In the baseball community, there are plenty of reasons to evaluate the value of a player. Among them are free-agent signings, trading for a player, awards voting, and voting for the Hall of Fame.
However, the volume of different publicly available stats has become overwhelming. It can create confusion as to which ones are most effective for evaluating.
Wins Above Replacement (WAR) applies weights to each part of a player’s contributions and compiles it into a formula. It translate a player’s work directly into “wins” that the individual has produced compared to what a “replacement” from the bench or minor leagues would do under the same circumstances.