Highest season WAR

True. Back then, all players from stars to scrubs had poor training, equipment and other disadvantages.

I think the bigger difference is that a few good players would form a team and fill the roster with guys that they knew or maybe a kid they heard of from another town.
Teams might have a travel squad of 10-12 players. If someone got drunk or hurt they could literally grab someone from the stands to play right field. That was a replacement level player.

My favorite WAR is Jim McCormick of the 1879 Cleveland Blues. He had a WAR of 10 and a W-L record of 20-40.

I guess this means that the team was so bad that a replacement level pitcher would have gone 10-50.

The team went 27-55.