The Value Production Standings:  1956-1960

So far in this series, we’ve examined the production of every team’s farm system in the period 1946-1950, and 1951-1955. Now it’s time to look at the late 1950s. For a review of our methodology, please see the References and Resources section below.

Here’s the key to the figures we’re examining:

WSP = Win Shares Produced: the total of major league Win Shares produced that season by all players credited to the organization
Lg. WSP = League Win Shares Produced: the percentage of the league total of WSP credited to the organization
MLB WSP = Major League Baseball Win Shares Produced: the percentage of the MLB-wide total of WSP credited to the organization
W = Wins: the actual win total of the team that season
Lg. W = League Wins: the percentage of the league Win total won by the team
W% – WSP% = League Wins minus League Win Shares Produced: a measure of how much better or worse a team actually performed than the league-wide value produced by their organization

In our last segment, the Yankees and Indians wrestled for value production supremacy in the American League, while the Dodgers convincingly surpassed the Cardinals in the National.

The Value Production Standings Summary, 1946-1955

Year  Yankees  Tigers  Red Sox  Indians  Athletics  Senators  Orioles  White Sox  AL WSP
1946      1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        56.5%
1947      1        2        4        3        5        6        8        7        55.3%
1948      1        3        4        2        5        7        6        8        55.6%
1949      1        3T       3T       2        5        7        6        8        51.9%
1950      1        3        4        2        7        6        5        8        50.5%
1951      2        4        3        1        5        6        8        7        49.0%
1952      1        4        3        2        5        6        8        7        47.9%
1953      2        4        3        1        7        6        8        5        46.2%
1954      1T       4        3        1T       7        6        8        5        47.5%
1955      1        4        2        3        5        6        8        7        46.7%
 

Year  Cardinals  Dodgers   Cubs    Reds   Phillies  Pirates   Braves   Giants     NL WSP
1946      1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        43.5%
1947      1        2        4        3        7        6        8        5        44.7%
1948      1        2        3        4        6        7        8        5        44.4%
1949      1        2        3        4        5        7        8        6        48.1%
1950      1        2        5        6        4        7        8        3        49.5%
1951      1        2        5        4        6        7        8        3        51.0%
1952      1        2        5        4        6        8        7        3        52.1%
1953      2        1        7        4        5        8        3        6        53.8%
1954      2        1        7        5        6        8        3        4        52.5%
1955      3        1        6        5        7        8        2        4        53.3%

What happened next?

The 1956 Value Production Standings

AL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Yankees               442     26.4%     12.4%        97     15.7%      -10.6%
Red Sox               354     21.1%     10.0%        84     13.6%       -7.5%
Indians               343     20.5%      9.6%        88     14.3%       -6.2%
Tigers                201     12.0%      5.7%        82     13.3%        1.3%
Senators              100      6.0%      2.8%        59      9.6%        3.6%
White Sox              95      5.7%      2.7%        85     13.8%        8.1%
Athletics              81      4.8%      2.3%        52      8.4%        3.6%
Orioles                60      3.6%      1.7%        69     11.2%        7.6%

AL Total             1676    100.0%     47.1%       616    100.0%        0.0%

NL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Dodgers               406     21.6%     11.4%        93     15.1%       -6.5%
Cardinals             303     16.1%      8.5%        76     12.3%       -3.8%
Braves                272     14.5%      7.6%        92     14.9%        0.5%
Redlegs               238     12.7%      6.7%        91     14.8%        2.1%
Giants                210     11.2%      5.9%        67     10.9%       -0.3%
Phillies              168      8.9%      4.7%        71     11.5%        2.6%
Pirates               149      7.9%      4.2%        66     10.7%        2.8%
Cubs                  134      7.1%      3.8%        60      9.7%        2.6%

NL Total             1880    100.0%     52.9%       616    100.0%        0.0%

MLB Total            3556      n/a     100.0%      1232      n/a         n/a

Despite remaining one of the three all-white teams in the majors in 1956, the Red Sox had brought a great volume of talent to the majors. (The other two non-integrated teams, the Tigers and the Phillies, had both stagnated in value production since the early 1950s.) The ’56 Boston lineup featured several standout home-grown talents, including veteran superstar left fielder Ted Williams, center fielder Jimmy Piersall, pitchers Frank Sullivan and Tom Brewer, and infielder Billy Goodman. Alas, the Red Sox finished only in fourth place, having imported three impact players (right fielder Jackie Jensen, first baseman Mickey Vernon, and infielder Billy Klaus) but no others of any significance, while seeing several of their products thriving elsewhere, including outfielder Charlie Maxwell (Tigers), and pitchers Chuck Stobbs (Senators), Hersh Freeman (Redlegs), Hal Brown (Orioles), and Jim Wilson (Orioles-White Sox).

