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Greatest World Series Heroes of All Time

Amy Sancetta / AP Photo

We’re not fans of too many convoluted metrics — it’s bad for the baseball brain, you know? Yet we believe a few can be trusted, and cWPA is one of them. 

What the heck is cWPA, also known as Championship Win Probability Added, you might ask? It’s the measure of change in win probability caused by a player in a game, series or season. A plus-1 rating indicates a win added to the team total, while minus-1 would subtract one. Simple enough, right?

So, to change things up a bit, we called on cWPA out of the bullpen to break down the biggest World Series difference-makers of the expansion era. Except for one notable case (see No. 27), not even we can complain about the results.

Now, you be the judge …

30. Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks

Randy Johnson
Matt York / AP Photo

Year: 2001

World Series outcome: Arizona Diamondbacks 4, New York Yankees 3

cWPA: 31.01

Bottom Line: Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson
John Bazemore / AP Photo

It’s good to have a 6-foot-10 Johnson to call on in the postseason, ya think? He started and won Games 2 and 6 and saved Game 7 on no days’ rest. 

If it weren’t for the numbers, we would have him higher on the list.

29. Jim Bouton, New York Yankees

Jim Bouton
AP Photo

Year: 1964

World Series outcome: St. Louis Cardinals 4, New York Yankees 3

cWPA: 31.12

Bottom Line: Jim Bouton

Jim Bouton
AP Photo

Bob Gibson (25.1 cWPA) was the Most Valuable Player pick, but Bouton was every bit his equal in the series in a losing effort. 

In two starts, the man who authored “Ball Four” won Games 3 and 6 on the road. Do poorly in either one, and the series probably lasts no more than five games.