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Rating Albert Pujols among the greats

By Bill Felber

May 6, 2021; Anaheim, California, USA; An image Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (5) is displayed inside Angel Stadium. The Angels designated Albert Pujols for assignment today, leaving the 41-year-old’s playing future in limbo. Pujols was in the final year of his historic 10-year, $253 million contract. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
May 6, 2021; Anaheim, California, USA; An image Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (5) is displayed inside Angel Stadium. The Angels designated Albert Pujols for assignment today, leaving the 41-year-old’s playing future in limbo. Pujols was in the final year of his historic 10-year, $253 million contract. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pujols during the 2011 World Series parade in  St. Louis. (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Pujols during the 2011 World Series parade in  St. Louis. (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images) /

Peak O-WAR

WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement. The figure represents a calculation of the number of wins a player’s performance added to the team above that which would have been expected to be attained by a replacement-level pickup.

For context, a 2-WAR player is a useful player, and a 5-WAR player is playing at All Star-calibre.  In a given season, the game’s best player might be expected to generate seven or eight WAR. In the last full season, 2019, Houston’s Alex Bregman led all major leaguers with an 8.9 WAR.

WAR can also be sub-categorized by skill. Because our context deals entirely with the offensive side of the game, this analysis is based on Offensive WAR, or O-WAR for short.

For O-WAR, Pujols’ peak performance occurred between 2005 and 2009. During that five-season span, he averaged a 7.0 WAR, an exceptional average.

Still, it looks ordinary by comparison with our two dozen greats. In fact it ranks only 17th on the list just behind Eddie Collins (7.94 from 1911-1915) and just ahead of Mike Schmidt (6.88 between 1979 and 1983). Schmidt is his closest comparable.

Here is the top 10 for five-season peak O-WAR

Rank      Player                     Avg.       Seasons

1              Babe Ruth           10.60     1920-1924

2              Barry Bonds        10.34     2000-2004

3             Rogers Hornsby    9.94     1921-1925

4              Lou Gehrig             9.38     1927-1931

5              Mickey Mantle     9.34      1954-1958

6              Honus Wagner    9.30      1905-1909

7              Ty Cobb                 9.16       1909-1913

8              Joe Morgan          8.74       1972-1976

9              Stan Musial         8.66       1948-1952

10           Willie Mays          8.64       1961-1965

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