Yesterday the discussions about raising the salaries of players as a percentage of Major League Baseball (MLB) revenue centered around small changes to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Today the discussion will go outside the box to consider a way to distribute more money to the players to make up for any shortfall from a fixed percentage of revenue.
For example, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and MLB decide that ballplayers as a group should get 50% of MLB revenue. In 2010, depending on which data for salaries is used, players received between 40 and 43 percent of MLB revenue. I’ll use the lower number for this example, since it’s easy to divide by 10. Under an agreement that guaranteed the players at least 50% of revenue, MLB would have to make up 10%, or $680 million dollars.
Leagues that implement a fixed revenue sharing scheme usually do so by creating salary floors and caps based on previous revenues. So the fixed rate also tries to serve as a way of helping competitive balance. The problem, of course, is that these leagues are always a year off. They are paying players with expected revenue, not actual revenue. I’m sure most years it doesn’t matter much, but there is no reason that players can’t be reward based on the current year’s revenue stream.
Paying players based on the current year’s revenue also allows the league to provide an incentive for better performance. Taking 2010 as an example, I would suggest the $680 million dollars be distributed according to a player’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR). The good people at FanGraphs sent me their 2010 WAR stats compatible with the Day by Day Database, so I was able to do some calculations with the data. What I suggest is that players with a WAR of zero or below get no bonuses. They did nothing to lift the team above replacement level. Players with a positive WAR would get a percentage of the bonus pool equal to the percentage of the total positive WAR produce that year.
Using Evan Longoria as an example, we see that he produced a WAR of 6.934 in 2010. The total positive WAR for 2010 came in at 1206.36, so Evan would get a bonus of $680 million * 6.934/1206.36 or about $3.91 million. Evan earned under $1 million in 2010, so his playing well earned him a 300% raise. Someone like Albert Pujols who signed a long term contract that is way below market value, would earn an extra $4.13 million.
The following table shows the bonuses for each positive WAR player in 2010 based on a $680 million pool. For positions, 10 is DH, 11 is pinch hitter, 12 is starting pitcher, and 13 represents a relief pitcher.
Player | Position | 2010 WAR | Bonus Salary |
---|---|---|---|
Josh Hamilton | 7 | 8.039 | $4,531,168 |
Joey Votto | 3 | 7.431 | $4,188,813 |
Albert Pujols | 3 | 7.324 | $4,128,426 |
Ryan Zimmerman | 5 | 7.164 | $4,038,238 |
Adrian Beltre | 5 | 7.072 | $3,986,425 |
Cliff Lee | 12 | 7.070 | $3,985,303 |
Jose Bautista | 9 | 6.939 | $3,911,529 |
Evan Longoria | 5 | 6.934 | $3,908,699 |
Matt Holliday | 7 | 6.890 | $3,883,554 |
Carl Crawford | 7 | 6.860 | $3,866,576 |
Troy Tulowitzki | 6 | 6.439 | $3,629,786 |
Robinson Cano | 4 | 6.373 | $3,592,460 |
Justin Verlander | 12 | 6.318 | $3,561,051 |
Felix Hernandez | 12 | 6.235 | $3,514,323 |
Miguel Cabrera | 3 | 6.165 | $3,475,282 |
Rickie Weeks | 4 | 6.075 | $3,424,439 |
Francisco Liriano | 12 | 6.008 | $3,386,802 |
Andres Torres | 8 | 5.987 | $3,374,880 |
Kelly Johnson | 4 | 5.971 | $3,365,529 |
Carlos Gonzalez | 8 | 5.952 | $3,354,982 |
Jered Weaver | 12 | 5.870 | $3,308,507 |
Aubrey Huff | 3 | 5.711 | $3,219,131 |
Jon Lester | 12 | 5.645 | $3,181,832 |
Adam Wainwright | 12 | 5.632 | $3,174,905 |
Shin-Soo Choo | 9 | 5.565 | $3,137,133 |
Roy Halladay | 12 | 5.470 | $3,083,245 |
Brett Gardner | 7 | 5.399 | $3,043,235 |
Brian McCann | 2 | 5.324 | $3,001,213 |
Jay Bruce | 9 | 5.266 | $2,968,452 |
Adrian Gonzalez | 3 | 5.264 | $2,967,342 |
Justin Morneau | 3 | 5.264 | $2,967,240 |
Zack Greinke | 12 | 5.240 | $2,953,611 |
Josh Johnson | 12 | 5.216 | $2,940,274 |
Chase Utley | 4 | 5.152 | $2,904,001 |
Yovani Gallardo | 12 | 5.134 | $2,893,812 |
Stephen Drew | 6 | 5.117 | $2,884,515 |
Dan Uggla | 4 | 5.111 | $2,880,688 |
