What Does 100 Caps Mean?

This is a revising of an earlier post I had whenever DeMarcus Beasley hit his 100th cap in the summer of 2013. Numbers are updated through 2019.

DeMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard, and Clint Dempsey all within the last two years reached their 100th appearance for the men's senior team. But what does this actually entail for players today? How hard of an achievement is this?

Over 700 different players have suited up for America, so being part of the top 2% is something special in itself. However, no American athlete was in a position to reach 100 caps until 1998. In fact, if you played every game from 1885 (USA's first match against Canada) until 1971, an incredible eighty-seven-year career, you would still only have played 95 games. It wasn't until recently that the USMNT started playing enough games for a player to reach the milestone.

Number of games played by the USMNT each year

Number of games played by the USMNT each year

Looking at the graph, there are a few things we can immediately take away from the ascending line.

1. 1993 and 1994 had 35 games and 29 games, respectively. We haven't topped 24 games outside of those two years before or since. Clearly the team was aiming to be prepared before hosting the World Cup. Those that played during those two years had a nice boost in caps.

2. The average games per year jumps up around 1990. As the USMNT started becoming more of a serious contender on the international stage, the number of games rose at the same time. Again this can be tied to the World Cup bid as well.

3. The 1950 World Cup win over England seemed to have very little impact on the overall program. The men weren't playing that many games prior to (which you could attribute to the war) but also didn't really experience a consistent rise until forty years later. For example, no games were played at all in 1981.

4. The current games per year is hovering around 20. It'd be tough to add more games than 20 in 12 months. Granted, years with big tournaments will ramp it up but overall 16-20 should be the average.

To help normalize and weigh cap totals, we’ll establish an IPC (international playing career) for field players and goalkeepers. For top field players, an average career ranged from 19 to 34 years old, while a top goalkeeper’s career was typically from 19-38. By finding the total amount of available games one could play in their career, we can compare cap totals from different eras. For those that had few games available in their time, their wighted cap total (WCT) will rise, while players who had a lot of games will see their WCT drop. Using this method, early twentieth century players have a chance at passing the 100 cap mark.

Player WCT Born Caps 100-Equiv
Walter Bahr 153 1927 19 12
Cobi Jones 144 1970 164 114
Harry Keough 137 1927 17 12
Landon Donovan 133 1982 157 118
Manuel Martin 132 1917 9 7
John Souza 130 1920 14 11
Fernando Clavijo 124 1956 61 49
Clint Dempsey 121 1983 141 117
Ed Murphy 118 1930 17 14
Jeff Agoos 118 1968 134 114
Marcelo Balboa 113 1967 128 113
Claudio Reyna 111 1973 112 101
Paul Caligiuri 111 1964 110 99
DaMarcus Beasley 106 1982 126 118
Tom Florie 105 1897 8 8
Charlie Colombo 102 1920 11 11
Boris Bandov 98 1953 33 34
Carlos Bocanegra 97 1979 110 114
Benny McLaughlin 97 1928 12 12
Thomas Dooley 96 1961 81 85
Eric Wynalda 92 1969 106 115
Joe-Max Moore 90 1971 100 111
Earnie Stewart 88 1969 101 115
Frankie Hejduk 87 1974 87 100
Brian McBride 87 1972 95 109
Alexi Lalas 85 1970 96 114
Eddie Lewis 82 1974 82 100
Willy Roy 82 1943 20 24
Desmond Armstrong 82 1964 81 99
Eddie Pope 81 1973 82 101
Bruce Murray 81 1966 86 106
Bill Sheppell 81 1926 10 12
John Harkes 80 1967 90 113
Steve Cherundolo 77 1979 87 114
Tab Ramos 76 1966 81 106
Hugo Perez 75 1963 73 98
Chris Henderson 70 1970 79 114
Adelino Gonsalves 68 1908 6 9
Irving Davis 66 1896 5 8
George Moorhouse 65 1901 7 11

While Paul Caliguri's true cap total is 110, his WCT is 111 because he had less opportunities to get to 100 than those that followed him, although by only a few games. On the reverse side, Carlos Bocanegra's 110 caps drops to a 97 WCT because he had more games to play in. Bocanegra's IPC is 284 while Caliguri's is only 248.

As for goalkeepers, they're a little more tricky. It's harder for them to get to 100 caps, weighted or unweighted, because they can't slide to another position on the field. Only one can play and it's rare to see one subbed at halftime. So for now, we're going to apply the 40% rule to them as well but knowing we can probably drop it to 30% if we are truly trying to find an even bar for everyone to pass.

