Overview
Titles0
Pennants1
Playoffs1
Record185–139
Win %0.571
10.0Depth — 2+ WAR regulars per season (the breadth that drives TAB, not stars)2nd/195 execs
-3.9Dead WAR — WAR/yr bled by sub-replacement players (closer to 0 = better)21st/195 execs
23%Dead money — payroll on <0.5-WAR players (lower = better)20th/195 execs
$4MCheap-talent surplus — $/yr of value from cost-controlled (pre-arb/arb) players above their pay; the selection engine, and the stickiest GM skill we track144th/195 execs
$3MDrafted surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own draftees (the develop-from-the-draft engine)125th/195 execs
$1MTraded-for surplus — cheap-talent surplus from cost-controlled players he acquired via trade121st/195 execs
$0MInt'l surplus — cheap-talent surplus from his own international signees133rd/195 execs
+21.1TAB — talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation), tenure total36th/195 execs
3.67Acquisition Leverage — playoff pts per acquired WAR, graded once in the year each deal's wins arrive (the repeatable decision skill)23rd/195 execs
Tenure breakdown
| Team | Role | Years | Szns | WAB | WAB/yr | TAB | WAR surp | HG | Trade | FA | R5 | AcqLev | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS | Surp $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
▸  Tigers |
GM | 1991–1991 | 1 | +1.8 | +1.78 | +4.6 | +0.9 | +11.6 | +18.8 | -2.6 | +0.0 | 3.76 | 0.519 | – | – | – | +0 |
▸  Cardinals |
GM | 1983–1985 | 1 | +18.2 | +18.23 | +16.5 | +10.5 | +45.1 | +18.1 | -5.3 | +0.0 | 2.76 | 0.623 | 1 | 1 | – | +3 |
▸  Mets |
GM | 1975–1980 | 0 | +0.0 | – | +0.0 | +0.0 | +50.2 | +4.6 | -5.4 | +0.3 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career total (1985+ data) | 2 | +20.0 | +21.1 | +11.4 | +106.9 | +41.4 | -13.4 | +0.3 | 3.67 | 0.571 | 1 | 1 | – | +3 | |||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Home-grown (draft/intl)+106.9
Trade+41.4
Free agency-13.4
Rule 5 / minor draft+0.3
Sourcing mix: 60% draft · 0% FA · 40% trade · 0% R5
Roster value distribution — career average — depth vs. stars
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR, averaged across Joe McDonald's seasons. Bars = his rosters; the black line = the league-average player at each slot. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge.
Players acquired — 70 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | Lev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darryl Strawberry | OF | NYM |
Draft | 1980 | 6 | +29.7 | +4.9 | – |
| José Oquendo | 2B/SS | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 10 | +15.3 | +1.5 | – |
| Joe Magrane | P | STL |
Draft | 1985 | 5 | +14.7 | +2.9 | – |
| Mickey Tettleton | C | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 4 | +14.4 | +3.6 | 20.6 |
| Bernard Gilkey | OF | STL |
Intl FA | 1984 | 6 | +12.6 | +2.1 | – |
| John Tudor | P | STL |
Trade | 1984 | 5 | +12.0 | +2.4 | – |
| Justin Thompson | P | DET |
Draft | 1991 | 4 | +11.0 | +2.8 | – |
| Tom Pagnozzi | C | STL |
Draft | 1983 | 9 | +10.6 | +1.2 | – |
| Jack Clark | 1B/OF | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 3 | +10.1 | +3.4 | – |
| Mookie Wilson | OF | NYM |
Draft | 1977 | 5 | +9.9 | +2.0 | – |
| Wally Backman | 2B | NYM |
Draft | 1977 | 4 | +7.7 | +1.9 | – |
| Geronimo Pena | 2B | STL |
Intl FA | 1984 | 5 | +6.4 | +1.3 | – |
| Ken Dayley | P | STL |
Trade | 1984 | 6 | +6.1 | +1.0 | – |
| Rob Deer | OF | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 3 | +5.5 | +1.8 | 3.8 |
| Bill Gullickson | P | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 4 | +5.3 | +1.3 | 12.7 |
| Greg Mathews | P | STL |
Draft | 1984 | 4 | +3.8 | +1.0 | – |
| Mark Leiter | P | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 3 | +3.2 | +1.1 | 5.2 |
| Jesse Orosco | P | NYM |
Trade | 1979 | 3 | +3.0 | +1.0 | – |
| Kevin Mitchell | OF | NYM |
Intl FA | 1980 | 1 | +2.7 | +2.7 | – |
| Darrell Porter | C | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +2.1 | +2.1 | – |
| Ed Lynch | P | NYM |
Trade | 1979 | 2 | +1.6 | +0.8 | – |
| Tito Landrum | OF | STL |