Joe Mauer | 2 | 5.108 | $2,879,245 |
CC Sabathia | 12 | 5.103 | $2,876,573 |
Nelson Cruz | 9 | 5.102 | $2,875,885 |
Scott Rolen | 5 | 5.036 | $2,838,880 |
Ubaldo Jimenez | 12 | 4.993 | $2,814,428 |
Jayson Werth | 9 | 4.988 | $2,811,722 |
Jason Heyward | 9 | 4.970 | $2,801,311 |
Dan Haren | 12 | 4.955 | $2,792,807 |
Angel Pagan | 8 | 4.907 | $2,765,698 |
Daric Barton | 3 | 4.883 | $2,752,243 |
Ichiro Suzuki | 9 | 4.757 | $2,681,670 |
Chase Headley | 5 | 4.593 | $2,588,900 |
C.J. Wilson | 12 | 4.412 | $2,487,219 |
Colby Lewis | 12 | 4.391 | $2,475,105 |
Hanley Ramirez | 6 | 4.356 | $2,455,613 |
Chris Young | 8 | 4.346 | $2,449,943 |
John Danks | 12 | 4.344 | $2,448,737 |
Gavin Floyd | 12 | 4.338 | $2,445,416 |
David Price | 12 | 4.295 | $2,421,049 |
Paul Konerko | 3 | 4.196 | $2,365,211 |
Michael Bourn | 8 | 4.191 | $2,362,579 |
Kevin Youkilis | 3 | 4.189 | $2,361,288 |
Ryan Braun | 7 | 4.150 | $2,339,411 |
Carlos Ruiz | 2 | 4.135 | $2,331,069 |
Marlon Byrd | 8 | 4.135 | $2,330,900 |
Nick Swisher | 9 | 4.102 | $2,312,439 |
Rafael Furcal | 6 | 4.083 | $2,301,329 |
Prince Fielder | 3 | 4.076 | $2,297,626 |
David Wright | 5 | 4.052 | $2,284,064 |
Brandon Phillips | 4 | 4.041 | $2,278,027 |
Ricky Romero | 12 | 4.027 | $2,269,904 |
Tim Lincecum | 12 | 4.008 | $2,259,195 |
Victor Martinez | 2 | 3.990 | $2,249,015 |
John Lackey | 12 | 3.983 | $2,245,328 |
Vernon Wells | 8 | 3.968 | $2,236,433 |
Chad Billingsley | 12 | 3.950 | $2,226,795 |
Buster Posey | 2 | 3.938 | $2,219,546 |
Adam Dunn | 3 | 3.916 | $2,207,567 |
Martin Prado | 4 | 3.895 | $2,195,245 |
Alex Rodriguez | 5 | 3.858 | $2,174,936 |
Edwin Jackson | 12 | 3.814 | $2,150,061 |
Mark Buehrle | 12 | 3.793 | $2,137,801 |
Alexei Ramirez | 6 | 3.790 | $2,136,302 |
Roy Oswalt | 12 | 3.768 | $2,123,871 |
Austin Jackson | 8 | 3.750 | $2,113,867 |
Placido Polanco | 5 | 3.705 | $2,088,564 |
Alex Rios | 8 | 3.700 | $2,085,588 |
Max Scherzer | 12 | 3.698 | $2,084,319 |
Clay Buchholz | 12 | 3.687 | $2,078,530 |
Brandon Morrow | 12 | 3.658 | $2,061,733 |
Cliff Pennington | 6 | 3.655 | $2,060,008 |
Jim Thome | 10 | 3.639 | $2,051,327 |
Shane Victorino | 8 | 3.588 | $2,022,247 |
Curtis Granderson | 8 | 3.568 | $2,011,323 |
Casey McGehee | 5 | 3.531 | $1,990,191 |
Colby Rasmus | 8 | 3.531 | $1,990,191 |
Shaun Marcum | 12 | 3.502 | $1,974,075 |
Mark Teixeira | 3 | 3.500 | $1,973,016 |
Geovany Soto | 2 | 3.486 | $1,965,136 |
Torii Hunter | 8 | 3.460 | $1,950,238 |
Anibal Sanchez | 12 | 3.456 | $1,948,087 |
Billy Butler | 3 | 3.449 | $1,943,992 |
Clayton Kershaw | 12 | 3.433 | $1,935,159 |
Alex Gonzalez | 6 | 3.423 | $1,929,190 |
B.J. Upton | 8 | 3.394 | $1,913,289 |
Corey Hart | 9 | 3.389 | $1,910,498 |
Ike Davis | 3 | 3.387 | $1,909,033 |
Brett Myers | 12 | 3.367 | $1,898,137 |
Mat Latos | 12 | 3.344 | $1,885,122 |
Dustin Pedroia | 4 | 3.325 | $1,874,496 |
Andrew McCutchen | 8 | 3.320 | $1,871,210 |
David Ortiz | 10 | 3.292 | $1,855,506 |
Coco Crisp | 8 | 3.279 | $1,848,116 |
Thomas Hanson | 12 | 3.253 | $1,833,410 |
Miguel Olivo | 2 | 3.237 | $1,824,357 |
Mark Ellis | 4 | 3.223 | $1,816,494 |
Juan Uribe | 6 | 3.220 | $1,815,169 |
Drew Stubbs | 8 | 3.207 | $1,807,954 |
Gio Gonzalez | 12 | 3.187 | $1,796,162 |
Ian Kinsler | 4 | 3.184 | $1,794,505 |
Carl Pavano | 12 | 3.159 | $1,780,915 |
Justin Upton | 9 | 3.145 | $1,772,617 |
Hunter Pence | 9 | 3.143 | $1,771,896 |
Orlando Hudson | 4 | 3.134 | $1,766,490 |
Luke Scott | 10 | 3.116 | $1,756,553 |
Ben Zobrist | 9 | 3.105 | $1,750,206 |
Johan Santana | 12 | 3.096 | $1,745,413 |
Carlos Marmol | 13 | 3.077 | $1,734,631 |
Wandy Rodriguez | 12 | 3.052 | $1,720,339 |
Jhoulys Chacin | 12 | 3.021 | $1,702,738 |
Dallas Braden | 12 | 3.016 | $1,700,072 |
Hiroki Kuroda | 12 | 2.975 | $1,676,708 |
Cole Hamels | 12 | 2.958 | $1,667,530 |
Douglas Fister | 12 | 2.935 | $1,654,364 |
Alfonso Soriano | 7 | 2.925 | $1,648,513 |
Denard Span | 8 | 2.916 | $1,643,597 |
Kevin Kouzmanoff | 5 | 2.906 | $1,637,904 |
Matt Cain | 12 | 2.903 | $1,636,630 |
John Buck | 2 | 2.864 | $1,614,388 |
Nick Markakis | 9 | 2.842 | $1,601,829 |
Casey Blake | 5 | 2.830 | $1,595,256 |
R.A. Dickey | 12 | 2.814 | $1,586,427 |
Jason Hammel | 12 | 2.784 | $1,569,473 |
Jose Reyes | 6 | 2.774 | $1,563,668 |
