Wins above replacement (WAR) is an advanced stat. Click here to see a definition. (I wish I could calculate WAR for Valley Leaguers each summer, but defensive stats are almost impossible. Maybe someday.)

There are two main calculators of WAR- baseballreference.com and fangraphs.com. I use Baseball Reference for these lists.

2006-2019
1 Jason Kipnis Covington ’06-7 22.2
2 Dan Murphy Luray ’04-5 18.9
3 Jon Jay Staunton ’04 13.1
4 Yonder Alonso Luray ’06 8.4
5 Collin Cowgill Covington ’05 4.3
6 Cory Spangenberg Winchester ’10 3.5
7 Tommy La Stella Haymarket ’09 2.6
8 Ryan Schimpf Luray ’08 2.4
9 Tyler White Haymarket ’10 0.8
10 Joey Butler New Market ’06 0.5
11 Michael Brosseau Waynesboro ’15 0.4
12 Eddy Rodriguez Luray ’06-07 0.2

The only serious movement here is with Tommy La Stella, who moved from 9th up to 7th with his strong 2019 season. Michael Brosseau also joined the list this year, after his debut season.

All-Time
1 Steve Finley Harrisonburg ’85 44.0
2 Brett Gardner New Market ’03-04 41.6
3 Reggie Sanders Winchester ’87 39.6
4 Mo Vaughn Harrisonburg ’87 27.0
5 John Kruk New Market ’81 25.0
6 Mike Lowell Waynesboro ’93 24.8
7 Chris Hoiles Harrisonburg 23.4
8 Jason Kipnis Covington ’06-7 22.2
9 David Eckstein Harrisonburg ’95-6 20.8
10 Aubrey Huff Staunton ’97 20.4
11 Brandon Inge Waynesboro ’96 19.0
12 Dan Murphy Luray ’05 18.9
13 Gene Richards Harrisonburg 18.6
14 Juan Pierre Harrisonburg ’97 16.9
15 Johnny Grubb Charlottesville 16.6
16 Jon Jay Staunton ’04 13.1
17 Adam Everett Winchester ’96 12.6
18 Denny Walling Waynesboro ’75 12.2
19 Luke Scott Staunton 12.1
20 Tom Brookens Waynesboro 11.6

With another strong season in 2019, Brett Gardner moved into 2nd place all-time. The rest of the list stayed the same. Did you know that the average Hall of Famer has between 50 and 70 WAR? Is Brett Gardner moving in towards consideration of the Hall of Fame? (Well, most likely not, but it’s fun to think about.)

Hoiles
Schimpf