I couldn't help but notice that Yovani Gallardo's WAR (Rally WAR from Baseball-Reference) is already at 0.7 this season. In 44 plate appearances. Yikes. Were that sustainable over 600 PA, we're talking a 9.5 WAR season. Gallardo already has 1.4 career WAR at the plate in 161 PA (that comes out to 5.2 WAR per 600 PA). Small sample, but impressive nonetheless.
That got me wondering who the top pitchers of all time were in terms of offensive WAR (it's technically "Position Player WAR", but Total Zone data doesn't exist for pitchers). Now that Baseball-Reference and it's wonderful Play Index has Rally's WAR, this type of search is possible. Here are the Top 20:
| Rk | Player | WAR | PA | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Ruffing | 13.7 | 2083 | 882 | 1937 | 207 | 521 | 98 | 13 | 36 | 273 | 97 | 266 | .269 | .306 | .389 | .695 |
| 2 | Walter Johnson | 12.1 | 2517 | 934 | 2324 | 241 | 547 | 94 | 41 | 24 | 255 | 110 | 251 | .235 | .274 | .342 | .616 |
| 3 | Wes Ferrell | 12.0 | 1345 | 548 | 1176 | 175 | 329 | 57 | 12 | 38 | 208 | 129 | 185 | .280 | .351 | .446 | .797 |
| 4 | George Mullin | 11.7 | 1685 | 615 | 1531 | 163 | 401 | 70 | 23 | 3 | 137 | 122 | 21 | .262 | .319 | .344 | .663 |
| 5 | George Uhle | 11.3 | 1498 | 722 | 1360 | 172 | 393 | 60 | 21 | 9 | 187 | 98 | 112 | .289 | .339 | .384 | .722 |
| 6 | Don Newcombe | 9.0 | 988 | 452 | 878 | 94 | 238 | 33 | 3 | 15 | 108 | 87 | 147 | .271 | .338 | .367 | .705 |
| 7 | Bob Lemon | 8.6 | 1330 | 615 | 1183 | 148 | 274 | 54 | 9 | 37 | 147 | 93 | 241 | .232 | .288 | .386 | .674 |
| 8 | Schoolboy Rowe | 8.2 | 1022 | 491 | 909 | 116 | 239 | 36 | 9 | 18 | 153 | 86 | 157 | .263 | .328 | .382 | .710 |
| 9 | Carl Mays | 8.0 | 1199 | 502 | 1085 | 113 | 291 | 32 | 21 | 5 | 110 | 66 | 116 | .268 | .313 | .350 | .663 |
| 10 | Mike Hampton | 7.3 | 845 | 438 | 725 | 97 | 178 | 22 | 5 | 16 | 79 | 47 | 195 | .246 | .294 | .356 | .650 |
| 11 | Doc Crandall | 6.6 | 1033 | 500 | 887 | 109 | 253 | 35 | 19 | 9 | 126 | 118 | 94 | .285 | .372 | .398 | .770 |
| 12 | Earl Wilson | 6.4 | 838 | 405 | 740 | 95 | 144 | 12 | 6 | 35 | 111 | 67 | 271 | .195 | .265 | .369 | .634 |
| 13 | Bucky Walters | 6.3 | 2149 | 715 | 1966 | 227 | 477 | 99 | 16 | 23 | 234 | 114 | 303 | .243 | .286 | .344 | .630 |
| 14 | Early Wynn | 6.3 | 1903 | 796 | 1704 | 136 | 365 | 59 | 5 | 17 | 173 | 141 | 330 | .214 | .274 | .285 | .559 |
| 15 | Bob Gibson | 6.2 | 1489 | 596 | 1328 | 132 | 274 | 44 | 5 | 24 | 144 | 63 | 415 | .206 | .243 | .301 | .545 |
| 16 | Jim Tobin | 5.7 | 884 | 396 | 796 | 81 | 183 | 35 | 3 | 17 | 102 | 80 | 162 | .230 | .303 | .345 | .648 |
| 17 | Burleigh Grimes | 5.6 | 1685 | 632 | 1535 | 157 | 380 | 62 | 11 | 2 | 168 | 69 | 241 | .248 | .282 | .306 | .588 |
| 18 | Gary Peters | 5.3 | 875 | 450 | 807 | 86 | 179 | 31 | 7 | 19 | 102 | 29 | 172 | .222 | .253 | .348 | .601 |
| 19 | Doc White | 5.2 | 1516 | 548 | 1283 | 147 | 278 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 75 | 147 | 1 | .217 | .298 | .259 | .556 |
| 20 | Reb Russell | 5.1 | 1062 | 422 | 976 | 141 | 262 | 48 | 25 | 22 | 172 | 42 | 130 | .268 | .309 | .436 | .745 |
Red Ruffing is already in the Hall of Fame for his 53.6 WAR on the mound. But he was worth an additional 13.7 wins at the plate! How about Walter Johnson? His 127.7 WAR as a pitcher get a boost from his 12.1 wins at the plate. Interesting to see Mike Hampton crack the Top 10 with 7.3 WAR in 845 PA (or 5.2 WAR per 600 PA).
Where does Gallardo rank all time? He's already moving into the Top 150 hitting pitchers ever. And he's got a long way to go.