Awards Project FAQ
Q: What time period does this project cover?
A: It covers each season from 1871 to the present once complete. As of August 10, 2026 the seasons 1871-1959 have been completed. The remainder will be completed one by one, hopefully by the end of 2027. The results of this project will be used as an input source to the overall Sooperstown project.
Q: How many categories are players ranked in?
A: There are nine (9) distinct categories that players are ranked in. The categories are the same for both league rankings and overall MLB rankings. The categories are: Player (MVP), Hitter, Pitcher (CYA), Fielder, Rookie (ROY), All League (or All MLB) players by position, Silver Sluggers (for League) / Platinum Sluggers (for MLB) by position, Gold Gloves (League) / Platinum Gloves (MLB) by position, and All Star Team (starters/reserves/pitchers).
Q: How many players to you award in each category?
A: It depends on the season and how many participants played in that season. In general the number of awards in a non-positional category (MVP, CYA, Hitting, Fielding) is approximately 1 award for every 12 players that either had 50 Plate Appearances or 50 Innings Pitched in a given season. In the 1879 season there were 107 players that had 50 PA/IP, so there were 8 awards in each of the above categories. In 1906 there were 382 players who had 50 PA/IP so there were 30 awards for the MLB categories (and 18 for each AL/NL league awards).
The number of ROY awards depends on how many players made their debut in that particular season. In addition, the All Star awards may also fluctuate depending on the number of non-positional awards for that season.
Q: What statistics do you use to rank the players?
A: I use Baseball Reference almost exclusively for the statistics I review (the one exception is Seamsheads Negro League database for defensive statistics that BR does not have for some seasons).
I don't have a set formula, but in general for position players offense I primarily look at OPS, OPS+, WAR, WAA, Batting Runs, oWAR, and Total Bases. Secondly I would look at "baseball card" statistics like Batting Average, HRs, RBIs, Runs, Stolen Bases, OBP and SLG.
For position players defense I lean heavily on Fielding Runs (Runs Saved for the Fangraphs crowd), then dWAR and then traditional fielding statistics like Errors/Assists and Range Factor.
For pitchers I look at ERA+, FIP, WHIP and K/BB ratio, then WAR/WAA and ERA. Then baseball card statistics like Wins and Strikeouts and Saves.
Q: Do you include players from the other major leagues outside of the American and National Leagues?
A: Yes. I include players from the National Association (1971-1975), the Union Association (1884), the Players League (1890) and the Federal League (1914-1915).
Q: Do you include players who played in the Negro Leagues?
A: Yes, for the seasons 1920-1948 when Major League Baseball recognizes the Negro Leagues as major leagues. In the seasons that had more than one Negro League (1923-1929, 1932, and 1937-1948), I combined all the Negro Leagues into a single "league" for league awards. The players from the Negro Leagues were eligible for any overall MLB awards just like the American and National Leagues. For the overall MLB awards, Oscar Charleston got to compete against Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby, and Josh Gibson got to compete against Joe DiMaggio.
Q: Do you include players who played in the minor leagues?
A: No. However I am considering including minor league players in the seasons before the minor leagues were simply farm teams for the major league teams. That would include upper minor leagues up to around the 1940's, and the Pacific Coast League into the 1950's before major league baseball came to California.
Q: Where can I see all the data?
A: Short answer: You can't. At least not yet, mainly because I am still compiling it. Once I've completed all the seasons, I will then turn my attention to actually building my Halls of Fame, which may take some time. Then when that is done I may compile all my research into a book that you can purchase. In the meantime, I may throw tidbits out on this website, on my Facebook group called Sooperstown, and on various Facebook baseball group pages that I frequent like Nostalgic Baseball Geezer / Nostalgic Baseball History and SABR. I have a regular full-time job so this is just my spare-time hobby/obsession, so updates may be infrequent as life allows.