the best players in career WAR (off.+def.+pit.) by position for each of the 30 current MLB franchises. Data is from 1876-2010. 2011 data is not included here, though some players may be active.
Listed for each player are his position, career WAR for the franchise, and year of debut with the franchise. Players are assigned to the position at which they played the most games for the franchise. Sorry, but no DHs are included here. The first few comments include additional notes to clarify some potentially confusing answers (denoted by the letters a-h). These notes contain *spoilers*, so don't consult them prior to taking the quiz.
This quiz has not been verified by Sporcle

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Angels
P/49.0/1986
C/11.0/2006
1B/28.0/1996
2B/35.0/1977
3B/21.1/2002
SS/44.1/1961
LF/37.7/1978
CF/20.4/1993
RF/37.6/1992

Astros
P/41.8/2001
C/6.8/1997
1B/79.9/1991
2B/66.2/1988
3B/19.5/1967
SS/14.4/1981
LF/49.0/1975
CF/49.4/1970
RF/26.1/1977

Athletics
P/64.6/1901
C/39.0/1925
1B/61.3/1925
2B/60.7/1906
3B/52.5/1966
SS/43.0/1964
LF/75.3/1979
CF/31.5/1978
RF/49.2/1967

Blue Jays
P/53.6/1979
C/17.8/1977
1B/33.8/1993
2B/20.1/1991
3B/14.0/1984
SS/33.3/1983
LF/19.7/1981
CF/25.6/1999
RF/27.2/1981

Braves
P/97.8/1890
C/30.9/1960
1B/38.3/1894
2B/25.2/1890
3B/95.9/1952
SS/43.1/1890
LF/22.6/1963
CF/59.9/1996
RF/141.2/1954

Brewers
P/28.3/1985
C/16.8/1987
1B/29.3/1977
2B/19.4/1976
3B/60.6/1978
SS/76.9/1974
LF/21.3/1978
CF/18.4/1973
RF/16.4/1974

Browns-Orioles
P/63.1/1965
C/23.4/1989
1B/54.8/1977
2B/32.6/1970
3B/69.1/1955
SS/89.9/1981
LF/36.0/1918
CF/32.7/1964
RF/34.4/1966

Cardinals
P/91.8/1959
C/45.7/1968
1B/127.8/1941
2B/91.6/1915
3B/53.5/1955
SS/58.3/1982
LF/39.7/1932
CF/45.3/2000
RF/48.8/1938

Cubs
P/53.7/1966
C/49.3/1922
1B/88.9/1876
2B/62.1/1982
3B/68.5/1960
SS/42.3/1902
LF/55.2/1959
CF/38.8/1885
RF/60.0/1992

(Devil) Rays
P/16.5/2004
C/3.4/2000
1B/11.1/2007
2B/8.2/2006
3B/18.1/2008
SS/13.8/2003
LF/26.1/2002
CF/13.1/2004
RF/3.5/2004

Diamondbacks
P/43.4/1999
C/6.7/1998
1B/4.8/1999
2B/11.2/2000
3B/8.8/1998
SS/8.9/2006
LF/25.6/1999
CF/18.7/1999
RF/8.4/2007

Dodgers
P/69.8/1956
C/36.2/1948
1B/44.1/1943
2B/63.2/1947
3B/46.2/1971
SS/66.7/1940
LF/57.6/1909
CF/66.5/1947
RF/35.6/1939

Expos-Nationals
P/43.7/1973
C/52.6/1974
1B/17.1/1969
2B/13.4/1997
3B/31.3/1980
SS/8.1/1985
LF/46.5/1979
CF/43.6/1976
RF/32.4/1996

Giants
P/91.1/1900
C/35.7/1883
1B/60.6/1959
2B/45.0/1907
3B/31.9/1904
SS/48.6/1893
LF/121.6/1993
CF/153.0/1951
RF/109.3/1926

Indians
P/63.3/1936
C/20.6/2002
1B/46.5/1991
2B/74.7/1902
3B/33.0/1947
SS/54.6/1938
LF/25.8/1989
CF/73.3/1916
RF/35.0/1910

Mariners
P/32.4/1996
C/14.3/1994
1B/19.3/1984
2B/19.6/1992
3B/13.8/2005
SS/37.1/1994
LF/11.6/1983
CF/67.5/1989
RF/55.2/2001

Marlins
P/18.4/2003
C/11.1/1994
1B/9.2/1998
2B/20.1/1996
3B/18.7/2003
SS/29.1/2006
LF/16.8/1997
CF/7.1/2006
RF/13.2/1993

Mets
P/76.4/1967
C/24.6/1998
1B/26.5/1983
2B/29.1/1995
3B/31.1/2004
SS/23.3/2003
LF/17.6/1963
CF/28.4/2005
RF/37.7/1983

Padres
P/27.8/1993
C/20.1/1977
1B/22.9/2006
2B/11.1/1986
3B/18.6/1995
SS/8.8/2003
LF/17.8/1977
CF/12.5/1983
RF/68.4/1982

