(34) Baseball Reference, Fangraphs, and Two Distinct Philosophies of Pitching

The Baseball Rabbi Podcast is constantly invoking WAR – wins above replacement – as the most telling of all advanced baseball stats. But how do we explain the instances where Fangraphs and Baseball Reference calculate drastically different WAR numbers for the same player? Using Tommy John as a test case, Pesach and Scott present the fundamental difference between the two primary means of calculating pitcher WAR, and demonstrate that the distinction reflects a fundamental difference in baseball philosophy. So how good was Jim Palmer, anyway? Listen in to find out.