MLB WAR question. Do players at key defensive positions get more *offensive* WAR for the same numbers as a DH or 1B?

MLB WAR question. Do players at key defensive positions get more offensive WAR for the same numbers as a DH or 1B?

Posted on August 13, 2026 at 05:10:52 PM by jjwalker

Like Pete Crow Armstrong has 29 more plate appearances than Ohtani with virtually identical numbers and he has 6.1 oWAR vs 3.5 for Ohtani.

Then there's Ohtani with a -1.0 dWAR compared to PCA's 1.8. I get that part, but if you're already valuing defense separately, why would their oWAR be so vastly different? I know some of that is base running, but do you also get double dinged for playing a less valuable defensive position?

It's also interesting to me to that PCA's 315 putouts/5 assists/5 errors is nearly double the WAR value of Ohtani's 340 batters faced. I understand PCA is all world defensively but how many runs do you save above average on that selection of plays than Ohtani does over 340 hitters, also at an all world rate?

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just curious.

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Thread:

MLB WAR question. Do players at key defensive positions get more *offensive* WAR for the same numbers as a DH or 1B? - By jjwalker August 13, 2026 at 05:10:52 PM
- I believe fangraphs captures it within the defensive portion of WAR - By DoctorD August 13, 2026 at 06:16:53 PM
- Feels like this is the perfect question for Jeff or Steve* - By el fuego August 13, 2026 at 05:20:52 PM
  - Or Marty, who's also awesomel. I'm throwing the bait out there!* - By jjwalker August 13, 2026 at 05:46:31 PM
    - I answered your question succinctly. They apply the positional adjustment to oWAR. It doesn't make sense intuitively. Fan Graphs applies their positional adjustment to their fielding runs +- average calcuation, then just adds up the run values for fWAR. This is similar to Tom Tango's famous baseruns - By Daytripper August 13, 2026 at 05:48:33 PM
      - Yeah, that way seems better, just for clarity. Thanks, I'll check this guy out!* - By jjwalker August 13, 2026 at 07:24:31 PM
      - I read a bunch of his stuff with MGL like 20 or 25 years ago. Are they still putting out free material? They were great* - By DoctorD August 13, 2026 at 06:33:46 PM
  - jon was first through the door...* - By Nikos August 13, 2026 at 05:26:17 PM
- I don't like how B-Ref does it, I prefer Fangraph's methods. B-Ref yes, uses positional adjustment in oWAR. So PCA gets a massive boost as the best defender in MLB, at least in CF, over a DH only in Ohtani* - By Daytripper August 13, 2026 at 05:19:42 PM
  - Re: I don't like how B-Ref does it, I prefer Fangraph's methods. B-Ref yes, uses positional adjustment in oWAR. So PCA gets a massive boost as the best defender in MLB, at least in CF, over a DH only in Ohtani* - By KeiTh August 13, 2026 at 05:52:06 PM
    - Oh now I see you explained that above. Well said. * - By KeiTh August 13, 2026 at 05:53:15 PM

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MLB WAR question. Do players at key defensive positions get more *offensive* WAR for the same numbers as a DH or 1B?

MLB WAR question. Do players at key defensive positions get more offensive WAR for the same numbers as a DH or 1B?