Phillies
P/69.3/1948
C/29.5/1884
1B/24.8/1983
2B/38.7/2003
3B/108.3/1972
SS/30.3/2000
LF/67.0/1888
CF/52.3/1948
RF/46.6/1998

Pirates
P/47.0/1907
C/31.5/1996
1B/29.2/1888
2B/26.9/1956
3B/40.2/1900
SS/123.6/1900
LF/57.5/1962
CF/50.1/1910
RF/83.8/1955

Red Sox
P/74.9/1984
C/37.7/1969
1B/33.7/1936
2B/47.7/1937
3B/71.5/1982
SS/40.9/1996
LF/125.3/1939
CF/56.1/1907
RF/61.1/1972

Reds
P/42.2/1886
C/71.3/1967
1B/43.8/1964
2B/61.3/1972
3B/38.7/1913
SS/68.9/1986
LF/74.6/1963
CF/45.1/1958
RF/23.7/1973

Rockies
P/14.6/2006
C/4.6/2006
1B/57.9/1997
2B/9.5/1993
3B/15.1/1993
SS/18.6/2006
LF/16.9/2004
CF/10.8/1994
RF/44.1/1995

Royals
P/43.9/1989
C/17.3/1977
1B/22.2/1995
2B/26.9/1973
3B/85.0/1973
SS/16.6/1971
LF/6.4/1986
CF/42.3/1970
RF/12.4/1987

Senators-Rangers
P/31.1/1980
C/48.6/1991
1B/40.1/1989
2B/19.5/1989
3B/34.3/1979
SS/30.0/1969
LF/29.5/1965
CF/13.0/2008
RF/28.5/1989

Senators-Twins
P/139.8/1907
C/38.7/2004
1B/61.4/1954
2B/62.7/1967
3B/24.7/1922
SS/35.5/1928
LF/41.4/1921
CF/44.8/1984
RF/51.1/1915

Tigers
P/56.6/1939
C/43.3/1961
1B/53.7/1930
2B/80.9/1924
3B/26.5/1990
SS/66.9/1977
LF/42.7/1912
CF/153.8/1905
RF/91.0/1953

White Sox
P/62.9/1923
C/29.6/1981
1B/70.6/1990
2B/66.0/1915
3B/38.8/1989
SS/69.3/1930
LF/42.7/1951
CF/35.1/1901
RF/23.3/1980

Yankees
P/60.6/1930
C/62.1/1946
1B/118.4/1923
2B/49.8/1976
3B/40.9/2004
SS/70.1/1995
LF/44.5/1965
CF/120.2/1951
RF/149.3/1920

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There are 26 comments for this game.
(Warning: comments may contain spoilers)

MLB Best All-Time Franchise Starting Nines (by WAR) Quiz

by DJC83

Created Jun 12, 2011 in Sports
Game Plays 2,949

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	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:16 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (a): Stan Musial played 1016 G at 1B and 929 G in LF for the Cardinals (1941-63). As such, Musial is treated as a 1B here, even though he played more overall games in the OF (1890). Albert Pujols, with 83.8 WAR, is the next best 1B for the Cardinals.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:18 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (b): Joe Tinker takes SS for the Cubs instead of Ernie Banks, who played 1259 G at 1B and 1125 G at SS for the Cubs (1953-71). As such, Banks is treated as a 1B here, even though he's more commonly thought of as a SS. With only 64.4 WAR, Banks loses the 1B slot to another franchise great.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:19 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (c): Ben Zobrist played 208 G at 2B and 179 G in RF for Tampa Bay (2006-10; 2011 data not included here). As such, Zobrist is treated as a 2B here, even though he played more overall games in the OF (214). Akinori Iwamura, with 4.9 WAR, is the next best 2B for Tampa Bay.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:20 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (d): Adrian Beltre takes 3B for the Mariners instead of Edgar Martinez, who played 1396 G as DH and 564 G at 3B for the Mariners (1987-2004). As such, Martinez is treated as a DH here and so is excluded from the quiz, even though his 67.2 WAR would have won him the 3B slot.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:22 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (e): Bip Roberts played 173 G at 2B and 127 G in CF for the Padres (1986, '88-91, '94-95). As such, Roberts is treated as a 2B here, even though he played more overall games in the OF (175). Roberto Alomar, with 10.9 WAR, is the next best 2B for the Padres.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:23 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (f): Von Hayes played 393 G at 1B and 391 G in LF for the Phillies (1983-91). As such, Hayes is treated as a 1B here, even though he played more overall games in the OF (803). Ryan Howard, with 20.9 WAR, is the next best 1B for the Phillies. Dick Allen played 545 G at 3B and 315 G at 1B for the Phillies (1963-69, '75-76). As such Allen is treated as a 3B here, even though he's more commonly thought of as a 1B. With only 37.1 WAR, Allen loses the 3B slot to another franchise great.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:24 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (g): Ken Griffey, Sr., takes RF for the Reds instead of Frank Robinson, who played 697 G in LF and 533 G in RF for the Reds (1956-65). As such, Robinson is treated as a LF here, even though he's more commonly thought of as a RF. With only 61.5 WAR, Robinson loses the LF slot to another franchise great.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 00:25 GMT		1 point
	NOTE (h): Bo Jackson takes LF for the Royals instead of Hal McRae, who played 1366 G as DH and 250 G in LF for the Royals (1973-87). As such, McRae is treated as a DH here and so is excluded from the quiz, even though his 26.1 WAR would have won him the LF slot.

