4 Red Sox Players You Would've Never Guessed Led the Team in WAR for a Full Season
By Max Smith
In baseball, wins above replacement (WAR) has grown into one of the go-to advanced stats for tracking player value as it relates to actual victories. WAR combines everything a player does on the diamond into one stat that determines how much a player is truly helping their team in comparison to a hyptothetical baseline "replacement" player. Once in a while, a player will surprise you with just how much value they bring to the squad in a given season, and it's always exciting to watch a man outperform expectations for a full 162 games. That's the case for these four Red Sox players, who silenced the skeptics and led their team in WAR for a full season.
4. Jacoby Ellsbury (2011)
In 2011, Jacoby Ellsbury broke out in a big way. In what turned out to be the best season of his career, Ellsbury batted .321, hitting 32 home runs and 105 RBIs. Ellsbury's power surprised everyone in 2011, as he had only hit 20 career home runs in the first four years of his career. Ellsbury's all-around game is what helped him to lead the team in WAR, excelling in batting, fielding, and baserunning with 39 steals. When it was all said and done, Ellsbury finished with 8.3 wins above replacement, which was fourth in the MLB.
3. John Valentin (1995)
Over the course of his 11-year career, John Valentin was always a solid player, hitting for a career average of .279 with an RBI total of 558. However, you probably wouldn't expect him to lead a Red Sox team in WAR with the likes of Mo Vaughn and Roger Clemens alongside him. However, that's exactly what the shortstop did in 1995, finishing with a WAR of 8.3, which was third-best in the majors. Valentin hit 27 home runs and drove in 102 while also stealing 20 bases that season.
2. Derek Lowe (2002)
A hero during the historic 2004 Red Sox World Series run, Derek Lowe will always be fondly remembered in Boston. However, his best season came in 2002, leading the team with a WAR of 7.3, which beat out superstars like Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, and Manny Ramirez. After leading the AL in saves in 2000, Lowe became a starter in 2002 and had an outstanding season, winning 21 games and posting an ERA of 2.58, earning him his second All-Star appearance. He also came third in Cy Young voting that season, an amazing accomplishment for a player in his first year as a full-time starter.
1. Danny Darwin (1993)
Danny Darwin's 21-season career was solid but never spectacular. He never made an All-Star game, and finished with a career ERA of 3.84. However, the veteran pitcher somehow led the Red Sox with a 5.7 WAR in 1993. This speaks more to the mediocrity of the team that season, as they finished with a 80-82 record, 15 games back of the first-place Blue Jays. However, let's not discredit Darwin's campaign. He was a workhorse for the Sox, pitching 229 innings, which is not easy in any sense of the word. He also finished with a solid 3.26 ERA and 15 wins, which ended up being just over 18% of Boston's total for the season.