The Indians were once again among the most productive organizations in the majors, enjoying robust contributions from farm product pitchers Herb Score, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia, Don Mossi, and Ray Narleski, and outfielders Al Smith and Rocky Colavito. However, even more dramatically than the Red Sox, Cleveland had let get away a long list of outstanding farmhands: outfielders Minnie Miñoso and Larry Doby and catcher Sherm Lollar (White Sox), third baseman Ray Boone (Tigers), outfielders Jim Lemon (Senators) and Harry Simpson (Athletics), and pitchers Brooks Lawrence (Redlegs) and Sam Jones (Cubs).

In every season from 1951 through 1955, National League organizations had generated more WSP than their American League counterparts, and the same pattern prevailed in 1956. As we saw last time, the different league-wide rates of racial integration explained a part of this: 281 Win Shares from players of color were produced by NL systems in 1956, as compared to 173 by the AL. But this margin of 108 Win Shares, while more than half of the total difference of 204 WSP between the leagues, isn’t nearly all of it: National League franchises had developed more white talent than those of the American League, as well as more black talent.

The 1957 Value Production Standings

AL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Yankees               466     28.1%     13.0%        98     16.0%      -12.2%
Red Sox               306     18.5%      8.6%        82     13.4%       -5.1%
Indians               283     17.1%      7.9%        76     12.4%       -4.7%
Tigers                237     14.3%      6.6%        78     12.7%       -1.6%
White Sox             110      6.6%      3.1%        90     14.7%        8.0%
Athletics              99      6.0%      2.8%        59      9.6%        3.6%
Orioles                86      5.2%      2.4%        76     12.4%        7.2%
Senators               69      4.2%      1.9%        55      9.0%        4.8%

AL Total             1656    100.0%     46.3%       614    100.0%        0.0%

NL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%  
Dodgers               419     21.9%     11.7%        84     13.6%       -8.2%
Cardinals             300     15.6%      8.4%        87     14.1%       -1.5%
Braves                299     15.6%      8.4%        95     15.4%       -0.2%
Phillies              208     10.9%      5.8%        77     12.5%        1.6%
Redlegs               195     10.2%      5.5%        80     13.0%        2.8%
Giants                188      9.8%      5.3%        69     11.2%        1.4%
Cubs                  159      8.3%      4.5%        62     10.1%        1.8%
Pirates               149      7.8%      4.2%        62     10.1%        2.3%

NL Total             1917    100.0%     53.7%       616    100.0%        0.0%

MLB Total            3573      n/a     100.0%      1230      n/a         n/a

The great Yankees farm system had dominated the American League in the 1940s, and then in the early ’50s been challenged for supremacy by Cleveland’s production. But then the Yankee organization really kicked into gear. In 1956, they had outperformed the Dodgers as the most productive system in the major leagues, and in ’57 the Yankees were even more superior.

The Bronx Bombers had produced such a bounty that their proportion of league wins was 12% less than their proportion of league Win Share production – and they still won a major league-high 98 games. Among Yankee castoffs were a long list of standouts, including pitcher Lew Burdette (Braves), outfielders Bill Virdon (Pirates) and Hank Sauer (Giants), catcher Gus Triandos (Orioles), and catcher Hal Smith, infielder Vic Power, outfielder-infielder Woodie Held, outfielder Bob Cerv, and pitcher Ralph Terry (Athletics). Still the Yankee roster bulged with home-grown talent: MVP center fielder Mickey Mantle, right fielder Hank Bauer, catchers Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, infielders Gil McDougald, Tony Kubek, Jerry Lumpe, Bobby Richardson, and Andy Carey, first baseman Bill Skowron, and pitchers Whitey Ford, Tom Sturdivant, Bob Grim, and Johnny Kucks.

