Baseball Reference.com (MLB)
www.baseball-reference.com
Seamheads.com Negro Leagues Database
www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/index.php
KEY ABBREVIATIONS, TERMS, and FORMULAS used at this website:
WAR = Wins Above Replacement; our go-to stat, supplied by The Indispensables background link: https://www.baseball-reference.com/about/war_explained.shtml
[WAR] per 162 = indicates average WAR value for the player in a full (162 games played) season (“average full season WAR”); for pitchers, 68 games (Games pitched + Games started) is considered a full season; so in either case, Career WAR (CW) is divided by a “full season” (162 games for position players or 68 games (G + GS) for pitchers) to yield an average-full-season-rate for WAR. NOTE: I first encountered these two formulas at the old Baseball Gauge site, so BG is to be credited
BP = Birthplace; everything hinges on this category at RetroPlay.net; all teams are formed on this basis for all parts of the overall project
REG = Region/Regional Affiliation; since most states/nations would not be able to field full rosters of exclusively native sons, many/most must combine with other states (usually bordering on each other) to come up with enough players in a given season replay; regions encompass two or more state entities and change as necessary to accommodate the full number of qualified (historic MLB/NLB) players
CW = Career WAR; POS = Position (primary) and POS (2nd column) = other position(s) played at the MLB/NLB level (usually listed in order of frequency)
RPR = RetroPlay Rating; our ultimate “career impact” stat; formula=CW times (average-per-162), rounded down to the nearest whole number (or zero); Format: __._ X _._=RPR [whole number, rounded down]
RC = Regional Code (running from Maine [ME] at 10, generally heading east to west and north to south throughout the United States, then to Latin America, the Pacific, Asia-Africa, Europe and the U.K. and finally, closing the full circle in Canada [CN, 700])
PC = Position Code; this employs the official-scorecard position-numbering (1 for pitcher; 2 for catcher; 3 for 1b; 4 for 2b; 5 for 3b; 6 for SS; 7 for LF, 8 for CF, 9 for RF; these numbers are usually encoded in PC in order of frequency of appearances)
LRF/RLF = Indicates a “corner outfielder” who has played mostly as a Leftfielder (LRF) or as a Rightfielder (RLF); to observe positional integrity in season replays/ simulations, only those players who have the “OF” (all outfield positions played) or CF (Centerfielder) designations should be used as regular centerfielders (or in any of the three OF positions) [NOTE: we regard the CF as capable of playing well at any OF position, just as a Shortstop (SS) is deemed capable of playing well at any infield position if shifted there; this thinking aligns with main “Defensive Spectrum” ideas]
13B / 31B = In turn, a first baseman (1B) who can also play 3B, or a third baseman (3B) who can also handle 1B (same with similar designations, such as 23B, 32B, SS3, SSO [shortstop-outfield] and the like; this is done to pack max. info into min. space)
Form hints: Pitcher names (and often, their stats) are italicized; players whose stats have been derived — in whole, or in part — from Negro League Baseball (NLB) careers are usually underlined to facilitate research (so you know where to look for their stats, since many are not included in official MLB records displayed at Baseball-Reference.com, in which case the Negro Leagues Database is your go-to resource); Three-column margin clusters (found either following player/BP/ REG or on the right margins after per-162 rates) indicate (one) Career War and two Position(s) columns; these groupings necessarily float to fit player info on one line
Retroplay.net 