Rosternomics
LG

Lou Gorman

Feb 18, 1929 (Providence, RI) – Apr 1, 2011 (Boston, MA) · died at 82

General manager for the Mariners and Red Sox (1976–1994).

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

Titles0
Pennants1
Playoffs3
Record805–767
Win %0.512
-20.0WAB — wins above budget146th/195 execs
+9.9Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)52nd/195 execs
2.31Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)9th/195 execs
-99.4WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)166th/195 execs
-69Roster surplus $M117th/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)+197.1
Trade-139.7
Free agency-34.1
Rule 5 / minor draft+2.1
Sourcing mix: 74% draft · 16% FA · 8% trade · 1% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
Red Sox GM 1985–1994 10 -20.0 -2.00 +9.9 -99.4 +159.0 -138.5 -34.0 +2.1 2.31 0.512 31 -69
Mariners GM 1976–1980 0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +38.1 -1.2 -0.1 +0.0
Career total (1985+ data) 10 -20.0 +9.9 -99.4 +197.1 -139.7 -34.1 +2.1 2.31 0.512 31 -69

Players acquired — 121 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
Nomar Garciaparra SS BOS Draft 1994 +38.5
John Valentin 3B/SS BOS Draft 1988 +31.2
Mo Vaughn 1B BOS Draft 1989 +27.6
Trot Nixon OF BOS Draft 1993 +23.2
Harold Reynolds 2B SEA Draft 1980 +12.4
Tim Naehring 3B BOS Draft 1988 +11.8
Dave Valle C SEA Draft 1978 +10.5
Aaron Sele P BOS Draft 1991 +9.5
Matt Young P SEA Draft 1980 +8.9
Greg Harris P BOS Free agency 1990 +6.8
Scott Cooper 3B BOS Draft 1986 +6.7
Frank Viola P BOS Free agency 1992 +6.7
Danny Darwin P BOS Free agency 1990 +6.6
Joe Hesketh P BOS Free agency 1990 +5.8
Jim Presley 3B SEA Draft 1979 +5.5
John Dopson P BOS Trade 1988 +4.6
Scott Fletcher 2B/SS BOS Free agency 1992 +4.5
Nick Esasky 1B/3B BOS Trade 1988 +4.2
Dennis Lamp P BOS Free agency 1988 +3.6
Lee Smith P BOS Trade 1987 +3.1
Lee Tinsley OF BOS Trade 1994 +2.8
Scott Hatteberg C/1B BOS Draft 1991 +2.5
Jack Clark 1B/OF BOS Free agency 1990 +2.2
Phil Plantier OF BOS Draft 1987 +2.2
Jeff Suppan P BOS Draft 1993 +2.0
Luis Alicea 2B BOS Trade 1994 +1.9
Paul Quantrill P BOS Draft 1989 +1.9
Tom Brunansky OF BOS Trade 1990 +1.8
Rick Cerone C BOS Free agency 1988 +1.8
Jim Corsi P BOS Free agency 1985 +1.8
Jeff Gray P BOS Free agency 1990 +1.8
Lou Merloni 2B/3B BOS Draft 1993 +1.8
Jeff Russell P BOS Free agency 1993 +1.8
Vaughn Eshelman P BOS Rule 5 1994 +1.7
Ken Ryan P BOS Intl FA 1986 +1.6
Iván Calderón OF SEA Intl FA 1979 +1.6
Calvin Schiraldi P BOS Trade 1985 +1.5
Matt Young P BOS Free agency 1990 +1.5
Billy Hatcher OF BOS Trade 1992 +1.4
Karl Best P SEA Draft 1977 +1.4
Rob Murphy P BOS Trade 1988 +1.3
Bill Haselman C BOS Free agency 1994 +1.2
Tony Peña C BOS Free agency 1989 +1.1
Bruce Kison P BOS Trade 1985 +1.0
Luis Rivera SS BOS Trade 1988 +1.0
Tony Fossas P BOS Free agency 1991 +0.9
Jim Beattie P SEA Trade 1979 +0.8
