I was curious about something, so I looked it up. I’m not sure it really means anything. It’s just a different peek at some numbers. I’ve always thought that Win Shares undervalues fielding, so I wondered what player’s numbers would look like if I doubled their fielding Win Shares. First, the catchers on the ’86 ballot who’ve garnered some points:
358 Freehan
270 Howard
268 Munson
Second, the outfielders and first basemen:
437 McCovey
399 Davis
392 Pinson
351 Wynn
350 Cash
338 Cepeda
321 F Howard
311 Colavito
297 White
296 Flood
272 Oliva
252 Maris
Third, the infielders:
416 Aparicio
336 Wills
333 Mazeroski
324 Fregosi
268 Kuenn
Every time I do a silly little study like this, Willie Davis and Vada Pinson are always right next to each other. Sometimes Davis leads; sometimes Pinson leads. Collectively we seem to think of them as equal. In the ’85 election, they tied (with Munson) with 34 points for 10th place. After 10 ballots in so far in ’86, Davis is in 7th place and Pinson is in 8th (actually a three-way tie for 8th with Munson again and Hunter). I doubt if either gets in the GOR, there are too many guys on the ballot ahead of them and starting in 1989 it gets really crowded with A, B, C and really strong D Grade candidates until 1996. But if only one of the two gets in, I have no idea if it should be Davis or Pinson.
Bob Gregory's Gallery of Renown 