Randy Wells | 12 | 2.763 | $1,557,316 |
Jim Edmonds | 8 | 2.760 | $1,555,675 |
Josh Willingham | 7 | 2.749 | $1,549,401 |
Fausto Carmona | 12 | 2.748 | $1,549,221 |
Mike C Stanton | 9 | 2.747 | $1,548,607 |
Jaime Garcia | 12 | 2.739 | $1,543,656 |
Chris Carpenter | 12 | 2.731 | $1,539,610 |
Brian Matusz | 12 | 2.724 | $1,535,197 |
Mike Napoli | 3 | 2.720 | $1,533,150 |
Michael Young | 5 | 2.704 | $1,523,963 |
Daniel Valencia | 5 | 2.691 | $1,516,979 |
Justin Masterson | 12 | 2.688 | $1,515,141 |
Chipper Jones | 5 | 2.686 | $1,514,047 |
Brian Wilson | 13 | 2.676 | $1,508,580 |
Omar Infante | 4 | 2.662 | $1,500,288 |
Freddy Sanchez | 4 | 2.660 | $1,499,578 |
Yadier Molina | 2 | 2.641 | $1,488,812 |
Ramon Hernandez | 2 | 2.640 | $1,488,056 |
Jason Vargas | 12 | 2.608 | $1,470,041 |
Stephen Strasburg | 12 | 2.605 | $1,468,593 |
J.D. Drew | 9 | 2.604 | $1,467,961 |
Vladimir Guerrero | 10 | 2.585 | $1,457,381 |
David DeJesus | 9 | 2.580 | $1,454,315 |
Brett Anderson | 12 | 2.579 | $1,453,926 |
Scott Baker | 12 | 2.546 | $1,435,262 |
John Jaso | 2 | 2.539 | $1,431,317 |
Magglio Ordonez | 9 | 2.535 | $1,428,944 |
Will Venable | 9 | 2.522 | $1,421,757 |
Ervin Santana | 12 | 2.518 | $1,419,276 |
Pat Burrell | 7 | 2.504 | $1,411,458 |
Joel Pineiro | 12 | 2.502 | $1,410,167 |
Brett Aarion Cecil | 12 | 2.497 | $1,407,394 |
Daisuke Matsuzaka | 12 | 2.491 | $1,404,057 |
Ryan Dempster | 12 | 2.489 | $1,402,747 |
Ricky Nolasco | 12 | 2.466 | $1,390,106 |
Derek Jeter | 6 | 2.455 | $1,383,646 |
Jorge Posada | 2 | 2.431 | $1,370,332 |
Mark Reynolds | 5 | 2.412 | $1,359,414 |
Jamey Carroll | 6 | 2.407 | $1,356,832 |
Jeff Keppinger | 4 | 2.406 | $1,356,116 |
Yorvit Torrealba | 2 | 2.394 | $1,349,369 |
Jack Cust | 10 | 2.392 | $1,348,219 |
J.J. Hardy | 6 | 2.387 | $1,345,576 |
Gaby Sanchez | 3 | 2.383 | $1,343,507 |
Heath Bell | 13 | 2.379 | $1,341,032 |
Phil Hughes | 12 | 2.368 | $1,334,731 |
Jeremy Guthrie | 12 | 2.340 | $1,318,925 |
Derek Lowe | 12 | 2.337 | $1,317,124 |
Livan Hernandez | 12 | 2.329 | $1,312,928 |
Franklin Gutierrez | 8 | 2.306 | $1,300,048 |
Jimmy Rollins | 6 | 2.300 | $1,296,378 |
Andy Pettitte | 12 | 2.293 | $1,292,483 |
Adam Jones | 8 | 2.292 | $1,292,026 |
Matt Wieters | 2 | 2.278 | $1,284,112 |
Tom Gorzelanny | 12 | 2.261 | $1,274,586 |
Daniel Hudson | 12 | 2.256 | $1,271,497 |
Jake Westbrook | 12 | 2.255 | $1,271,125 |
Kevin Slowey | 12 | 2.249 | $1,267,439 |
Juan Pierre | 7 | 2.240 | $1,262,518 |
Sean Marshall | 13 | 2.239 | $1,262,039 |
Matt Belisle | 13 | 2.233 | $1,258,600 |
Travis Wood | 12 | 2.230 | $1,256,797 |
Matt Thornton | 13 | 2.212 | $1,246,650 |
Bobby Abreu | 9 | 2.204 | $1,242,474 |
Andre Ethier | 9 | 2.194 | $1,236,927 |
Cody Ross | 8 | 2.192 | $1,235,405 |
Ryan Hanigan | 2 | 2.189 | $1,233,945 |
Trevor John Cahill | 12 | 2.180 | $1,228,940 |
Ian Kennedy | 12 | 2.178 | $1,227,899 |
Hong-Chih Kuo | 13 | 2.178 | $1,227,609 |
James Shields | 12 | 2.174 | $1,225,343 |
Yunel Escobar | 6 | 2.164 | $1,220,022 |
Billy Wagner | 13 | 2.159 | $1,216,725 |
Carlos Zambrano | 12 | 2.153 | $1,213,407 |
Marco Scutaro | 6 | 2.146 | $1,209,442 |
Carlos Silva | 12 | 2.141 | $1,206,984 |
Brandon Inge | 5 | 2.132 | $1,201,973 |
Ryan Raburn | 7 | 2.122 | $1,196,235 |
Lance Berkman | 3 | 2.116 | $1,192,870 |
Ryan Ludwick | 9 | 2.104 | $1,186,213 |
Adam LaRoche | 3 | 2.095 | $1,180,836 |
Tim Hudson | 12 | 2.090 | $1,177,968 |
Russell Martin | 2 | 2.079 | $1,171,631 |
Joakim Soria | 13 | 2.063 | $1,162,832 |
Delmon Young | 7 | 2.062 | $1,162,437 |
David Murphy | 7 | 2.044 | $1,152,381 |
Carlos Santana | 2 | 2.028 | $1,143,328 |
John Axford | 13 | 2.015 | $1,136,091 |
Derrek Lee | 3 | 2.009 | $1,132,585 |
Ramon Santiago | 6 | 2.002 | $1,128,729 |
Ryan Howard | 3 | 1.995 | $1,124,761 |
David Eckstein | 4 | 1.984 | $1,118,138 |
Russell Branyan | 10 | 1.984 | $1,118,132 |
Kyle Davies | 12 | 1.983 | $1,118,048 |
Madison Bumgarner | 12 | 1.975 | $1,113,256 |
Mike Pelfrey | 12 | 1.966 | $1,108,356 |
Starlin Castro | 6 | 1.964 | $1,106,932 |
Jose Tabata | 7 | 1.959 | $1,104,412 |
Homer Bailey | 12 | 1.948 | $1,098,093 |
Hideki Matsui | 10 | 1.948 | $1,097,947 |
Rick Porcello | 12 | 1.936 | $1,091,498 |
Pablo Sandoval | 5 | 1.934 | $1,090,191 |
Jeff Francis | 12 | 1.933 | $1,089,356 |
