Baseball Statistics: Win Shares

Win Shares is a sabermetric measurement, created by Bill James, baseball writer, historian, and statistician, that considers statistics for players, relative to their contribution to their team, and assigns a number to each player for his contributions for the year. All pitching, hitting and defensive contributions by the player are taken into account. Win Shares are also adjusted for park, league, and the era in which a player played.

Top Three Win Shares by Position and League (2008)

Catcher

American League

1. MIN - Joe Mauer - 31

2. OAK - Kurt Suzuki - 20

3. TBR - Dioner Navarro -17

National League

1. CHC - Geovany Soto - 24

2. PIT - Ryan Doumit - 22

3. LAD - Russell Martin - 22

First Basemen

American League

1. MIN - Justin Morneau - 29

2. BOS - Kevin Youkilis - 29

3. TBR - Carlos Pena - 22

National League

1. HOU - Lance Berkman - 38

2. STL - Albert Pujols - 35

3. SDP - Adrian Gonzalez - 26

Second Basemen

American League

1. BOS - Dustin Pedroia - 26

2. TEX - Ian Kinsler - 26

3. BAL - Brian Roberts - 21

National League

1. PHI - Chase Utley - 30

2. FLA - Dan Uggla - 25

3. CHC - Mark DeRosa - 23

Third Basemen

American League

1. NYY - Alex Rodriguez - 25

2. TBR - Evan Longoria - 20

3. BAL - Melvin Mora - 18

National League

1. NYM - David Wright - 29

2. CHC - Aramis Ramirez - 25

3. ATL - Chipper Jones - 24

Shortstop

American League

1. TEX - Michael Young - 20

2. CLE - Jhonny Peralta - 19

3. NYY - Derek Jeter - 18

National League

1. FLA - Hanley Ramirez - 32

2. NYM - Jose Reyes - 29

3. PHI - Jimmy Rollins - 24

Outfield (Top 5)

American League

1. CLE - Grady Sizemore - 28

2. TEX - Josh Hamilton - 27

3. NYY - Johnny Damon - 25

4. BAL - Nick Markakis - 25

5. NYY - Bobby Abreu, TBR - B.J. Upton, CHW - Carlos Quentin, and LAA -Vladimir Guerrero tied - 24

National League

1. NYM - Carlos Beltran - 33

2. PIT - Nate McLouth - 27

3. STL - Ryan Ludwick - 26

4. LAD - Andre Ethier - 25

5. MIL - Ryan Braun - 25

Starting Pitcher (Top 5)

American League

1. CLE - Cliff Lee - 25

2. TOR - Roy Halladay - 23

3. LAA - Ervin Santana - 19

4. BOS - Jon Lester - 19

5. LAA - Joe Saunders -19

National League

1. SFG - Tim Lincecum - 27

2. ARI - Brandon Webb - 22

3. NYM - Johan Santana - 21

4. ARI - Dan Haren - 20