Yet they were vanquished in a hard-fought seven-game World Series by the Milwaukee Braves, an organization that had only developed a serious farm system within the past decade. The Braves had let several pearls slip through their fingers: infielders Alvin Dark (Cardinals) and Billy Klaus (Red Sox), pitchers Johnny Antonelli (Giants) and Dick Donovan (White Sox), and first baseman George Crowe (Redlegs). But their championship club had imported Burdette (who tossed three brilliant complete-game victories in the Series), second baseman Red Schoendienst, and first baseman Joe Adcock to compliment a remarkable farm-raised core of MVP right fielder Hank Aaron, third baseman Eddie Mathews, perennial ace Warren Spahn (MLB’s Cy Young Award winner for 1957), shortstop Johnny Logan, catcher Del Crandall, outfielders Wes Covington and Bill Bruton, and pitchers Bob Buhl, Gene Conley, and Don McMahon.

The 1958 Value Production Standings

AL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Yankees               451     27.3%     12.7%        92     15.0%      -12.4%
Indians               291     17.6%      8.2%        77     12.5%       -5.1%
Red Sox               277     16.8%      7.8%        79     12.8%       -3.9%
Tigers                216     13.1%      6.1%        77     12.5%       -0.6%
White Sox             132      8.0%      3.7%        82     13.3%        5.3%
Orioles               120      7.3%      3.4%        74     12.0%        4.8%
Senators               88      5.3%      2.5%        61      9.9%        4.6%
Athletics              75      4.5%      2.1%        73     11.9%        7.3%

AL Total             1650    100.0%     46.4%       615    100.0%        0.0%

NL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Dodgers               357     18.8%     10.0%        71     11.5%       -7.2%
Braves                311     16.3%      8.8%        92     14.9%       -1.4%
Giants                278     14.6%      7.8%        80     13.0%       -1.6%
Cardinals             259     13.6%      7.3%        72     11.7%       -1.9%
Pirates               207     10.9%      5.8%        84     13.6%        2.8%
Redlegs               178      9.4%      5.0%        76     12.3%        3.0%
Phillies              167      8.8%      4.7%        69     11.2%        2.4%
Cubs                  146      7.7%      4.1%        72     11.7%        4.0%

NL Total             1903    100.0%     53.6%       616    100.0%        0.0%

MLB Total            3553      n/a     100.0%      1231      n/a         n/a

For the 1958 season, the Dodgers and Giants profoundly changed the course of baseball history by forsaking New York for California. Upon arriving on the west coast, they encountered very different initial fortunes: the perennial-contender-if-not-champion Dodgers fell to a seventh-place finish, while the Giants, mired in sixth in their final two seasons in New York, ascended to third.

The Dodgers’ robust farm system had eclipsed that of the Cardinals in 1953 as the premier producer in the National League, and despite their poor 1958 won-lost showing, the newly L.A.-based organization easily retained that distinction. In the early stage of a rebuilding program under GM Buzzie Bavasi (which we examined here), the Dodgers still featured several of the now-veteran home-grown stars who’d led them to pennants in Brooklyn, such as center fielder Duke Snider, right fielder Carl Furillo, first baseman Gil Hodges, infielder Jim Gilliam, and pitcher Clem Labine. But they were also blending in impressive younger farm products, including infielders Charley Neal and Don Zimmer, catcher John Roseboro, and pitchers Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, Stan Williams, and a flamethrower still battling his control, Sandy Koufax.

The Giants’ organization had never developed talent on par with the Dodgers, but in their first season in San Francisco the farm system overseen by Carl Hubbell made great strides in that direction. The array of impressive home-grown youngsters who joined the still-just-27-year-old superstar center fielder Willie Mays included Rookie of the Year first baseman Orlando Cepeda, infielders Daryl Spencer, Jim Davenport, and Eddie Bressoud, outfielders Willie Kirkland, Leon Wagner, and Felipe Alou, catcher Bob Schmidt, and pitcher Mike McCormick. Another budding star first baseman who spent most of that season in the military was Bill White, and yet another still ripening in triple-A was Willie McCovey, while two young pitchers coming along in the system were named Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry.

