1) Willie Mays - numbers are equal to Mantle but standard deviations in run scoring favor Mays
2) Mickey Mantle
3) Duke Snider - great postseason but it doesn't help him catch Mantle
4) Ernie Banks - good defense
5) Roy Campanella - good postseason
6) Billy Pierce - best MLB pitcher
7) Ted Williams - a remarkable short season
8) Al Kaline
9) Eddie Mathews - poor defense
10) Stan Musial

11-15) Richie Ashburn, Gil McDougald, Bill Hoeft, Johnny Logan, Wally Post

Top NL pitchers Nuxhall then Newcombe but Ford, Wynn and Sullivan were better

DL, I'm going on vacation for the next couple of weeks and will only have sporadic internet access. Would you please move my full prelim over to the ballot thread once it's open? Thanks.
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1. Mickey Mantle, CF, New York Yankees- league leader in OPS+ and runs created; now an asset on defense as well (+10 fielding runs)
2. Willie Mays, CF, New York Giants- another dominant season by the Say Hey Kid; 1st in OPS+ and runs created with another +10 fielding in center field

Mantle and Mays finished tied for first in my system; after further digging I gave the nod to Mantle although Mays played in the tougher league

3. Duke Snider, CF, Brooklyn Dodgers- the new york centerfielders rank 1st, 2nd and 3rd on my ballot
4. Eddie Mathews, 3B, Milwaukee Braves- 2nd in OPS+ with 170, 4th in runs created
5. Ernie Banks, SS, Chicago Cubs- top ten in OPS+ and RC with +14 fielding at shortstop
6. Al Kaline, RF, Detroit Tigers- career year overshadowed by Mick; second in OPS+ and RC; adds +10 fielding from right
7. Roy Campanella, C, Brooklyn Dodgers- 150 OPS+ from the batter's box; +2 behind the plate
8. Ted Williams, LF, Boston Red Sox- a 209 OPS+ would have led the league had he qualified; still made top ten in RC even though it's a counting stat
9. Billy Pierce, P, Chicago Cubs- best pitcher in MLB by a wide margin
10. Stan Musial, 1B/RF, St. Louis Cardinals- Stan in decline is still better than all but a few

11. Ted Kluszewski, 1B, Cincinnati
12. Frank Sullivan, P, Boston- second in ERA+ with 149; first in innings with 260
13. Richie Ashburn, CF, Philadelphia
14. Robin Roberts, P, Philadelphia- the best NL pitcher
15. Whitey Ford, P, New York- the first appearance for the Chairman of the Board

1955 Ballot

Batters: start with RAA (using XR runs), adjust for park, position and defense (average of TZ, and DRA) Convert adjusted RAA to wins. Add 60% of normal Runs above replacement to get WARR (wins above reduced replacement)

Pitchers: start with RAA, adjust for quality of opposition, park, and team defense (average of TZ, DRA) Convert adjusted RAA to wins. Add 60% of normal runs above replacement to get WARR (wins above reduced replacement)

1. Willie Mays 9.10 WARR As most everyone has mentioned: Mays and Mantle are extremely close. Mays gains the edge with better fielding numbers
2. Mickey Mantle 8.88 WARR
3. Duke Snider 7.35 WARR
4. Ernie Banks 7.26 WARR
5. Eddie Mathews 7.26 WARR
6. Al Kaline 6.97 WARR
7. Richie Ashburn 6.75 WARR
8. Ted Williams 6.66 WARR
9. Billy Pierce 6.00 WARR
10. Stan Musial 5.77 WARR

Rest of top 20
Ted Kluszewski
Early Wynn
Gil McDougald
Roy Campanella
Johnny Logan
Gil Hodges
Hank Aaron
Billy Hoeft
Bob Friend I gave the nod to Friend because he was the better pitcher. Roberts matched his WARR because he was a better hitter than Friend.
Robin Roberts

1955 final ballot.
My combo of various WAR(P) and WS systems.
10% catcher bonus no postseason credit.

1 Mantle, Mickey 9595
2 Mays, Willie 9391
3 Snider, Duke 8135
4 Kaline, Al 7429
5 Mathews, Eddie 7378
6 Banks, Ernie 7273
7 Ashburn, Richie 6490
8 Williams, Ted 6300
9 Campanella, Roy 6264
10 Pierce, Billy 6245

11 Roberts, Robin 6130
12 Musial, Stan 6100
13 Aaron, Hank 5956
14 Newcombe, Don 5905
15 Logan, Johnny 5493

1955 Official MMP Ballot (no postseason credit and a league-strength deduction for AL players):

1) Mickey Mantle: Best ML player and center fielder.
2) Willie Mays: Best player and center fielder for the NL - not that far off from the Commerce Comet.
3) Duke Snider: Great year for center fielders.
4) Eddie Mathews: Best ML third baseman.
5) Al Kaline: Best ML right fielder.
6) Roy Camapnella: Best ML catcher.
7) Richie Ashburn:
8) Ernie Banks: Best ML shortstop.
9) Billy Pierce: Best ML pitcher.
10) Don Newcombe: Best NL pitcher.

Final ballot, no postseason bonus
1. Mays
2. Mantle
3. Snider
4. Kaline
5. Campanella
6. Banks
7. Mathews
8. Roberts
9. Pierce
10.Berra

Looks like I'll need to extend this one.

1955 Final Ballot(same as prelim):

I use a combination of WAR systems to get an average WAR for each player. I use that number to get a Dan R-style salary estimation. I divide that salary by $1 million and add 3 times the average WAR to that dividend. I use a 20% bonus for catchers and do not credit postseason except as a tiebreaker.