Miguel Montero | 2 | 1.926 | $1,085,760 |
Neil Walker | 4 | 1.915 | $1,079,216 |
Matt Joyce | 9 | 1.909 | $1,076,335 |
Johnny Cueto | 12 | 1.905 | $1,074,065 |
Jonathan Sanchez | 12 | 1.905 | $1,073,949 |
Sean Rodriguez | 4 | 1.905 | $1,073,838 |
Jerry Hairston | 6 | 1.900 | $1,071,009 |
Johnny Damon | 10 | 1.884 | $1,061,691 |
Rafael Betancourt | 13 | 1.877 | $1,058,089 |
Travis Hafner | 10 | 1.868 | $1,052,740 |
Andruw Jones | 9 | 1.840 | $1,037,070 |
Chris Denorfia | 8 | 1.838 | $1,035,892 |
Edwin Encarnacion | 5 | 1.830 | $1,031,315 |
Jed Lowrie | 4 | 1.801 | $1,015,238 |
Matt Garza | 12 | 1.793 | $1,010,554 |
Jake Peavy | 12 | 1.792 | $1,010,357 |
Joe Saunders | 12 | 1.781 | $1,003,959 |
Jonathon Niese | 12 | 1.774 | $1,000,068 |
Raul Ibanez | 7 | 1.754 | $988,808 |
A.J. Pierzynski | 2 | 1.752 | $987,511 |
Neftali Feliz | 13 | 1.747 | $984,676 |
Luke Hochevar | 12 | 1.746 | $984,022 |
Mike Adams | 13 | 1.745 | $983,887 |
Jorge de la Rosa | 12 | 1.745 | $983,684 |
Felipe Paulino | 12 | 1.736 | $978,605 |
Jonathan Venters | 13 | 1.719 | $968,938 |
Dexter Fowler | 8 | 1.710 | $963,904 |
Seth Smith | 7 | 1.703 | $960,184 |
Tony Gwynn | 8 | 1.703 | $959,733 |
James McDonald | 12 | 1.693 | $954,147 |
Tyler Colvin | 9 | 1.685 | $950,015 |
Mariano Rivera | 13 | 1.681 | $947,439 |
Brian Duensing | 13 | 1.657 | $933,793 |
Peter Bourjos | 8 | 1.653 | $931,955 |
Chris Narveson | 12 | 1.653 | $931,662 |
Hisanori Takahashi | 13 | 1.644 | $926,566 |
Clayton Richard | 12 | 1.632 | $919,672 |
Manny Ramirez | 7 | 1.629 | $918,421 |
Bud Norris | 12 | 1.619 | $912,418 |
David Ross | 2 | 1.615 | $910,299 |
Kurt Suzuki | 2 | 1.609 | $907,182 |
Rafael Soriano | 13 | 1.605 | $904,561 |
Adam Rosales | 4 | 1.604 | $904,143 |
Pedro Alvarez | 5 | 1.575 | $887,746 |
Ian Stewart | 5 | 1.568 | $883,812 |
Howie Kendrick | 4 | 1.567 | $883,068 |
Christopher Johnson | 5 | 1.560 | $879,505 |
Mike Aviles | 4 | 1.549 | $873,271 |
Bobby Jenks | 13 | 1.536 | $865,661 |
Darren Oliver | 13 | 1.533 | $864,365 |
Joaquin Benoit | 13 | 1.525 | $859,709 |
Clay Hensley | 13 | 1.524 | $859,077 |
Nick Hundley | 2 | 1.521 | $857,302 |
Brian Roberts | 4 | 1.518 | $855,504 |
Lyle Overbay | 3 | 1.515 | $853,773 |
Austin Kearns | 7 | 1.514 | $853,373 |
David Freese | 5 | 1.512 | $852,110 |
Aaron Cook | 12 | 1.504 | $847,595 |
Elvis Andrus | 6 | 1.497 | $843,700 |
J.J. Putz | 13 | 1.495 | $842,900 |
Laynce Nix | 7 | 1.482 | $835,454 |
Daniel Bard | 13 | 1.480 | $834,231 |
Travis Snider | 7 | 1.463 | $824,586 |
Leo Nunez | 13 | 1.457 | $821,232 |
Jason Repko | 9 | 1.457 | $821,024 |
Kosuke Fukudome | 9 | 1.456 | $820,894 |
Tyler Clippard | 13 | 1.439 | $811,063 |
Joel Hanrahan | 13 | 1.430 | $806,317 |
Jhonny Peralta | 5 | 1.425 | $803,251 |
Kris Medlen | 13 | 1.403 | $791,109 |
Esmil Rogers | 13 | 1.399 | $788,832 |
Jason Bay | 7 | 1.399 | $788,815 |
Mitch Talbot | 12 | 1.398 | $787,998 |
Sean Burnett | 13 | 1.395 | $786,132 |
Nick Punto | 5 | 1.392 | $784,785 |
Joshua Thole | 2 | 1.387 | $781,854 |
Joba Chamberlain | 13 | 1.386 | $781,453 |
Craig Stammen | 12 | 1.383 | $779,746 |
Kendry Morales | 3 | 1.374 | $774,357 |
Josh Beckett | 12 | 1.372 | $773,618 |
Koji Uehara | 13 | 1.371 | $772,891 |
Mike Morse | 9 | 1.367 | $770,715 |
Francisco J Rodriguez | 13 | 1.367 | $770,524 |
Alberto Callaspo | 5 | 1.365 | $769,509 |
Orlando Cabrera | 6 | 1.349 | $760,507 |
Freddy Garcia | 12 | 1.338 | $754,420 |
Julio Borbon | 8 | 1.336 | $752,813 |
Miguel Tejada | 5 | 1.325 | $746,832 |
Bruce Chen | 12 | 1.322 | $745,102 |
Wilton Lopez | 13 | 1.317 | $742,363 |
Luke Gregerson | 13 | 1.313 | $739,888 |
Edgar Renteria | 6 | 1.305 | $735,474 |
Chris Heisey | 9 | 1.296 | $730,531 |
A.J. Burnett | 12 | 1.291 | $727,876 |
Tim Wakefield | 12 | 1.286 | $725,125 |
Kevin Millwood | 12 | 1.280 | $721,704 |
Don Kelly | 7 | 1.279 | $720,785 |
Tim Stauffer | 13 | 1.278 | $720,430 |
Ryan Madson | 13 | 1.271 | $716,315 |
Wilson Betemit | 5 | 1.263 | $711,653 |
Trevor Bell | 13 | 1.256 | $707,877 |
Barry Zito | 12 | 1.244 | $701,462 |
Rod Barajas | 2 | 1.236 | $696,536 |
Alejandro Sanabia | 12 | 1.235 | $696,406 |
Matt Capps | 13 | 1.235 | $696,366 |
Jair Jurrjens | 12 | 1.232 | $694,580 |
Takashi Saito | 13 | 1.226 | $690,809 |