As for the Cardinals, the organization that had produced so prodigiously in the 1940s and early 1950s continued its slow fade in 1958, dropping to fourth in the league in WSP. Their totals were still buoyed by the contributions of veteran superstar first baseman-outfielder Stan Musial, but much of his cohort of St. Louis farm products was now retired, or playing elsewhere: second basemen Red Schoendienst (Braves) and Solly Hemus (Phillies), pitchers Harvey Haddix (Redlegs), Murry Dickson (Athletics–Yankees), and Gerry Staley (White Sox), and outfielder Enos Slaughter (Yankees). The Cardinals had produced several younger standouts, including third baseman Ken Boyer, first baseman-outfielder Joe Cunningham, outfielder Wally Moon, second baseman Don Blasingame, and pitchers Larry Jackson, Wilmer Mizell, and Lindy McDaniel, but they weren’t enough to keep the team in contention.

The 1959 Value Production Standings

AL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Yankees               369     22.2%     10.3%        79     12.8%       -9.4%
Indians               297     17.9%      8.3%        89     14.4%       -3.5%
Red Sox               278     16.8%      7.8%        75     12.2%       -4.6%
Tigers                212     12.8%      5.9%        76     12.3%       -0.4%
Orioles               153      9.2%      4.3%        74     12.0%        2.8%
Senators              146      8.8%      4.1%        63     10.2%        1.4%
White Sox             125      7.5%      3.5%        94     15.3%        7.7%
Athletics              79      4.8%      2.2%        66     10.7%        6.0%

AL Total             1659    100.0%     46.5%       616    100.0%        0.0%

NL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Dodgers               405     21.2%     11.3%        88     14.2%       -7.0%
Braves                316     16.5%      8.9%        86     13.9%       -2.6%
Cardinals             266     13.9%      7.5%        71     11.5%       -2.4%
Giants                260     13.6%      7.3%        83     13.4%       -0.2%
Redlegs               196     10.3%      5.5%        74     12.0%        1.7%
Pirates               174      9.1%      4.9%        78     12.6%        3.5%
Cubs                  161      8.4%      4.5%        74     12.0%        3.5%
Phillies              132      6.9%      3.7%        64     10.4%        3.4%

NL Total             1910    100.0%     53.5%       618    100.0%        0.0%

MLB Total            3569      n/a     100.0%      1234      n/a         n/a

Throughout the 1950s, the correlation was quite strong between farm system production and major league competitive success; in general, the organizations contending for and winning pennants (such as the Yankees, Dodgers, Indians, and Braves) had been the ones developing the most talent. However, one glaring and persistent exception to this rule was the Chicago White Sox. Beginning with the 1951 edition under GM Frank Lane and field manager Paul Richards that burst onto the scene as a surprise contender, across the decade the White Sox remained a strong team despite second-rate value production.

The foundation for this remarkable feat had been laid by Lane’s amazingly advantageous trades that brought in several exceptional long-term performers at minimal cost. Richards had optimized the talent through his wizardry in revitalizing the performances of numerous scrap-heap pitchers. After Lane departed, the White Sox hadn’t made any more great trades, but the successors to Richards replicated his success in making silk purses from sow’s ear pitchers: under Marty Marion, struggling youngster Dick Donovan blossomed into stardom and fading veteran Gerry Staley was reborn, and Marion’s successor Al Lopez conjured similar results from veteran Turk Lown and youngster Bob Shaw.

This unlikely formula allowed the White Sox to play the bridesmaid role through the 1950s, and in 1959, after being purchased by none other than Bill Veeck, the Southsiders won their first flag since the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919. They pulled it off despite having just two home-grown players in key roles (center fielder Jim Landis and shortstop Luis Aparicio), and finishing 15th among the 16 major league organizations in WSP.

In the National League, the Phillies completed a depressing decade-long arc. With a farm system built from scratch in the 1940s, the Phils in 1950 had vaulted to a pennant with a terrific core of home-grown talent nicknamed “The Whiz Kids.” However, they’d been unable to sustain the flow of value production (undoubtedly due in part to their longtime failure to integrate), and captured no further championships. By 1958 they’d fallen back to last place in wins, and in 1959 they were not only last again in the actual standings but were also last in the league in WSP.