1. Willie Mays (54.16)
2. Mickey Mantle (52.22) – AL MMP
3. Duke Snider (43.39)
4. Ernie Banks (41.42)
5. Al Kaline (40.88)
6. Eddie Mathews (38.79)
7. Ted Williams (37.72)
8. Roy Campanella (36.10)
9. Richie Ashburn (34.99)
10. Billy Pierce (34.42) - MM Pitcher

11-15. Logan, Musial, Aaron, Newcombe (top NL pitcher), Roberts.

1955 MMP ballot. As usual, a WS-heavy mix of WS and WAR, with adjustments for performance
relative to position. This explains Mathews above Mays- Mathews was far and away the best
3B, but Mays had strong CF competition from Mantle and Snider.

1. Mickey Mantle
2. Eddie Mathews
3. Willie Mays
4. Ernie Banks
5. Roy Campanella
6. Billy Pierce
7. Duke Snider
8. Robin Roberts
9. Al Kaline
10. Ted Williams

AL MMPi: Pierce, Sullivan, Ford
NL MMPi: Roberts, Friend, Newcombe

This is Brock Hanke's final ballot for 1955, and its also the most mathematical I've ever done. As you know, I add the ordinal rankings in Win Shares to those in BB-Ref WAR. The lowest total finishes #1, and so on. Consensus between WS and WAR is at an all-time high this year.

Anyway, here's the ballot

1. Mickey!
2. Willie!
3. The Duke (these first three have absolute consensus between WS and WAR; is that a record here?)
4. Eddie Mathews
5. Al Kaline
6. Ernie Banks
7. Richie Ashburn
8. Stan Musial
9. Hank Aaron
10. Johnny Logan

#11-#14 are as close to each other as can be. In order, they would be Robin Roberts, Ted Williams, Roy Campanella, Billy Pierce. Then there's a significant gap before the next group. Obviously, Roberts and Pierce are the best pitchers in their leagues. - Brock Hanke

Final same as prelim as follows:

1. Mays CF
2. Mantle CF
3. Kaline RF
4. Banks SS
5. Snider CF
6. Mathews 3B
7. Pierce P
8. Williams LF
9. Campanella C
10.Musial 1B

Others who were close: Nellie Fox, Gil McDougald, Richie Ashburn, Yogi Berra, Robin Roberts, Bob Friend, Don Newcombe (top NL Pitcher), Early Wynn, Herb Score, Frank Sullivan, Hank Aaron.

9 ballots isn't enough. I'll extend a week due to the holiday

I am a longtime lurker and infrequent poster. I love baseball history and I am a lifelong Dodger fan. I also have some time this summer so I can commit to being around for the rest of the 50's. I look at WAR, WAA, and WS and I think the NL was stronger than the AL from the mid -fifties thru the late sixties.

1. Willie Mays - CF - League quality plus 50 homers and 20 steals pushes him ahead of Mantle
2. Mickey Mantle - CF
3. Duke Snider - CF - 1955 was one of the years where it really was Willie, Mickey and the Duke.
4. Ernie Banks - SS
5. Eddie Mathews - 3B
6. Al Kaline - RF
7. Billy Pierce - P
8. Ted Williams LF
9. Roy Campanella C
10 Stan Musial

11. Don Newcombe - P
12. Richie Ashburn - CF
13. Robin Roberts - P
14.Whitey Ford -P
15. Frank Sullivan - P

Voted recently, not this election
toratoratora
sunnyday
SoCalDemon
OCF

I'll close it on Wednesday 7/9

Thanks for the ballot neilsen

1955-A Tale of Three Centerfielders.

And ages. Look at the influx of young talent pouring into MLB with four inner circle HoF under 24.

1-Mays-13 triples, 51 HR, 24 SB, plus fielder, plus runner, .319/.400/.659/1.059. 174 OPS+. Led MLB in TB, What more could one want?
2-Mantle- 37 HR, 113 BB, .306/.431/.611/1.042, 180 OPS+, rates out as equal baserunner to Mays and, at least in 55, a better fielder. OYS had a 95 PF. Only had 4 DP. He and Mays are pretty much a toss up but I made my decision based on Mays being in a tougher league and Mantle having a poor WS. A good post season would have landed the Mick on top.
3-Snider-42 HR, 104 BB, .309/.418/.628/1.046, 169 OPS+, 19 IBB (Teh Fear). Was there ever a better concentration of talent than NY CF in the fifties?
4-Campanella-Had he played a full year he may have been my MVP. 32 HR, .318/.395/.583/.978, 152 OPS+. His last great year.
5-Banks-In his second full season at the ripe age of 24, Banks tosses up 44 HR, .295/.345/.941, good for a 144 OPS+ and 355 TB. Good glove (14 rField) at SS puts him above…
6-Matthews-At an ancient age 23, nabs 109 walks, 41 HR, .289/.413/.601/1.014 and decent glove at Third. Only hit into 5 DP
7-Kaline-At 20, has the best season of his career. 27 HR, .340/.421/.546/.967, 162 OPS+, led AL in hits and TB. Great fielder
8-Ashburn-.338/.449/.448/.897, 142 OPS+, 105 BB
9-Musial-At 34, the Man keeps on ticking. 33 HR, .319/.408/.566/.974 for a nice 157 OPS+
10-Aaron-Another NL youngster at 21, Bad Henry hits .314/.366/.540/.906 and 27 HR for a 141 OPS+ to go with plus baserunning and fielding. Mays lite. The first of what is to be many many ballots in his name, I suspect

Honorable Mention
11-Williams-Only 98 games, but hitting 28 HR with 91 BB and a .356/496/.703/1.200 good for a 209 OPS+ should get ya something

Best of the rest: Pierce, Logan, Klu, Al Smith, Roberts

Ballot closes at 4 EDT tomorrow.

Ballot closes today. This is one of our closest elections.

Ballot is closed

Tubbs, who was your top NL pitcher?