Baseball GOATdesignated hitter
Brian Downing
California Angels, 1973–1992
39.3
Score, No. 423 all-time
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Seaver leads on both counts: 107.8 wins added to 51.2 over a career, and 58.2 to 27.5 across his seven best seasons.
designated hitter
California Angels, 1973–1992
39.3
Score, No. 423 all-time
starting pitcher
New York Mets, 1967–1986
83.0
Score, No. 21 all-time
Wins added is how many extra games a player’s teams won because they had him and not a replacement-level player, the kind of fill-in any team can find. In one season, 2 is a solid regular, 5 is an All-Star and 8 or more is an MVP-level year. Score is the average of the career total and the best seven seasons.
| Brian Downing | Tom Seaver | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | ||
| 39.3 | Score | 83.0(better) |
| 51.2 | Wins added, career | 107.8(better) |
| 27.5 | Wins added, best 7 seasons | 58.2(better) |
| 423 | All-time rank | 21(better) |
| 20 | Seasons | 20 |
The dot marks the better number in each row. A hitter and a pitcher don’t share traditional stats, so this comparison uses the ratings only.