The 1960 Value Production Standings

AL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Yankees               374     22.4%     10.3%        97     15.7%       -6.7%
Indians               270     16.2%      7.4%        76     12.3%       -3.8%
Red Sox               253     15.2%      7.0%        65     10.6%       -4.6%
Orioles               226     13.5%      6.2%        89     14.4%        0.9%
Tigers                195     11.7%      5.4%        71     11.5%       -0.2%
White Sox             138      8.3%      3.8%        87     14.1%        5.9%
Senators              134      8.0%      3.7%        73     11.9%        3.8%
Athletics              79      4.7%      2.2%        58      9.4%        4.7%

AL Total             1669    100.0%     46.0%       616    100.0%        0.0%

NL Organization       WSP   Lg. WSP   MLB WSP         W     Lg. W   W% - WSP%
Dodgers               372     19.0%     10.2%        82     13.3%       -5.6%
Giants                302     15.4%      8.3%        79     12.8%       -2.6%
Cardinals             291     14.8%      8.0%        86     14.0%       -0.9%
Braves                267     13.6%      7.4%        88     14.3%        0.7%
Pirates               215     11.0%      5.9%        95     15.4%        4.5%
Reds                  180      9.2%      5.0%        67     10.9%        1.7%
Phillies              169      8.6%      4.7%        59      9.6%        1.0%
Cubs                  166      8.5%      4.6%        60      9.7%        1.3%

NL Total             1962    100.0%     54.0%       616    100.0%        0.0%

MLB Total            3631      n/a     100.0%      1232      n/a         n/a

Branch Rickey had assumed operation of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates in late 1950, and undertaken a long and painful rebuilding process. The Pirates were never a winner under Rickey, but the farm system he’d installed was starting to produce results. In 1956, Joe Brown succeeded Rickey as GM, and in 1958 the team took the leap forward into the first division. In 1960, Pittsburgh won the pennant (and in bizarre, dramatic fashion, the World Series as well) with a ball club anchored by organizational products in MVP shortstop Dick Groat, second baseman Bill Mazeroski, pitchers Vern Law (the major league Cy Young Award winner) and Bob Friend, left fielder Bob Skinner, and first baseman Dick Stuart. But the key to their success was imported talent, including right fielder Roberto Clemente and ace relief pitcher Elroy Face (both drafted by Rickey from the Dodger organization), as well as those acquired by Brown in clever trades: third baseman Don Hoak, catchers Smoky Burgess and Hal Smith, center fielder Bill Virdon, and pitchers Harvey Haddix and Wilmer Mizell.

In the American League, in late 1954 an organization bereft of talent at both the major league and minor league levels had been entrusted to Paul Richards, and in a throwback GM/field manager dual role he proceeded to single-handedly build the Baltimore Orioles. The team had improved quickly, but then hit a plateau: their win totals from 1955 through 1959 were 57, 69, 76, 74, and 74. In the realm of Win Share Production, The Wizard of Waxahachie took longer to show results, but then gained momentum: Baltimore’s WSP totals from 1955 through 1959 were 80, 60, 86, 120, and 153.

In 1959, Richards had (much against his will) been replaced in the GM role by Lee MacPhail. But Richards remained the Baltimore skipper, and in 1960 his Orioles broke through as a contender, finishing second with 89 wins, with organizational value production climbing to 226 Win Shares, good for fourth place. Members of the 1960 Oriole team who’d been signed and developed by Richards included Gold Glove third baseman Brooks Robinson, Rookie of the Year shortstop Ron Hansen, infielders Marv Breeding and Jerry Adair, and pitchers Milt Pappas, Steve Barber, and Jack Fisher, plus another young pitcher plucked by Richards from the Braves’ organization, Chuck Estrada. Though Richards would soon depart, the system he’d created would thrive in the years to come as one of the most successful and admired top-to-bottom organizations in baseball.

In 1960, another franchise every bit as inert as the pre-Rickey Pirates and the pre-Richards Orioles was the Kansas City Athletics. Finishing last in the majors in wins (and having finished as high as fourth in the A.L. only twice in the past 27 seasons), with only the rudiments of a farm system in place the A’s also finished dead last in the majors in WSP for the third straight year. But that winter the Athletics would be purchased by a dynamic operator named Charles O. Finley, whose hokey marketing gimmicks and grating personality obscured phenomenal baseball acumen. Finley’s organization would, on a shoestring budget, one day emerge as a talent production powerhouse.