Sergio Romo | 13 | 1.222 | $688,746 |
Scott Downs | 13 | 1.218 | $686,728 |
Jeff Niemann | 12 | 1.214 | $684,422 |
Ted Lilly | 12 | 1.209 | $681,722 |
Lorenzo Cain | 8 | 1.189 | $670,240 |
John Lannan | 12 | 1.183 | $666,757 |
Reid Brignac | 4 | 1.179 | $664,851 |
Grant Balfour | 13 | 1.165 | $656,599 |
Jonathan Papelbon | 13 | 1.161 | $654,553 |
Jonathan Broxton | 13 | 1.161 | $654,215 |
Rajai Davis | 8 | 1.155 | $650,928 |
Aaron Hill | 4 | 1.145 | $645,607 |
Kevin Jepsen | 13 | 1.139 | $642,135 |
Ramon Castro | 2 | 1.137 | $640,974 |
Jeff Baker | 5 | 1.135 | $639,942 |
Jon Rauch | 13 | 1.135 | $639,621 |
Joe Thatcher | 13 | 1.134 | $639,131 |
Carlos Gomez | 8 | 1.124 | $633,387 |
Ian Desmond | 6 | 1.121 | $631,656 |
Ronny Paulino | 2 | 1.109 | $625,377 |
Francisco Cervelli | 2 | 1.092 | $615,648 |
Paul Maholm | 12 | 1.086 | $612,277 |
Brad Penny | 12 | 1.083 | $610,344 |
Logan Morrison | 7 | 1.080 | $608,557 |
Jonathan Jay | 9 | 1.070 | $603,179 |
Gerardo Enrique Parra | 7 | 1.068 | $602,063 |
Jose Molina | 2 | 1.067 | $601,545 |
Jason Michaels | 7 | 1.066 | $600,812 |
Alexi Casilla | 6 | 1.065 | $600,248 |
Gregor Blanco | 8 | 1.063 | $599,391 |
Joe Blanton | 12 | 1.063 | $599,221 |
James Loney | 3 | 1.062 | $598,557 |
Mike Leake | 12 | 1.054 | $594,228 |
Phil Coke | 13 | 1.050 | $592,098 |
Chris Snyder | 2 | 1.050 | $592,036 |
Scott Feldman | 12 | 1.049 | $591,258 |
Nick Masset | 13 | 1.044 | $588,456 |
Carlos Pena | 3 | 1.037 | $584,448 |
Andrew Bailey | 13 | 1.028 | $579,443 |
Joel Zumaya | 13 | 1.027 | $579,082 |
Casper Charles Wells | 9 | 1.022 | $575,920 |
Ronny Cedeno | 6 | 1.019 | $574,657 |
Brandon Lyon | 13 | 1.018 | $573,953 |
Maicer Izturis | 5 | 1.017 | $573,192 |
Adam Kennedy | 4 | 1.010 | $569,037 |
Brendan Ryan | 6 | 1.003 | $565,605 |
Kyle Farnsworth | 13 | 0.991 | $558,872 |
Frank Francisco | 13 | 0.987 | $556,217 |
Sergio Santos | 13 | 0.970 | $546,983 |
Ivan Rodriguez | 2 | 0.970 | $546,712 |
Paul Janish | 6 | 0.964 | $543,447 |
Bronson Arroyo | 12 | 0.962 | $542,188 |
Vicente Padilla | 12 | 0.953 | $537,460 |
Bill Hall | 7 | 0.953 | $537,065 |
Eric Hinske | 7 | 0.953 | $536,946 |
Jeremy Bonderman | 12 | 0.950 | $535,265 |
Shelley Duncan | 7 | 0.947 | $533,644 |
Aaron Harang | 12 | 0.942 | $530,884 |
Arthur Rhodes | 13 | 0.936 | $527,873 |
Fred Lewis | 7 | 0.931 | $524,712 |
Huston Street | 13 | 0.931 | $524,686 |
Aramis Ramirez | 5 | 0.929 | $523,378 |
Edinson Volquez | 12 | 0.927 | $522,381 |
Carlos Beltran | 8 | 0.924 | $520,690 |
Gordon Beckham | 4 | 0.917 | $517,009 |
Alex Avila | 2 | 0.917 | $516,931 |
Jose Guillen | 10 | 0.916 | $516,165 |
Miguel Cairo | 5 | 0.903 | $509,278 |
Erick Aybar | 6 | 0.901 | $508,089 |
Jason Frasor | 13 | 0.891 | $502,240 |
Darren O’Day | 13 | 0.889 | $501,219 |
Wilson Valdez | 6 | 0.888 | $500,802 |
Santiago Casilla | 13 | 0.883 | $497,916 |
Chris Perez | 13 | 0.875 | $493,355 |
Nyjer Morgan | 8 | 0.875 | $493,129 |
Jonathan Lucroy | 2 | 0.871 | $491,181 |
Ross Ohlendorf | 12 | 0.868 | $488,991 |
William Daniel Rhymes | 4 | 0.862 | $485,928 |
Corey Patterson | 7 | 0.860 | $484,903 |
Jesse Crain | 13 | 0.845 | $476,045 |
Evan Meek | 13 | 0.839 | $473,059 |
Emilio Bonifacio | 8 | 0.839 | $472,884 |
Darnell McDonald | 8 | 0.833 | $469,564 |
Kenley Jansen | 13 | 0.831 | $468,667 |
Blake DeWitt | 4 | 0.828 | $466,693 |
Pedro Feliciano | 13 | 0.810 | $456,758 |
Jason Berken | 13 | 0.808 | $455,662 |
Joe Inglett | 9 | 0.808 | $455,390 |
Ryan Doumit | 2 | 0.806 | $454,161 |
J.A. Happ | 12 | 0.804 | $453,445 |
John Ely | 12 | 0.804 | $453,264 |
Derek L. Holland | 12 | 0.802 | $452,108 |
Kevin Gregg | 13 | 0.802 | $451,850 |
Kenshin Kawakami | 12 | 0.797 | $449,433 |
Robinson Tejeda | 13 | 0.795 | $448,390 |
Christopher Coghlan | 7 | 0.793 | $446,845 |
Ryan Sweeney | 9 | 0.793 | $446,782 |
Wade Davis | 12 | 0.787 | $443,861 |
Ryan Webb | 13 | 0.772 | $434,996 |
Jacob Arrieta | 12 | 0.771 | $434,774 |
Jose Contreras | 13 | 0.768 | $433,023 |
Chris Volstad | 12 | 0.764 | $430,818 |
Alexei Ogando | 13 | 0.763 | $430,131 |
Mitch Maier | 8 | 0.756 | $426,180 |
Rick Ankiel | 8 | 0.741 | $417,867 |
Nelson Figueroa | 13 | 0.741 | $417,846 |
Bobby Parnell | 13 | 0.741 | $417,629 |
