Who will lead Twins in WAR?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:11 PM, theBOMisthebomb said:

Just remember the song by Edwin Starr and you'll be alright. 

War

War, huh, yeah

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, uhh

War, huh, yeah

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing

Say it again, y'all

War, huh (good God)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, listen to me, oh

War, I despise

'Cause it means destruction of innocent lives

War means tears to thousands of mother's eyes

When their sons go off to fight

And lose their lives

I said, war, huh (good God, y'all)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, just say it again

War (whoa), huh (oh Lord)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, listen to me

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker

(War) Friend only to The Undertaker

Oh, war it's an enemy to all mankind

The thought of war blows my mind

War has caused unrest

Within the younger generation

Induction then destruction

Who wants to die? Oh

War, huh (good God y'all)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing

Say it, say it, say it

War (uh-huh), huh (yeah, huh)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, listen to me

It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker

(War) It's got one friend that's The Undertaker

Oh, war, has shattered many a young man's dreams

Made him disabled, bitter and mean

Life is much too short and precious

To spend fighting wars each day

War can't give life

It can only take it away, oh

War, huh (good God y'all)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, say it again

War (whoa), huh (oh Lord)

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing, listen to me

It ain't nothing but a heart breaker

(War) Friend only to The Undertaker, woo

Peace, love and understanding, tell me

Is there no place for them today?

They say we must fight to keep our freedom

But Lord knows there's got to be a better way, oh

War, huh (God y'all)

What is it good for? You tell me (nothing)

Say it, say it, say it, say it

War (good God), huh (now, huh)

What is it good for?

Stand up and shout it (nothing)

The lyrics are powerful, but especially so when put into the context of the time this song was popular. It was released in 1970. The Vietnam War was still raging. Edwin Starr was a veteran of the US Army. I believe that there are some things in life worth going to war over, and/or worth defending, and some things that are not. But the key for the US is to elect good, reasonable, smart,  leaders who can discern  the difference. I am a US Army veteran. 1967 -1969.

[Twodogs]

On 1/31/2023 at 2:06 PM, Brad.dahlen said:

I want to hear your predictions of who will be the team's top five players in WAR. In 2022 it was Correa, Buxton, Arraez, Gray & Urshella in that order.

 

My guess - Buxton, Correa, P Lopez, Miranda, Ryan  

That's weird I looked up the WAR totals from last season on baseball Reference and this is what I got.

Correa 5.4

Arraez 4.4

Buxton 4.0

Urshela 3.1

Polanco 2.8

Duran 2.8

Gray 2.4

Ryan 2.2

Kepler 2.1

Gordon 1.9

Not sure how you got Gray in the top 5, unless baseball reference is wrong?  

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2022.shtml

 

[Brad.dahlen]

13 minutes ago, Twodogs said:

That's weird I looked up the WAR totals from last season on baseball Reference and this is what I got.

Correa 5.4

Arraez 4.4

Buxton 4.0

Urshela 3.1

Polanco 2.8

Duran 2.8

Gray 2.4

Ryan 2.2

Kepler 2.1

Gordon 1.9

Not sure how you got Gray in the top 5, unless baseball reference is wrong?  

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2022.shtml

 

I used FanGraphs which had Gray at 2.4. FIP Based.  I should have included that in the original post. 

[PDX Twin]

To answer your specific question: Presumably a general, overseen by the Secretary of Defense.

[MGX]

1. Correa

2. Buxton

3. Polanco

4. Ryan

5. Gray

[Minny505]

On 1/31/2023 at 6:57 PM, Richie the Rally Goat said:

WAR gets calculated slightly differently depending on your source.

I like Fangraphs. FWAR is the shorthand for Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement the link goes to the Fangraphs library where they define the stats.

For hitting I like wRC+ because it puts hitters relative to all other hitters (100 as average) by components of run creation.

For pitchers FIP is a great stat. It predicts ERA better than historic ERA does by calculating out if a pitched were to experience league average BABIP

For fielding I like OAA

This is an incredible, succinct, and simple way to explain these metrics. Well done. (Why can't Dick do this quickly on the air?)

The only nits I pick are that I like all numbers on a "relative to all other players" stat. A 3.75 FIP in 2023 meant a roughly average pitcher. In 2003, it meant a borderline all-star. 

Using FIP+ (or minus if you prefer) helps identify performance relative to the league at the time. 

OOA is a relative stat already, it just was not mentioned as such in your post. I think that is worth pointing out.

All-in-all though, I am so impressed and I am going to save your post to refer back to when I need to explain those numbers to another person who wants to deepen their understanding of baseball.

[baul0010]

On 1/31/2023 at 4:21 PM, gunnarthor said:

Buxton, Correa, Gray, Polanco, Taylor. 

If Taylor is on the list then we had another injury riddled year.  Let's hope he's on the low end of WAR, or maybe leading the Saints in WAR.

[Cory Engelhardt]

My guess is some order of Buxton, Polanco, Correa, Miranda and one of the starters. I can see it being Lopez, but I have a sneaky suspicion it'll be Mahle. 

 

IF someone else enters the fray (let's say it's Gallo, who's had more than a few seasons that would lead him to be in this discussion) or Kirilloff or Larnach, and it's NOT due to injuries, then that's a good thing.

[gunnarthor]

1 hour ago, baul0010 said:

If Taylor is on the list then we had another injury riddled year.  Let's hope he's on the low end of WAR, or maybe leading the Saints in WAR.

Taylor is going to play a lot. He was a 3 WAR player last year and would have been 4th on the Twins last year. He's a good player, he won't be in St Paul. 

The Twins got him so he can play gold glove caliber defense in CF. Buxton will DH a lot. 

[baul0010]

2 hours ago, gunnarthor said:

Taylor is going to play a lot. He was a 3 WAR player last year and would have been 4th on the Twins last year. He's a good player, he won't be in St Paul. 

The Twins got him so he can play gold glove caliber defense in CF. Buxton will DH a lot. 

We'll see.  If Buxton is healthy I don't see him giving up center on a daily basis.  That is a big IF!

[JD-TWINS]

On 1/31/2023 at 5:06 PM, Brad.dahlen said:

I want to hear your predictions of who will be the team's top five players in WAR. In 2022 it was Correa, Buxton, Arraez, Gray & Urshella in that order.

 

My guess - Buxton, Correa, P Lopez, Miranda, Ryan  

Buxton with 120 games played……..

Ryan with 15 wins……..

Correa because it’s expected……..

Gray playing for a contract with someone……

Polanco with welcomed bounce back year…….

[rwilfong86]

Buxton then Correa

[Twins33]

Correa, Buxton, Polanco, Mahle, P. Lopez

[Musk21]

Correa, Buxton, Ryan, Lopez, Miranda