What would happen if the practice of giving a W or L to individual players extended beyond just pitchers, and also involved a better process than just lucky timing? Using WPA, I’ve assigned a W or L for every game in the 2014 season so far. Let’s see what it looks like:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Player of record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/31 | @Brewers | 0-2 | Dan Uggla - L (0-1) |
| 4/1 | @Brewers | 5-2 | Alex Wood - W (1-0) |
| 4/2 | @Brewers | 1-0 | Aaron Harang - W (1-0) |
| 4/4 | @Nationals | 2-1 | David Hale - W (1-0) |
| 4/5 | @Nationals | 6-2 | Andrelton Simmons - W (1-0) |
| 4/6 | @Nationals | 1-2 | Jason Heyward - L (0-1) |
| 4/8 | vs. Mets | 0-4 | Jason Heyward - L (0-2) |
| 4/9 | vs. Mets | 4-3 | Ervin Santana - W (1-0) |
| 4/10 | vs. Mets | 4-6 | David Hale - L (1-1) |
| 4/11 | vs. Nationals | 7-6 | Justin Upton - W (1-0) |
| 4/12 | vs. Nationals | 6-3 | Justin Upton - W (2-0) |
| 4/13 | vs. Nationals | 10-2 | Aaron Harang - W (2-0) |
| 4/14 | @Phillies | 9-6 | Dan Uggla - W (1-1) |
| 4/16 | @Phillies | 1-0 | Julio Teheran - W (1-0) |
| 4/17 | @Phillies | 0-1 | Jason Heyward - L (0-3) |
| 4/18 | @Mets | 6-0 | Aaron Harang - W (3-0) |
| 4/19 | @Mets | 7-5 | Freddie Freeman - W (1-0) |
| 4/20 | @Mets | 3-4 | Evan Gattis - L (0-1) |
| 4/21 | vs. Marlins | 4-2 | Evan Gattis - W (1-1) |
| 4/22 | vs. Marlins | 0-1 | B.J. Upton - L (0-1) |
| 4/23 | vs. Marlins | 3-1 | Evan Gattis - W (2-1) |
| 4/25 | vs. Reds | 5-4 | Justin Upton - W (3-0) |
| 4/26 | vs. Reds | 4-1 | David Hale - W (2-1) |
| 4/27 | vs. Reds | 1-0 | Julio Teheran - W (2-0) |
| 4/29 | @Marlins | 0-9 | Alex Wood - L (1-1) |
| 4/30 | @Marlins | 3-9 | Aaron Harang - L (3-1) |
| 5/1 | @Marlins | 4-5 | David Carpenter - L (0-1) |
| 5/2 | vs. Giants | 1-2 | Chris Johnson - L (0-1) |
| 5/3 | vs. Giants | 1-3 | Justin Upton - L (3-1) |
| 5/4 | vs. Giants | 1-4 | Justin Upton - L (3-2) |
| 5/5 | vs. Cardinals | 3-4 | Justin Upton - L (3-3) |
| 5/6 | vs. Cardinals | 2-1 | Chris Johnson - W (1-1) |
| 5/7 | vs. Cardinals | 1-7 | Mike Minor - L (0-1) |
| 5/9 | vs. Cubs | 3-2 | Julio Teheran - W (3-0) |
| 5/10 | vs. Cubs | 2-0 | Ervin Santana - W (2-0) |
| 5/11 | vs. Cubs | 5-2 | Evan Gattis - W (3-1) |
| 5/12 | @Giants | 2-4 | Gavin Floyd - L (0-1) |
| 5/13 | @Giants | 5-0 | Mike Minor - W (1-1) |
| 5/14 | @Giants | 4-10 | Julio Teheran - L (3-1) |
| 5/16 | @Cardinals | 2-5 | Ervin Santana - L (2-1) |
| 5/17 | @Cardinals | 1-4 | Justin Upton - L (3-4) |
| 5/18 | @Cardinals | 6-5 | Freddie Freeman - W (2-0) |
| 5/19 | vs. Brewers | 9-3 | Jason Heyward - W (1-3) |
| 5/20 | vs. Brewers | 5-0 | Julio Teheran - W (4-1) |
| 5/21 | vs. Brewers | 1-6 | Ervin Santana - L (2-2) |
| 5/22 | vs. Brewers | 5-4 | Ryan Doumit - W (1-0) |
| 5/23 | vs. Rockies | 3-2 | Gerald Laird - W (1-0) |
| 5/24 | vs. Rockies | 1-3 | Chris Johnson - L (1-2) |
| 5/25 | vs. Rockies | 7-0 | Evan Gattis - W (4-1) |
| 5/26 | vs. Red Sox | 6-8 | Ian Thomas - L (0-1) |
| 5/27 | vs. Red Sox | 3-6 | Luis Avilan - L (0-1) |
| 5/28 | @Red Sox | 0-4 | Freddie Freeman - L (2-1) |
| 5/29 | @Red Sox | 3-4 | David Carpenter - L (0-2) |
| 5/30 | @Marlins | 3-2 | Jason Heyward - W (2-3) |
| 5/31 | @Marlins | 9-5 | Freddie Freeman - W (3-1) |
| 6/1 | @Marlins | 4-2 | Evan Gattis - W (5-1) |
| 6/3 | vs. Mariners | 5-7 | Gavin Floyd - L (0-2) |
| 6/4 | vs. Mariners | 0-2 | Chris Johnson - L (1-3) |
| 6/6 | @Diamondbacks | 5-2 | Jason Heyward - W (3-3) |
| 6/7 | @Diamondbacks | 3-4 | Anthony Varvaro - L (0-1) |
| 6/8 | @Diamondbacks | 5-6 | David Hale - L (2-2) |
| 6/9 | @Rockies | 3-1 | Gavin Floyd - W (1-2) |
A breakdown by starters:
C Evan Gattis (5-1)
1B Freddie Freeman (3-1)
2B Dan Uggla (1-1)
3B Chris Johnson (1-3)
SS Andrelton Simmons (1-0)
LF Justin Upton (3-4)
CF BJ Upton (0-1)
RF Jason Heyward (3-3)
Bench Gerald Laird (1-0)
Bench Ryan Doumit (1-0)
SP Julio Teheran (4-1)
SP Aaron Harang (3-1)
SP Mike Minor (1-1)
SP Gavin Floyd (1-2)
SP Ervin Santana (2-2)
SP/RP David Hale (2-2)
SP/RP Alex Wood (1-1)
RP David Carpenter (0-1)
RP Luis Avilan (0-1)
RP Anthony Varvaro (0-1)
RP Ian Thomas (0-1)
(everyone else is 0-0)
Now, I won’t pretend that this is a good way of analyzing players or pitchers. WPA doesn’t incorporate defense, for example. It also My method has the same basic flaw that Wins have – trying to give a single player credit or blame for a team’s result. It isn’t a good way to look at things. But I would at least contend that my revised W/L record is a better way of doing that flawed exercise.
If we’re not going to acquiesce to Brian Kenny’s wishes and kill the win, the least we could do is make it better.
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