Aaron Cunningham | 7 | 0.738 | $415,815 |
Drew Storen | 13 | 0.737 | $415,492 |
Tommy Hunter | 12 | 0.735 | $414,241 |
David Robertson | 13 | 0.719 | $405,476 |
Brian Schneider | 2 | 0.713 | $401,647 |
Matt Stairs | 7 | 0.705 | $397,119 |
Mike Gonzalez | 13 | 0.697 | $393,095 |
Joel Peralta | 13 | 0.696 | $392,529 |
Jason Bartlett | 6 | 0.695 | $391,864 |
Lastings Milledge | 7 | 0.694 | $391,177 |
Jose Lopez | 5 | 0.692 | $390,272 |
Mitchell Moreland | 3 | 0.690 | $388,877 |
John McDonald | 4 | 0.687 | $387,041 |
Jonathan Herrera | 4 | 0.680 | $383,458 |
Eli Whiteside | 2 | 0.673 | $379,609 |
Kyle Lohse | 12 | 0.672 | $378,605 |
Ryan Langerhans | 7 | 0.671 | $378,083 |
Brooks Conrad | 5 | 0.669 | $377,359 |
Jon Garland | 12 | 0.667 | $376,113 |
Javier Lopez | 13 | 0.667 | $375,960 |
Casey Coleman | 12 | 0.666 | $375,521 |
A.J. Ellis | 2 | 0.663 | $373,906 |
Ben Francisco | 7 | 0.656 | $370,051 |
Jason Varitek | 2 | 0.652 | $367,719 |
Gregg Zaun | 2 | 0.650 | $366,551 |
George Kottaras | 2 | 0.646 | $364,001 |
Jason Kendall | 2 | 0.641 | $361,572 |
Jason Motte | 13 | 0.640 | $360,616 |
Scott Olsen | 12 | 0.640 | $360,497 |
Chris Sale | 13 | 0.639 | $360,195 |
Jarrod Dyson | 8 | 0.639 | $360,095 |
Jim Johnson | 13 | 0.632 | $356,017 |
Craig Counsell | 6 | 0.629 | $354,509 |
Luis Castillo | 4 | 0.627 | $353,381 |
Zach Braddock | 13 | 0.627 | $353,184 |
Alcides Escobar | 6 | 0.626 | $352,742 |
Ben Sheets | 12 | 0.617 | $347,570 |
Matt Diaz | 7 | 0.611 | $344,164 |
Bradley Bergesen | 12 | 0.605 | $341,208 |
Mike Minor | 12 | 0.605 | $341,017 |
Chone Figgins | 4 | 0.605 | $340,779 |
Ross Gload | 3 | 0.595 | $335,135 |
David J Hernandez | 13 | 0.594 | $334,641 |
Ryan Kalish | 8 | 0.579 | $326,558 |
Marcus Thames | 10 | 0.571 | $322,118 |
Carlos Carrasco | 12 | 0.571 | $321,656 |
Jose Valverde | 13 | 0.570 | $321,370 |
Yuniesky Betancourt | 6 | 0.570 | $321,122 |
Brennan Boesch | 9 | 0.569 | $320,613 |
Mike Sweeney | 10 | 0.567 | $319,543 |
Pat Misch | 12 | 0.565 | $318,207 |
Joshua Tomlin | 12 | 0.560 | $315,422 |
Reed Johnson | 7 | 0.557 | $313,985 |
Francisco Cordero | 13 | 0.551 | $310,306 |
Marc Rzepczynski | 12 | 0.546 | $307,866 |
Chris Iannetta | 2 | 0.542 | $305,571 |
Aaron Laffey | 13 | 0.540 | $304,530 |
Shawn Hill | 12 | 0.537 | $302,612 |
Craig Kimbrel | 13 | 0.537 | $302,550 |
Roger Bernadina | 9 | 0.536 | $302,174 |
Nate Schierholtz | 9 | 0.535 | $301,722 |
Eric O’Flaherty | 13 | 0.532 | $300,128 |
Aaron Rowand | 8 | 0.532 | $300,046 |
Armando Galarraga | 12 | 0.530 | $298,537 |
Burke Badenhop | 13 | 0.527 | $297,189 |
Carlos Guillen | 4 | 0.526 | $296,326 |
Randy Wolf | 12 | 0.520 | $293,033 |
Melvin Mora | 5 | 0.515 | $290,126 |
Nate Robertson | 12 | 0.513 | $289,238 |
D.J. Carrasco | 13 | 0.510 | $287,232 |
Juan Rivera | 7 | 0.505 | $284,661 |
Jeremy R Hellickson | 13 | 0.500 | $281,938 |
Brad Hawpe | 9 | 0.496 | $279,612 |
Humberto Quintero | 2 | 0.488 | $275,084 |
Robert Andino | 4 | 0.486 | $274,219 |
Chris Capuano | 13 | 0.477 | $268,593 |
Jeff Francoeur | 9 | 0.474 | $267,056 |
Matt Tolbert | 4 | 0.472 | $265,888 |
Troy Glaus | 3 | 0.472 | $265,872 |
Randy Choate | 13 | 0.461 | $260,123 |
Asdrubal Cabrera | 6 | 0.456 | $257,188 |
Rafael Perez | 13 | 0.454 | $255,780 |
Ivan Nova | 12 | 0.453 | $255,471 |
Kameron Loe | 13 | 0.451 | $254,188 |
Michael Cuddyer | 3 | 0.448 | $252,809 |
Kelly Shoppach | 2 | 0.448 | $252,673 |
Daniel Espinosa | 4 | 0.447 | $251,983 |
Dan Runzler | 13 | 0.442 | $249,298 |
Mark Hendrickson | 13 | 0.440 | $247,758 |
Rob Johnson | 2 | 0.438 | $246,945 |
Bengie Molina | 2 | 0.433 | $244,107 |
Danny Weston Worth | 6 | 0.424 | $238,812 |
Philip Humber | 13 | 0.423 | $238,360 |
Alberto Gonzalez | 5 | 0.422 | $238,080 |
Manny Parra | 13 | 0.414 | $233,391 |
Scott Podsednik | 7 | 0.407 | $229,636 |
Justin Maxwell | 9 | 0.406 | $228,954 |
Clint Barmes | 4 | 0.404 | $227,829 |
Manny Corpas | 13 | 0.403 | $227,100 |
Scott Hairston | 7 | 0.396 | $223,073 |
Wilson Ramos | 2 | 0.394 | $222,202 |
Bobby Wilson | 2 | 0.389 | $219,513 |
Nick Blackburn | 12 | 0.389 | $219,139 |
Zach Duke | 12 | 0.389 | $219,044 |
Brandon League | 13 | 0.386 | $217,456 |
Todd Helton | 3 | 0.384 | $216,719 |
Jason Giambi | 3 | 0.383 | $215,972 |
Jamie Moyer | 12 | 0.382 | $215,212 |