1960 marked the tenth consecutive season in which the National League outpaced the American in league-wide WSP, and this time it was by the widest margin yet, at 54.0% to 46.0%. And at this point, unlike a few years earlier, it was the difference between the leagues in the production of players of color that entirely explained the league-to-league difference. NL organizations produced 293 more Win Shares than those of the AL – more than covered by the huge 306-Win Share difference between the leagues in Win Shares from non-white players (471 in the NL, or 24%of the league total, to 165 in the AL, 9.9% of the league total). The good news for the American League was that they had caught up with the National in production of white talent; the bad news was that their lag in African-American and Latin talent production was vastly greater than ever, a dynamic that would only accelerate in the years to come.

But that’s for our next installment.

The Value Production Standings Summary, 1946-1960

Year Yankees  Tigers Red Sox Indians Athletics Senators Orioles White Sox  AL WSP
1946    1       2       3       4        5         6       7        8       56.5%
1947    1       2       4       3        5         6       8        7       55.3%
1948    1       3       4       2        5         7       6        8       55.6%
1949    1       3T      3T      2        5         7       6        8       51.9%
1950    1       3       4       2        7         6       5        8       50.5%
1951    2       4       3       1        5         6       8        7       49.0%
1952    1       4       3       2        5         6       8        7       47.9%
1953    2       4       3       1        7         6       8        5       46.2%
1954    1T      4       3       1T       7         6       8        5       47.5%
1955    1       4       2       3        5         6       8        7       46.7%
1956    1       4       2       3        7         5       8        6       47.1%
1957    1       4       2       3        6         8       7        5       46.3%
1958    1       4       3       2        8         7       6        5       46.4%
1959    1       4       3       2        8         6       5        7       46.5%
1960    1       5       3       2        8         7       4        6       46.0%

Year Cardinals Dodgers Cubs    Reds   Phillies  Pirates  Braves   Giants   NL WSP
1946    1       2       3       4        5         6       7        8       43.5%
1947    1       2       4       3        7         6       8        5       44.7%
1948    1       2       3       4        6         7       8        5       44.4%
1949    1       2       3       4        5         7       8        6       48.1%
1950    1       2       5       6        4         7       8        3       49.5%
1951    1       2       5       4        6         7       8        3       51.0%
1952    1       2       5       4        6         8       7        3       52.1%
1953    2       1       7       4        5         8       3        6       53.8%
1954    2       1       7       5        6         8       3        4       52.5%
1955    3       1       6       5        7         8       2        4       53.3%
1956    2       1       8       4        6         7       3        5       52.9%
1957    2       1       7       5        4         8       3        6       53.7%
1958    4       1       8       6        7         5       2        3       53.6%
1959    3       1       7       5        8         6       2        4       53.5%
1960    3       1       8       6        7         5       4        2       54.0%

References & Resources

Methodology:

First, we identify every player in the major leagues each season with a total of at least five career Win Shares. Then we identify which major league organization was responsible for originally signing and developing that player (or perhaps not originally signing him, but clearly being the organization most responsible for developing him), and then we credit every season’s production of major league Win Shares by that player to that organization, regardless of whether he actually played that season for that organization.

Sometimes it’s impossible to clearly assign a player to one organization: there are lots of players who were signed by one team, but then acquired by another organization while still a young minor leaguer. For such players, we assign half-credit to each of the two organizations (and in a few cases, we assign one-third-credit to each of three organizations).

By the late 1950s it was becoming rare, but there were still several prominent players who weren’t the products of any major league team’s farm system: they were acquired via draft, purchase or trade by a major league team directly from one of the remaining independent minor league operations. Examples active in 1956-60 include Earl Torgeson (acquired in a trade by the Braves from the Pacific Coast League’s Seattle Rainiers), Jackie Jensen and Billy Martin (both purchased by the Yankees from the PCL’s Oakland Oaks), and Jim Rivera (purchased by the White Sox from the Rainiers). The Win Shares of such players aren’t counted in this analysis.