COG Round 93 Results: Waner not poison to voters

Asked to choose their poison, COG voters had no qualms about going Big! Paul “Big Poison” Waner was the clear favorite in winning election in the 93rd round of COG balloting. A Pirate mainstay starting from his 1926 rookie season, Waner would author a 3000-hit career highlighted by numerous franchise records, many of which still stand today.

More on Waner after the jump.

Waner started his career with a bang, leading the majors with 22 triples in his rookie season. It would be the first of 5 straight seasons with 15 three-baggers, the longest ever streak of such seasons, matched only by Goose GoslinElmer FlickSam Crawford and, going way back, Jake Beckley and Roger Connor. That was followed by 5 more seasons with double-digit triples totals, a streak of 10 such seasons exceeded only by Crawford and Ty Cobb. Equally impressive were Waner’s doubles totals, only once dropping below 30 (with 29 in 1935) in his first 14 seasons. Included were three 50 double seasons, exceeded only by the 5 such seasons by all-time doubles king Tris Speaker. Putting his doubles and triples together, Waner compiled 11 seasons of 50 extra-base hits that never included more than 15 home runs, a total of such seasons surpassed only by Speaker and Cobb. Those two are also the only players to exceed Waner’s total of 7 qualified .300/.400/.500 seasons with 15 or fewer homers.

Waner’s major career milestones include 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 1500 runs, 1200 RBI and 1000 walks, markers of which only 9 other players can boast, none of whom were Waner’s contemporaries. Waner is also one of only 7 players to maintain a .400 OBP over a 10,000 PA career. Waner’s 8 seasons of 200 hits were tied with Willie Keeler for the NL record until surpassed by Pete Rose. Waner’s 13 consecutive 175 hit seasons have been exceeded only by Rose and Stan Musial.

Waner’s career total of 72.8 WAR ranks fourth all-time among outfielders with fewer than 150 home runs. Among outfielders who also had fewer than 150 stolen bases, Waner is the all-time WAR leader, far ahead of all challengers with 59% more career WAR than second place Heinie Manush. Among all players with fewer than 150 home runs and stolen bases, Waner is in a virtual tie in career WAR with Arky Vaughan with those two trailing only Wade Boggs‘ total of 91.1 WAR. However, both Boggs and, especially, Vaughan have their WAR totals buttressed by positive Rpos scores while Waner is docked more than 100 runs as an outfielder. Thus, Waner’s Rbat score is more than one-third higher than Vaughan’s and 12% more than Boggs’. Lacking home run power, speed and noteworthy defense, Waner can perhaps be criticized as a one-dimensional player. However, a credible case can be made that he excelled at that one dimension better than any comparable player.

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Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago

Latest Update (active *, fell off ballot #): Craig Biggio – 763 Eddie Murray – 731 Roberto Alomar – 725 John Smoltz – 658 Kenny Lofton – 608 Ryne Sandberg – 607 *Harmon Killebrew – 535 Edgar Martinez – 507 Lou Whitaker – 493 *Kevin Brown – 400 Whitey Ford – 382 Bobby Grich – 376 Sandy Koufax – 375 Tony Gwynn – 346 Willie McCovey – 336 *Roy Campanella – 320 *Minnie Minoso – 304 *Dennis Eckersley – 295 *Dave Winfield – 288 Juan Marichal – 268 Tom Glavine – 262 Alan Trammell – 239 Mike Mussina – 233… Read more »

Artie Z.
Artie Z.
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

How difficult is it to do a “summary of voters”? Basically, can we tell if the same people are voting in round 93 as were voting in round 16 or 19? I think I have voted in all 93 rounds (though perhaps I missed one here or there). I wonder how many others have done that, or who has the most rounds?

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago
Reply to  Artie Z.

I am 100% certain that I have voted in every round. The EASIEST way to check would probably be for me to look at who voted in the two least-voted-in rounds. Let me do that quickly and get back to you…

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

So, I checked all the way back to round 1. Then I check round 17 (lowest turnout) round 93 (most recent AND second-lowest turnout), and round 32 (1943.2; third-lowest turnout, plus it’s something in the middle so we’re not skipping so drastically from 17 to 93). By 1954 (round 17), for example, there were only 29 voters left over from round 1 who still voted in round 17. Admittedly, I’m not sure that they’ve voted in every round in between, but these people deserve a shout-out nonetheless. Those voters are: Brendan Bingham brp Bryan O’Connor David Horwich Dr. Doom Gary… Read more »

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I checked one more year, just for poops and giggles: 1907.2, round 81. That’s another more recent one with low voter turnout. 12 of the 13 people listed above voted in that election, as well. Only RonG didn’t (and shame on him for it!), so I rescind my kudos to him. 😉

The rest may have missed a round or two here or there, but they’ve voted in the beginning, the most recent, and even the low points in between. So that’s your answer, Artie! Now I REALLY need to get back to work… 🙂

Brendan Bingham
Brendan Bingham
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Dr. Doom: Thanks for compiling this summary. While I have been present from the start, I am certain that I am not at 100% participation; I have missed at least two rounds along the way. Moreover, I have been much more an observer than a participant in the debate/discussion. Since we passed birth year 1940 (or thereabouts) the ballots have been populated mainly by players with whom I was unfamiliar (or insufficiently familiar). So, for me, the ongoing discussions have served as kind of a graduate-level symposium in baseball history. Thus I am grateful to you and the other frequent… Read more »

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Ah, I’ve not missed a week.
Though I will labor through my day without your shout-out if need be.

Artie Z.
Artie Z.
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I was trying to figure out what was happening during that 1954 ballot, and now I remember – that week sucked. birtelcom opened voting late Saturday night. So yeah, if I didn’t vote by about 9pm on Sunday night there wasn’t any voting being done. One thought on why there is less posturing is that we don’t really “know” these players because we haven’t seen them play, so it’s hard to get too personally invested (at least for me) in these borderline COG members. Most of us probably saw Larry Walker play, and many saw Andre Dawson play, and some… Read more »

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Voomo, you’re correct in that you’ve been a part of this since the beginning. You may have commented on every thread. But here’s your ballot from the first election:

“I can’t do it.
Thomas, Bagwell, Piazza, Alomar, Mussina.
Can’t cut out two of them.
I’ll pass on this game.”

You didn’t vote in the first election, therefore you weren’t on the first spreadsheet I checked, which is why you didn’t end up on the list. To paraphrase Seinfeld: “No shout-out for you!” That is your punishment.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Ha! That’s great. I have no memory of that.
Certainly didn’t realize we’d all still be loyal to the exercise two and a half years later.

Though I do remember December 9th, 2012.
I was stressed that week.
My mayan calendar was about to run out, and my local walmart didnt have any replacements.

Voomo Zanzibar
Voomo Zanzibar
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Vote:

Roberto Alomar
Jeff Bagwell
Mike Mussina

Hub Kid
Hub Kid
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

Wow- nifty list, Dr. Doom; I know I missed one vote in a 1940s round, and I don’t get into the discussion too often; Thanks to all of the regulars who do add tons to the discussion this has been a great tour of baseball history.

Hartvig
Hartvig
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

I wouldn’t rule out that there may have been an election in there somewhere where I waited until the last minute to vote and didn’t do so on time but I’m not sure that I did either. I do know that I have closely followed every election since we started this process- in fact I’ve been on HHS since the beginning- before that even when you could seed articles like this to Baseball-Reference via Dugout Central. I go back & check in on them a few times a year and it’s really a shame to see how far it’s fallen.… Read more »