Is Craig Kimbrel One of a Kind?

by
April 6, 2015

We know that Craig Kimbrel stands atop any reliever leaderboard you can gussy up. Does he stand so far away from second place that he’s a one of a kind guy right now? That’s easy enough to answer.

Using stats from 2011-2014, we can sort each position by WAR and basically “index” the first place player by comparing him to the second place player. In other words, in percentage terms, how much better is the best player at his position than the second-best player? And how does Kimbrel fit into that picture?

Answer: well.

Pos Player % Better than 2nd
RP Craig Kimbrel FIP WAR 23%
RP Craig Kimbrel RA/9 WAR 16%
SP Clayton Kershaw FIP WAR 20%
SP Clayton Kershaw RA/9 WAR 41%
C Buster Posey 6%
1B Miguel Cabrera 32%
2B Robinson Cano 3%
SS Troy Tulowitzki 7%
3B Adrian Beltre 22%
RF Jose Bautista 16%
CF Mike Trout 7%
LF Alex Gordon 34%
DH David Ortiz 1%

That last one might be messed up by positional adjustments. Because Edwin Encarnacion has played over 200 games in the field since 2011 started, and those games have given him the value to basically catch David Ortiz, maybe we should compare Ortiz the next DH on the list: Victor Martinez. Then he’d be 75% better over the four-year time frame we have here. Maybe it’s not fair, because Martinez missed a year, but since we’re talking about excellence over a four-year span, health has to be counted as part of the picture.

In any case, yes, if you think Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera are one of a kind, then Craig Kimbrel is one of a kind. At his position. Which is reliever. But still — the very best reliever, from 2011 to 2014, by a good margin.

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With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.

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awalnohaMember since 2017
10 years ago

Of course he is. We’re all individuals. We all have minds of our own.

2
Sn0wman
10 years ago
Reply to  awalnoha

Craig Kimbrel is not a number, he’s a free man!

6