	cardspartan:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 05:18 GMT		1 point
	Huh. Third Base for the Tigers must be a God awful position historically for the Tigers. I knew it wouldn't be anyone recent with Brandon Inge there, but come on, no one beats TRAVIS FRYMAN???

	b30b30:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 08:13 GMT		1 point
	Tony Fernandez must be the SS for Toronto Blue Jays (not Scutaro). The 2B must be Roberto Alomar (not Fernandez).

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 08:22 GMT		1 point
	@b30b30: Thanks for catching that. For some reason I labeled Fernandez as a 2B instead of a SS, and then because 2B was filled, I skipped over 2B Alomar and found the next best SS, which was Scutaro. Anyhow, I fixed the mistake.

	altoonaeaglesfan:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 12:09 GMT		1 point
	great quiz! nominated.

	Scizzy:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 19:30 GMT		1 point
	Yeah, great stuff.

	strags11:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 21:16 GMT		3 points
	Great quiz and an instant Favorite. Still, it does illustrate the shakiness of WAR as a baseball statistic. In many cases here, a player with a good but lengthy career for a club piled up enough mythical "wins" to surpass a superior talent with a shorter tenure. The whole WAR concept needs a fundamental rethinking if we're ever going to compare modern-day itinerant players equitably to their Reserve Clause-bound predecessors.

	Suffron_SD:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 21:26 GMT		1 point
	Why isn't Berkman in the OF for the Astros? Did he really play more at 1B? I wouldn't think so. I know from my previous quiz (Astros team quiz), I had him listed as an OF, because he had over 30 WAR in the outfield. He was only primarily a 1B from '06 to the trade deadline in '10. Is he just behind Cruz because he's listed in LF instead of RF? That would make sense.

	DJC83:	Jun 12th, 2011 at 21:38 GMT		3 points
	@strags11: Thanks. You've touched on a divisive issue among baseball fans -- the debate over peak value vs. overall career value. WAR is essentially a counting stat rather than a rate stat, so it favors long-endurance players who are derogatorily referred to as "compilers" (like Phil Niekro) instead of players with high peaks but short careers (like Sandy Koufax).

DJC83:

Jun 12th, 2011 at 21:47 GMT

1 point

@Suffron_SD: Lance Berkman played 709 G at 1B, 533 G in LF, and 263 G in RF for the Astros (1999-2010). So here I consider him a first baseman, even though he played more games as an outfielder (871) for the Astros. But even if I had treated him as a outfielder, he would have been considered a LF (since he played more in LF than RF) and lost out to Jose Cruz, as you surmised.

	Brett11:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 01:08 GMT		2 points
	WAAAT??? No Chipper? Surprise surprise!

	JRicoC:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 01:17 GMT		2 points
	Not nearly enough time ...

	DJC83:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 01:48 GMT		3 points
	@Brett11: No, there's a Brave third baseman even better than Chipper. -- @JRicoC: Sorry, but 20 minutes is the maximum time limit. When they upped the maximum number of answers to 300, I thought they would up the time limit to 30 minutes too, but no such luck.

	vizli:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 02:20 GMT		2 points
	Not enough time due to scrolling.

	DJC83:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 02:24 GMT		1 point
	I also wish they had a font smaller than 7pt and more than 5 columns when grouping by clue.

	Philip Fink:	Jun 13th, 2011 at 03:37 GMT		1 point
	That outfield for the Giants is impressive.

	JimmyJames:	Jun 17th, 2011 at 13:33 GMT		1 point
	Surprised to see the Brewers top players all came within about a generation, and that only one Braves player made it from that long run of division titles.

	minnmich:	Aug 12th, 2011 at 06:53 GMT		2 points
	Great quiz. Maybe just one man's opinion, but I prefer seeing three OF's on a quiz like this as opposed to trying to differentiate between LF,CF, & RF. While other positions are more 'specialized', if you will, you'll see OFs more able to interchange positions. With all do respect to Roy White, it's unrealistic to think of him in the all-time Yankee OF instead of Dimaggio, Williams, or Combs, each of whom had better WAR's.

	Ixcila:	Dec 6th, 2011 at 18:17 GMT		1 point
	The 2B leader for the Rangers changed this season. Just a heads up.