Trade | 1984 | 3 | +1.5 | +0.5 | – |
| Dan Gladden | OF | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | 2 | +1.4 | +0.7 | 1.8 |
| César Cedeño | OF | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +1.4 | +1.4 | 3.8 |
| Skeeter Barnes | 1B/3B/OF | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | 2 | +1.3 | +0.7 | 4.6 |
| Sean Bergman | P | DET |
Draft | 1991 | 2 | +1.2 | +0.6 | – |
| John Gibbons | C | NYM |
Draft | 1980 | 1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | – |
| Tim Conroy | P | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | 0.1 |
| Dan Gakeler | P | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | – |
| Rick Anderson | P | NYM |
Draft | 1978 | 1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | – |
| John Morris | OF | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | – |
| Andy Allanson | C | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | 1.4 |
| Bill Campbell | P | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | – |
| Steve Braun | 3B/OF | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – |
| Tim Jones | 2B/SS | STL |
Draft | 1985 | 3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | – |
| Matt Keough | P | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – |
| Tom Lawless | 2B/3B | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | – |
| Ronn Reynolds | C | NYM |
Draft | 1980 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Scott Arnold | P | STL |
Draft | 1984 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Rod Booker | 2B/SS | STL |
Trade | 1983 | 2 | +0.1 | +0.0 | – |
| John Costello | P | STL |
Draft | 1983 | 2 | +0.1 | +0.0 | – |
| Andy Hassler | P | STL |
Trade | 1985 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Mike Jorgensen | 1B | STL |
Trade | 1984 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – |
| Trever Miller | P | DET |
Draft | 1991 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Billy Beane | OF | NYM |
Draft | 1980 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Ron Gardenhire | SS | NYM |
Draft | 1979 | 1 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – |
| Doug Sisk | P | NYM |
Intl FA | 1980 | 2 | -0.0 | -0.0 | – |
| Neil Allen | P | STL |
Trade | 1983 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Brian Harper | C | STL |
Trade | 1984 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| Howard Hilton | P | STL |
Draft | 1985 | – | -0.0 | – | – |
| John Cerutti | P | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Mike Dalton | P | DET |
Trade | 1991 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Art Howe | 2B/3B | STL |
Trade | 1985 | – | -0.1 | – | – |
| Jeff Kaiser | P | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Phil Stidham | P | DET |
Draft | 1991 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Lance Johnson | OF | STL |
Draft | 1984 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Rick Ownbey | P | STL |
Trade | 1983 | – | -0.2 | – | – |
| Mike Munoz | P | DET |
Trade | 1991 | 2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 0.1 |
| Iván de Jesús | SS | STL |
Trade | 1985 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Matt Kinzer | P | STL |
Draft | 1984 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| Ray Stephens | C | STL |
Draft | 1985 | – | -0.3 | – | – |
| John Moses | OF | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| Clint Sodowsky | P | DET |
Draft | 1991 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| Mike Fitzgerald | 1B | STL |
Draft | 1984 | – | -0.4 | – | – |
| Jim Lindeman | 1B/OF | STL |
Draft | 1983 | 1 | -0.6 | -0.6 | – |
| Craig Wilson | 3B | STL |
Draft | 1984 | 1 | -0.7 | -0.7 | – |
| Kelvin Chapman | 2B | NYM |
Intl FA | 1975 | – | -0.9 | – | – |
| Mike Walker | P | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | – | -1.0 | – | – |
| Steve Peters | P | STL |
Draft | 1985 | 1 | -1.0 | -1.0 | – |
| Pete Incaviglia | OF | DET |
Free agency | 1991 | – | -1.1 | – | – |
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.
Graphs
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