Baseball GOATstarting pitcher
Kid Nichols
Boston Beaneaters, 1890–1906
95.7
Score, No. 11 all-time
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Nichols leads on both counts: 118.9 wins added to 35.9 over a career, and 72.6 to 26.7 across his seven best seasons.
starting pitcher
Boston Beaneaters, 1890–1906
95.7
Score, No. 11 all-time
catcher
St. Louis Cardinals, 1940–1957
31.3
Score, No. 727 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.
| Kid Nichols | Walker Cooper | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | ||
| 95.7(better) | Score | 31.3 |
| 118.9(better) | Wins added, career | 35.9 |
| 72.6(better) | Wins added, best 7 seasons | 26.7 |
| 11(better) | All-time rank | 727 |
| 15 | Seasons | 18 |
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.