Randy Kutcher OF BOS Trade 1987 +0.7
Nate Minchey P BOS Trade 1992 +0.7
Kevin Morton P BOS Draft 1989 +0.6
Dave Henderson OF SEA Draft 1977 +0.5
Brian Snyder P SEA Draft 1979 +0.5
Ed Vande Berg P SEA Draft 1980 +0.5
Scott Bankhead P BOS Free agency 1992 +0.4
Otis Nixon OF BOS Free agency 1993 +0.4
Tony Rodríguez SS BOS Draft 1991 +0.4
Gar Finnvold P BOS Draft 1990 +0.3
Joe Hudson P BOS Draft 1992 +0.3
Jeff Reardon P BOS Free agency 1989 +0.3
Eric Wedge DH BOS Draft 1989 +0.3
Ed Núñez P SEA Intl FA 1979 +0.3
Chris Howard P BOS Free agency 1994 +0.2
Jeff McNeely OF BOS Draft 1989 +0.2
Carlos Rodríguez 2B/SS BOS Free agency 1993 +0.2
Danny Heep OF BOS Free agency 1989 +0.1
Jeff Pierce P BOS Trade 1994 +0.1
Rich Rowland C BOS Trade 1994 +0.1
Joe Sambito P BOS Free agency 1986 +0.1
Dave Sax C BOS Trade 1985 +0.1
Bob Zupcic OF BOS Draft 1987 +0.1
Darnell Coles 3B/OF SEA Draft 1980 +0.1
Donell Nixon OF SEA Draft 1980 +0.1
Tommy Barrett 2B BOS Free agency 1991 -0.0
Damon Berryhill C BOS Free agency 1994 +0.0
Jim Byrd PH/PR BOS Draft 1987 +0.0
Alex Delgado C BOS Intl FA 1987 -0.0
Eric Hetzel P BOS Draft 1985 +0.0
Peter Hoy P BOS Draft 1988 +0.0
Jeff Plympton P BOS Draft 1987 -0.0
Donnie Sadler 2B/OF BOS Draft 1994 +0.0
Keith Shepherd P BOS Trade 1994 -0.0
Mike Stenhouse OF BOS Trade 1985 -0.0
Jeff Stone OF BOS Free agency 1989 -0.0
Andy Tomberlin DH/OF BOS Free agency 1994 +0.0
Cory Bailey P BOS Draft 1991 -0.1
Mike Brumley SS BOS Free agency 1991 -0.1
Wayne Housie DH/OF BOS Trade 1990 -0.1
Daryl Irvine P BOS Draft 1985 -0.1
Joel Johnston P BOS Free agency 1994 -0.1
Ron Mahay P BOS Draft 1991 -0.1
Walt McKeel C BOS Draft 1990 -0.1
Brian Rose P BOS Draft 1994 -0.1
Al Chambers DH/OF SEA Draft 1979 -0.1
Jim Lewis P SEA Intl FA 1977 -0.1
Juan Bell 2B/SS BOS Free agency 1994 -0.2
Michael Coleman OF BOS Draft 1994 -0.2
Todd Frohwirth P BOS Free agency 1994 -0.2
Rick Lancellotti 1B/OF BOS Free agency 1989 -0.2
Billy Jo Robidoux 1B BOS Free agency 1989 -0.2
John Trautwein P BOS Draft 1988 -0.2
Tim Van Egmond P BOS Draft 1991 -0.2
Brian Barkley P BOS Draft 1994 -0.3
Ernie Riles 3B/SS BOS Free agency 1993 -0.3
Bill Selby 2B/3B BOS Draft 1992 -0.3
Sergio Valdez P BOS Free agency 1994 -0.3
Greg Blosser OF BOS Draft 1989 -0.4
John Flaherty C BOS Draft 1988 -0.4
José Malavé OF BOS Intl FA 1989 -0.5
Luis Ortiz 3B BOS Draft 1991 -0.5
Sammy Stewart P BOS Trade 1985 -0.5
Scott Taylor P BOS Draft 1988 -0.5
Mario Díaz SS SEA Intl FA 1978 -0.6
Tim Lollar P BOS Trade 1985 -0.7
La Schelle Tarver OF BOS Trade 1985 -0.7
Greg Litton 2B/OF BOS Free agency 1994 -0.8
Bob Melvin C BOS Free agency 1992 -0.8
Herm Winningham OF BOS Free agency 1992 -0.8
Mike Smithson P BOS Free agency 1988 -0.9
Andre Dawson OF BOS Free agency 1992 -1.1
Ed Romero 2B/SS BOS Trade 1985 -2.5
John Moses OF SEA Draft 1980 -3.5

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.