Kenneth Herndon | 13 | 0.380 | $214,352 |
Brayan Pena | 2 | 0.373 | $210,254 |
Boone Logan | 13 | 0.371 | $209,120 |
Lou Marson | 2 | 0.370 | $208,837 |
Matt Kemp | 8 | 0.370 | $208,309 |
Cameron Maybin | 8 | 0.369 | $208,271 |
Brian Fuentes | 13 | 0.367 | $206,914 |
Jeff Karstens | 12 | 0.366 | $206,362 |
Brad Lidge | 13 | 0.353 | $198,955 |
Casey Janssen | 13 | 0.353 | $198,884 |
Craig Breslow | 13 | 0.352 | $198,384 |
Jeanmar Gomez | 12 | 0.352 | $198,309 |
Jason Castro | 2 | 0.350 | $197,441 |
Jensen Lewis | 13 | 0.347 | $195,665 |
Henry Blanco | 2 | 0.346 | $195,271 |
Mike McCoy | 4 | 0.343 | $193,150 |
Ernesto Frieri | 13 | 0.339 | $190,847 |
Ty Wigginton | 3 | 0.338 | $190,400 |
Carlos Villanueva | 13 | 0.338 | $190,265 |
Ryan Franklin | 13 | 0.336 | $189,505 |
Robbie Weinhardt | 13 | 0.334 | $187,995 |
Dayan Viciedo | 5 | 0.332 | $187,182 |
Darwin Barney | 6 | 0.331 | $186,601 |
Landon Powell | 2 | 0.330 | $186,087 |
Craig Tatum | 2 | 0.326 | $183,822 |
Jason Bourgeois | 8 | 0.325 | $183,127 |
Dillon Kyle Gee | 12 | 0.325 | $182,924 |
Fernando Rodney | 13 | 0.323 | $181,942 |
Conor Jackson | 7 | 0.305 | $172,110 |
Michael Saunders | 7 | 0.303 | $170,790 |
Travis Ishikawa | 3 | 0.301 | $169,764 |
Chad Durbin | 13 | 0.300 | $169,331 |
Jason Kubel | 9 | 0.298 | $167,909 |
Doug Slaten | 13 | 0.297 | $167,291 |
Chris Carter | 7 | 0.296 | $166,985 |
Matt Lindstrom | 13 | 0.293 | $165,308 |
Felix Doubront | 13 | 0.287 | $162,044 |
Felix Pie | 7 | 0.280 | $157,924 |
Jeffrey Manship | 13 | 0.274 | $154,492 |
Chris Resop | 13 | 0.272 | $153,305 |
Henry Rodriguez | 13 | 0.272 | $153,304 |
Kila Ka’aihue | 3 | 0.271 | $152,641 |
Guillermo Mota | 13 | 0.268 | $150,914 |
Kanekoa Texeira | 13 | 0.265 | $149,270 |
Matthew Downs | 4 | 0.264 | $148,735 |
Shawn Camp | 13 | 0.263 | $148,381 |
Corky Miller | 2 | 0.263 | $148,146 |
Manny Acosta | 13 | 0.260 | $146,656 |
Chad Qualls | 13 | 0.258 | $145,505 |
Travis Schlichting | 13 | 0.258 | $145,455 |
Will Ohman | 13 | 0.258 | $145,338 |
Omar Vizquel | 5 | 0.251 | $141,569 |
Dustin Hughes | 13 | 0.251 | $141,561 |
Mark Melancon | 13 | 0.247 | $139,086 |
Matt Albers | 13 | 0.244 | $137,725 |
David Purcey | 13 | 0.243 | $137,225 |
Josh Bard | 2 | 0.243 | $136,732 |
Tony Pena | 13 | 0.238 | $134,334 |
Michael McClendon | 13 | 0.237 | $133,408 |
Michael Kohn | 13 | 0.234 | $131,647 |
Bradley Davis | 2 | 0.232 | $130,579 |
Jeremy Affeldt | 13 | 0.230 | $129,783 |
Dewayne Wise | 9 | 0.227 | $127,985 |
Andrew Butera | 2 | 0.224 | $126,494 |
Ryan Keith Perry | 13 | 0.223 | $125,848 |
Mitchell Boggs | 13 | 0.218 | $122,863 |
Matthew Maloney | 13 | 0.214 | $120,533 |
Daniel Ray Herrera | 13 | 0.213 | $119,864 |
Jason LaRue | 2 | 0.210 | $118,217 |
Jose Mijares | 13 | 0.210 | $118,218 |
Chris Young | 12 | 0.209 | $118,006 |
Luis Atilano | 12 | 0.205 | $115,344 |
Ramon Ramirez | 13 | 0.196 | $110,262 |
Jose Veras | 13 | 0.193 | $108,785 |
Justin Duchscherer | 12 | 0.186 | $104,701 |
Felipe Lopez | 5 | 0.183 | $103,175 |
Brian Burres | 12 | 0.181 | $102,046 |
Samuel Demel | 13 | 0.177 | $99,887 |
Christopher Leroux | 13 | 0.176 | $99,358 |
Brett G Hayes | 2 | 0.175 | $98,468 |
Bill Bray | 13 | 0.170 | $96,069 |
William Joshua Reddick | 9 | 0.170 | $95,783 |
David Aardsma | 13 | 0.170 | $95,560 |
Robert Cassevah | 13 | 0.169 | $95,120 |
Boof Bonser | 13 | 0.165 | $93,243 |
Max Ramirez | 2 | 0.162 | $91,475 |
Tyler Walker | 13 | 0.157 | $88,273 |
Brian Sanches | 13 | 0.153 | $86,374 |
Jay Gibbons | 7 | 0.153 | $86,235 |
Matt Guerrier | 13 | 0.150 | $84,779 |
Juan Francisco | 5 | 0.149 | $83,929 |
Geoff Blum | 6 | 0.147 | $83,071 |
David Pauley | 12 | 0.144 | $81,080 |
Octavio Dotel | 13 | 0.143 | $80,710 |
Garrett Jones | 3 | 0.139 | $78,628 |
Cristhian Martinez | 13 | 0.138 | $77,570 |
Brett Carroll | 9 | 0.138 | $77,534 |
Collin Balester | 13 | 0.137 | $77,480 |
Kerry Wood | 13 | 0.137 | $77,382 |
Brad Thomas | 13 | 0.131 | $73,914 |
Charles Fisher | 13 | 0.131 | $73,567 |
Mike Hessman | 5 | 0.130 | $73,361 |
J.D. Martin | 12 | 0.130 | $73,289 |
Blaine Boyer | 13 | 0.130 | $73,247 |
Brad Ziegler | 13 | 0.127 | $71,480 |
Fernando Tatis | 3 | 0.124 | $69,807 |
Bryan Bullington | 13 | 0.123 | $69,103 |
