Cardinals: Evaluating "WAR" and its reflection of team success

Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is a common stat used for player performance. Teams are also given a WAR total. Do WAR totals for teams reflect accuracy in the standings?

St. Louis Cardinals v Washington Nationals
St. Louis Cardinals v Washington Nationals | G Fiume/GettyImages
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National League East

Current Standings

fWAR Standings

bWAR Standings

Braves (75-41)

Braves (14.8 fWAR)

Braves (39.4 bWAR)

Phillies (65-53)

Phillies (10.8 fWAR)

Phillies (29.3 bWAR)

Marlins (61-57)

Mets (10.1 fWAR)

Marlins (22.5 bWAR)

Mets (52-65)

Marlins (9.6 fWAR)

Nationals (21.0 bWAR)

Nationals (52-66)

Nationals (5.1 fWAR)

Mets (18.8 bWAR)

The NL East shakes up similarly across the board. The Mets' tumble throughout the summer has placed them squarely in contention with the Nationals for the worst record in the division. The Braves' overwhelming success has put them in sole control of the division across the board. The Phillies' recent surge has placed them comfortably near the top in all three metrics.

What could be interesting would be the Marlins' pursuit of the Phillies. While it seems as though the Phillies are going steady, the Marlins' power pitching and deadline acquisitions could push them up further in the division and in WAR statistics and in turn the divisional/Wild Card standings.

The Mets get a slight boost in fWAR, but they find themselves at the bottom in the other two rankings. Meanwhile, the Nationals are bringing up the rear in 2 of the 3 metrics. The Phillies are a top-5 team in both pitching and non-pitching bWAR. The NL East has two powerful teams in the Braves and Phillies, one contender in the Marlins, and two non-factors in the Mets and Nationals.

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