WAR: What is it NOT good for?

I'm still a WAR novice myself, but I thought this Hardball Times article was an interesting look at what the oft-cited stat may NOT be good for. Sabermagicians, please weigh in.

about 2 years ago daver 6 comments 0 recs |

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Absolutely nothing

"It's been my policy to view the Internet not as an 'information highway,' but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies." - Mike Royko

by DTJchris on Nov 16, 2009 4:12 PM CST reply actions

These are all pretty well-known limitations of the system

The pitcher one is especially closely tied to our own Carlos Zambrano’s value, with some claiming if WAR took pitcher’s hitting into account he’d be worth another 1-1.5 wins (bringing his value extremely close to his “He’s paid-like-an-Ace-but-doesn’t-produce-like-one” salary),

The list is a great reminder though of the limitations of the metric though, and where it needs to improve. In the grand scheme of things, WAR still tells you a lot more about the players then it excludes though, and it’s still the best snapshot we have overall player production.

by Wreckard on Nov 16, 2009 4:14 PM CST reply actions

The pitcher and catcher thing is annoying.

I want to know Mauer’s true WAR value, which I am certain is off the charts.

On a different note, I wonder what I did before FanGraphs. Which is like wondering what I did before YouTube.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 16, 2009 5:33 PM CST reply actions

Mauer's WAR could quite possibly be higher than the St. Louis 1B.

Randy Wells. A product of the Roy Halladay School of Pitching, located in Toronto, Canada. Possible relocation.

by Cub Style on Nov 16, 2009 7:33 PM CST up reply actions

On a different note, I wonder what I did before FanGraphs

Porn.

Which is like wondering what I did before YouTube.

Porn.

Forget all that other stuff. I gotta believe.

by drewishdrewid on Nov 16, 2009 8:49 PM CST up reply actions

THe points in the article are all valid

The only thing I would quibble with is that WAR doesn’t have a set definition. There are different variations of WAR (the one found at FanGraphs, Baseball Projection, THT); and you could easily add in pitcher hitting and fielding, as well as catcher defense, better leverage, etc.

So these aren’t limitations of WAR, just limitations of the certain variations of WAR that are commonly used.

by vivaelpujols on Nov 16, 2009 7:59 PM CST reply actions