Player WCT Born Caps 100-Equiv
Tim Howard 114 1979 121 106
Jimmy Douglas 97 1898 9 9
Frank Borghi 94 1925 9 10
Kasey Keller 90 1969 102 114
Tony Meola 88 1969 100 114
Brad Friedel 70 1971 82 117
Arnie Mausser 56 1954 35 63

And lastly, here are the top active players with high projected WCT paces. A few of these players’ WCTs are still erratic for players early into their career.

Player WCT Pace Born Caps 100-Equiv
Christian Pulisic 199 1998 34 114
Josh Sargent 199 2000 12 115
Michael Bradley 196 1987 151 116
Timothy Weah 195 2000 8 115
Tyler Adams 186 1999 10 113
Weston McKennie 179 1998 19 114
Jozy Altidore 177 1989 115 117
DeAndre Yedlin 149 1993 62 116
Paul Arriola 113 1995 33 115
Jordan Morris 107 1994 39 118
Gyasi Zardes 106 1991 56 115
Reggie Cannon 104 1998 11 114
Brad Guzan 96 1984 64 107
Bobby Wood 95 1992 45 116
John Brooks 91 1993 38 116
Zack Steffen 90 1995 17 107
Alejandro Bedoya 87 1987 66 116
Kellyn Acosta 79 1995 23 115
Fabian Johnson 75 1987 57 116

 

USWNT Cap Totals

Last updated December 31, 2019

With Christie Rampone's retirement announcement, it's a good time to look at what 100 caps means for the USWNT.

While the chaotic games-per-year for the USWNT scheduling stands out, it's also worth noting the USWNT's IPC is significantly higher than the USMNT's (384 to 284). Following the same standard of a player needing to play 40% of the available games from when they are 19-34 and 30% of games from 19-38 for goalkeepers, this is what the USWNT's top 50 WCTs would look like.

Player WCT Born 100-Equiv Caps
1. Kristine Lilly 287 1971 123 354
2. Christie Rampone 232 1975 134 311
3. Julie Foudy 221 1971 123 272
4. Joy Fawcett 216 1968 111 239
5. Mia Hamm 208 1972 132 275
6. Brandi Chastain 173 1968 111 192
7. Abby Wambach 166 1980 154 255
8. Tiffeny Milbrett 155 1972 132 204
9. Heather O'Reilly 153 1985 151 231
10. Kate Markgraf 152 1976 132 201
11. Michelle Akers 152 1966 102 155
12. Carla Overbeck 152 1968 111 168
13. Hope Solo 144 1981 140 202
14. Shannon Boxx 142 1977 138 195
15. Briana Scurry 140 1971 123 173
16. Shannon MacMillan 128 1974 138 176
17. Cindy Parlow 118 1978 134 158
18. Carin Gabarra 116 1965 101 117
19. Heather Mitts 102 1978 134 137
20. Tisha Venturini 95 1973 140 132
21. Cat Whitehill 93 1982 144 134
22. Lorrie Fair 90 1978 134 120
23. Lauren Holiday 88 1987 151 133
24. Aly Wagner 85 1980 154 131
25. Lindsay Tarpley 84 1983 148 125
26. Angela Hucles 81 1978 134 109
27. Tiffany Roberts 80 1977 138 110
28. Rachel Van Hollebeke 75 1985 151 113
29. Lori Chalupny 70 1984 150 106
30. Linda Hamilton 66 1969 124 82

A little bit of reshuffling, especially with the more recent players taking a nerf hit but nothing that just flips the list upside down. Here are the top active players and their current pace.

Player WCT Born 100-Equiv Caps
1. Carli Lloyd 204 1982 144 294
2. Mallory Pugh 179 1998 147 63
3. Alex Morgan 160 1989 150 169
4. Tobin Heath 146 1988 151 168
5. Lindsey Horan 143 1994 148 86
6. Crystal Dunn 129 1992 151 104
7. Julie Ertz 127 1992 151 102
8. Becky Sauerbrunn 125 1985 151 177
9. Christen Press 120 1988 151 138
10. Morgan Gautrat 120 1993 152 87
11. Megan Rapinoe 119 1985 151 168
12. Kelley O'Hara 114 1988 151 131
13. Amy Rodriguez 106 1987 151 132
14. Alyssa Naeher 105 1988 139 63
Tags