Rosternomics
LH

Larry Himes

Born Oct 7, 1940 · age 85

General manager for the White Sox and Cubs (1987–1994).

7 seasons with salary-era data across 2 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Titles0
Pennants0
Playoffs0
Record522–561
Win %0.482
-8.4WAB — wins above budget109th/195 execs
-24.9Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)151st/195 execs
0.59Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)131st/195 execs
-25.9WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)89th/195 execs
-25Roster surplus $M81st/195 execs

How the roster was sourced

Share of gross-positive acquired fWAR by channel (vs. league average).

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+185.8
Trade+99.7
Free agency-105.3
Rule 5 / minor draft-0.7
Sourcing mix: 58% draft · 3% FA · 40% trade · 0% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
Cubs GM 1992–1994 3 -13.9 -4.64 -13.5 -29.2 +5.0 +74.0 -96.3 -0.3 0.86 0.483 -28
White Sox GM 1987–1990 4 +5.5 +1.38 -11.3 +3.3 +180.8 +25.7 -9.0 -0.4 0.42 0.481 +3
Career total (1985+ data) 7 -8.4 -24.9 -25.9 +185.8 +99.7 -105.3 -0.7 0.59 0.482 -25

Players acquired — 90 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
Frank Thomas 1B/DH CHW Draft 1989 +68.1
Sammy Sosa OF CHC Trade 1992 +60.7
Robin Ventura 3B CHW Draft 1988 +39.2
Jack McDowell P CHW Draft 1987 +25.1
Alex Fernandez P CHW Draft 1990 +21.6
Lance Johnson OF CHW Trade 1988 +17.3
Ray Durham 2B CHW Draft 1990 +11.9
James Baldwin P CHW Draft 1990 +9.3
Roberto Hernández P CHW Trade 1989 +8.6
Tim Raines OF CHW Trade 1990 +8.2
Greg Hibbard P CHW Trade 1987 +8.0
Dan Pasqua OF CHW Trade 1987 +5.7
José Hernández 3B/SS CHC Trade 1993 +4.2
Jason Bere P CHW Draft 1990 +3.8
Eric King P CHW Trade 1989 +3.2
Randy Myers P CHC Free agency 1992 +2.7
Glenallen Hill OF CHC Trade 1993 +2.5
Kevin Orie 3B CHC Draft 1993 +2.5
Jerry Reuss P CHW Free agency 1988 +2.3
Brant Brown OF CHC Draft 1992 +2.0
Kyle Farnsworth P CHC Draft 1994 +2.0
José Guzmán P CHC Free agency 1992 +2.0
Greg Hibbard P CHC Trade 1992 +1.9
Charlie Hough P CHW Free agency 1990 +1.7
Dave Gallagher OF CHW Free agency 1987 +1.3
Barry Jones P CHW Trade 1988 +1.2
Brian Keyser P CHW Draft 1989 +1.2
Anthony Young P CHC Trade 1994 +1.0
José Bautista P CHC Free agency 1992 +0.9
Sammy Sosa OF CHW Trade 1989 +0.9
Mark Parent C CHC Free agency 1993 +0.7
Eddie Zambrano OF CHC Trade 1993 +0.7
Eddie Williams 1B/3B CHW Trade 1989 +0.7
Jerry Kutzler P CHW Draft 1987 +0.5
Joe Kmak C CHC Free agency 1994 +0.4
Karl Rhodes OF CHC Trade 1993 +0.4
Kelly Paris 3B CHW Free agency 1987 +0.3
Steve Rosenberg P CHW Trade 1987 +0.3
Mark Salas C CHW Trade 1987 +0.3
Rod Bolton P CHW Draft 1990 +0.2
Mike Maksudian 1B CHC Free agency 1993 +0.1
Jason Maxwell 2B/3B CHC Draft 1993 +0.1
Dan Plesac P CHC Free agency 1992 +0.1
Robert Machado C CHW Intl FA 1989 +0.1
Richie Barker P CHC Draft 1994 +0.0
William Brennan P CHC Free agency 1992 +0.0
Doug Jennings OF CHC Free agency 1993 +0.0
José Molina C CHC Draft 1993 -0.0
Steve Rain P CHC Draft 1993 -0.0
Dennis Rasmussen P CHC Free agency 1992 -0.0
Mike Walker P CHC Free agency 1993 +0.0
Luis Andújar P CHW Intl FA 1990 +0.0
Jeff Carter P CHW Trade 1990 -0.0
Olmedo Sáenz 1B/3B CHW Intl FA 1990 -0.0
Larry Casian P CHC Free agency 1994 -0.1
Chuck Crim P CHC Free agency 1994 -0.1
Blaise Ilsley P CHC Trade 1994 -0.1
Brooks Kieschnick P/OF CHC Draft 1993 -0.1
Kennie Steenstra P CHC Draft 1992 -0.1
Eric Yelding SS/OF CHC Free agency 1993 -0.1
Julio Zuleta 1B CHC Intl FA 1992 -0.1
Brian Drahman P CHW Trade 1989 -0.1
Ramón García P CHW Intl FA 1987 -0.1
Ravelo Manzanillo P CHW Trade 1988 -0.1
Rodney McCray DH/OF CHW Rule 5 1987 -0.1
Matt Stark C/DH CHW Free agency 1990 -0.1
Jerry Willard C CHW Free agency 1989 -0.1
Jeff Kunkel SS CHC Trade 1992 -0.2
Dave Otto P CHC Free agency 1994 -0.2
Jeff Robinson P CHC Free agency 1992 -0.2
Tommy Shields 2B/3B CHC Free agency 1992 -0.2
Willie Wilson OF CHC Free agency 1992 -0.2
Jeff Schaefer 3B/SS CHW Trade 1989 -0.2
Bo Porter OF CHC Draft 1993 -0.3
Tanyon Sturtze P CHC Rule 5 1994 -0.3
Ralph Citarella P CHW Trade 1987 -0.3
Tom McCarthy P CHW Trade 1988 -0.3
Randy Veres P CHC Free agency 1993 -0.4
José Segura P CHW Trade 1988 -0.4
Sap Randall 1B/DH/OF CHW Trade 1988 -0.5
Billy Jo Robidoux 1B CHW Free agency 1988 -0.5
Carl Willis P CHW Trade 1988 -0.5
Mike Woodard 2B CHW Free agency 1987 -0.5
Todd Haney 2B CHC Free agency 1993 -0.7
Jeff Bittiger P CHW Free agency 1988 -0.8
John Davis P CHW Trade 1987 -0.9
Mike Hubbard C CHC Draft 1992 -1.1
Ken Patterson P CHC Trade 1992 -1.1
Jim Winn P CHW Trade 1987 -1.1
Ken Patterson P CHW Trade 1987 -1.3

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.