Dodgers' Player Announcers Beat Giants', Pants Down

Awesome sidebar by the WSJ Tuesday, as they looked up the WAR of all 30 MLB teams' broadcasting teams (up to two players). And once again, the Dodgers beat the Giants:

Using "wins above replacement," a statistic that measures the career contributions of pitchers and position players on the same scale, we ranked the TV and radio broadcasters for every major-league team. The study included up to two former players who are now regular broadcasters, per team. (For clubs with more than two primary former-player announcers, one each was chosen from TV and radio, based on the best WAR.)

Right away, it became clear that being a superstar is not always necessary in landing an announcing gig.

Of the 56 broadcasters, 31 (55.4%) never made an All-Star team. Three are in the Hall of Fame as players (Bert Blyleven, Jim Palmer, Don Sutton), while two made it as broadcasters (Jerry Coleman, Bob Uecker). It also seems that teams are not always prone to hiring one of their own. Only 21 of the 56 (37.5%) played more than five years for the team they broadcast, while 18 never played for that team at all.

Which broadcast tandem was the best on the diamond? Minnesota's combo of Blyleven and Jack Morris easily defeated the Diamondbacks' duo of Mark Grace and Tom Candiotti. The Orioles, with Palmer and Rick Dempsey, finished third. The big losers were the Tigers. Rod Allen and Jim Price combined to hit just .215 in their major-league careers.

Notables:

• 1. Twins: Blyleven, Morris: 129.4 WAR
• 2. D'backs: Candiotti, Grace: 88
• 3. Orioles: Dempsey, Palmer: 87.1
• 9. Angels: Mark Gubicza, Jose Mota: 34.4
• 10. Dodgers: Steve Lyons, Rick Monday: 34.2
• 13. Giants: Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper: 22.9
• 24. Padres: Jerry Coleman, Mark Grant: 8.2
• 29. Rockies: George Frazier, Jeff Huson: 1
• 30. Tigers: Allen, Price: -1.4