Bradley Aaron Mills | 13 | 0.120 | $67,923 |
Dan Wheeler | 13 | 0.111 | $62,432 |
Reggie Willits | 7 | 0.110 | $62,190 |
Matt Thomas Daley | 13 | 0.103 | $57,931 |
Kyle McClellan | 13 | 0.100 | $56,418 |
Jai Miller | 9 | 0.098 | $55,048 |
Justin Smoak | 3 | 0.096 | $54,089 |
Dan Johnson | 10 | 0.089 | $50,023 |
Tyson Ross | 13 | 0.081 | $45,676 |
Nick Johnson | 10 | 0.080 | $45,164 |
Matt Palmer | 13 | 0.078 | $44,015 |
Aaron Heilman | 13 | 0.077 | $43,469 |
Chan Ho Park | 13 | 0.072 | $40,709 |
Logan Ondrusek | 13 | 0.069 | $38,874 |
Gustavo Chacin | 13 | 0.068 | $38,415 |
Joe Beimel | 13 | 0.066 | $37,098 |
Dana Eveland | 12 | 0.063 | $35,504 |
Matt Treanor | 2 | 0.062 | $35,123 |
Cesar Valdez | 13 | 0.060 | $33,709 |
Kevin Correia | 12 | 0.058 | $32,958 |
Tyler T Greene | 6 | 0.057 | $32,382 |
Allen Craig | 9 | 0.056 | $31,773 |
Ron Mahay | 13 | 0.052 | $29,308 |
Trever Miller | 13 | 0.052 | $29,144 |
Thomas Diamond | 13 | 0.051 | $28,667 |
Rusty Allen Ryal | 7 | 0.049 | $27,531 |
Chris Gimenez | 2 | 0.048 | $26,907 |
Jamey Wright | 13 | 0.044 | $24,675 |
Brent Morel | 5 | 0.043 | $24,312 |
Brian Moehler | 13 | 0.043 | $24,214 |
Andrew Oliver | 12 | 0.037 | $20,691 |
Todd Coffey | 13 | 0.034 | $19,174 |
Ryan Theriot | 4 | 0.032 | $17,758 |
Juan Miranda | 10 | 0.031 | $17,562 |
Jerry Blevins | 13 | 0.030 | $16,892 |
Samuel R Lecure | 13 | 0.026 | $14,453 |
David Riske | 13 | 0.023 | $13,114 |
Sergio Mitre | 13 | 0.023 | $13,109 |
Brian Bannister | 12 | 0.023 | $13,048 |
Edward Mujica | 13 | 0.022 | $12,229 |
Vince Mazzaro | 12 | 0.022 | $12,186 |
Yunesky Maya | 12 | 0.020 | $11,395 |
Justin Miller | 13 | 0.020 | $11,366 |
Jorge Cantu | 5 | 0.018 | $10,003 |
Lucas Harrell | 13 | 0.013 | $7,137 |
Aaron Miles | 4 | 0.010 | $5,584 |
Andres Blanco | 4 | 0.009 | $5,045 |
Jack Wilson | 6 | 0.009 | $4,985 |
Mike Lowell | 3 | 0.003 | $1,460 |
Note that incentives are there for highly paid free agents as well. I’m sure, given the competitive nature of players, winning the biggest bonus would be a very big deal. One of the nice things about using WAR for this, is that WAR is a framework. The union and owners can negotiate how it is calculated.
The final question is where does the money come from. A $680 million dollar pool would require each team to contribute $22.7 million. Since we are providing incentives for players, we should provide incentives for teams, too. Teams that play well would contribute less to the pool than teams that play poorly. So the world series winner would contribute the least, and the team with the worst record would contribute the most. Note that this benefits frugal teams that nonetheless produce winners, like the Rays and Twins.
(The way I would do it is not have teams contribute, but pay the players out of the National TV and MLB Advanced Media money, then divide what’s left among the teams based on their finish.)
Even without the player bonuses, I like the idea of dividing up the national money on an incentive basis. That night give the Royals and Pirates a bigger kick toward getting competitive.
Feel free to shoot holes in this. I believe this would provide an extra incentive for players to perform to their fullest. MLB would be forced to provide players with a fair share of revenue. Great young players would realize a big pay day sooner. Teams would have an incentive to win, rather than just pocket the revenue sharing money they get. The only ones who lose are the non-performers.
I wonder what Mike Lowell would do with his $1,460?
@Tom: Take his family out to dinner. 🙂
The only thing I am wary about in this hypothetical is the way defense is accounted for. It’s always said that you need a large sample size (3 years) to get a good understanding of a player’s defense. What if you use a single season of offense and then for defense use the previous 3 year range to calculate WAR?
@Zach Dubin: I have no problem with that. One of the nice things about WAR is that it is a framework, and you can put in different calculations for runs or defense or replacement level based on what your research tells you.
On the other hand, this idea is meant to reward what the player actually accomplished in the season, so if he got lucky on defense, he gets paid for it.