If you’re an offensive player in baseball, there is nothing more important than avoiding outs. Common sense indicates the more you get on base – whether with a hit, a walk or a hit by a pitch – the better your team’s chances are of scoring and ultimately winning. That’s why on-base percentage is more useful than batting average or slugging percentage, two other conventional stats that help define a hitter’s value.
Just six qualified hitters reached the .400-OBP mark in 2018. The group included the best player in baseball, another potential Hall of Famer, each league’s MVP, an elite hitter who helped his team to a championship and a potential star in the making. Let’s take a look at how that six-man club is doing in 2019…
Mike Trout, Angels (2018 OBP: .460):
Here’s the “best player in baseball” mentioned above. The 27-year-old Trout has reached 45.5 percent of the time through 231 plate appearances, putting him right in line with last year’s league-best effort. He’s also on track for his fifth straight season with at least a .400 OBP. Trout was a .312 hitter in 2018 who walked 20.4 percent of the time. His average has noticeably dropped (to .283), but his walk rate is up a bit and opposing pitchers have helped Trout’s cause by already hitting him six times. He wore 10 pitches last year in 378 more PA.
Mookie Betts, Red Sox (2018 OBP: .438):
Betts got on base a bit less than Trout last season, but the Boston superstar led the sport in fWAR en route to AL MVP honors. While Betts hasn’t been quite as sharp this year, he has still avoided outs at a phenomenal clip (.400 in 255 trips to the plate). The 26-year-old has walked 14-plus percent of the time for the second consecutive season, but a 55-point decline in batting average (.346 to .291) and a 54-point BABIP drop (.368 to .314) have hurt his OBP. Plus, Betts isn’t on pace to match the eight HBPs he totaled in 2018, having picked up only two so far.
Joey Votto, Reds (2018 OBP: .417):
Votto’s the “potential Hall of Famer” named in the opening. The hitting savant has managed a remarkable .424 OBP dating back to his 2007 debut, in part because he has drawn nearly as many walks as strikeouts. However, that hasn’t been the case in 2019. Now in his age-35 season, Votto’s walk rate is at a pedestrian-by-his-standards 11.6 percent – down nearly 5 points from his career mark – while his strikeouts have soared. Putting the ball in play less helps explain why Votto, a lifetime .309 hitter, has only mustered a .242 average this season. Worse, Statcast credits Votto with a .229 expected average, indicating a rebound may not be on the way. Despite his newfound woes, Votto has still put up an above-average .340 OBP in 215 PA this year, but it’s nothing to get excited about in the venerable first baseman’s case.
Brandon Nimmo, Mets (2018 OBP: .404):
Nimmo’s far and away the least accomplished member of this list, but that doesn’t take away that the 26-year-old was a stupendous offensive player in 2018. As only a .264 hitter, though, his high OBP came thanks in part to a league-leading 22 HBPs over 433 PA. Nimmo has not been a magnet for pitches this year, however, having taken three in 130 trips to the plate. He’s also batting a mere .200 and has seen his BABIP fall from .351 to .288. Nimmo is collecting walks at a terrific clip (16.1 percent), but his .344 OBP is still a 60-point drop-off from last season.
Christian Yelich, Brewers (2018 OBP: .402):
We arrive at the other MVP on this list. What’s Yelich, 26, doing for an encore? Well, he ranks third in the majors in OBP (.425), in part because his walk rate has climbed from 10.4 percent to 15.1. Yelich has also logged a .314 average even though his BABIP has sunk 87 points since last year.
J.D. Martinez, Red Sox (2018 OBP: .402):
Martinez, described above as “an elite hitter who helped his team to a championship,” has been closer to very good than great this season. A .375 BABIP/.330 average helped drive Martinez’s OBP last season, but he’s at .315/.298 in those categories through 219 PA this season. Consequently, the 31-year-old has “only” reached base 37.9 percent of the time. But Martinez is striking out a lot less, which bodes well, and Statcast puts his expected average at .321. Another .400-OBP season certainly isn’t out of the question for Martinez.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Think you have a typo about Trout. His walk rate has gone up, not down. Thinking you pulled his K rate on accident.
Yeah, K rate is 16%, BB rate is 22%
That’s what happened. Bad error on my part. Thanks for catching it.
Good for u Connor. Too few people admit to ANY mistakes these days. TY for your efforts.
Obp should be looked at but helping your team score doesn’t just count the times you get on but adding runs through base hits. The only way a run scores through a walk is with the bases loaded. Ichiro is a good example in that he got a lot of base hits on high pitches out of the strike zone.
You are only looking at half the equation. It is true that you rarely knock on a run with just a walk. However, to the hitters that follow a single and walk are the exact same thing.
Stats like wRC+ account for differences between a walk and a hit. Much better single measurement than BA, OBP or SLG.
There is no one size fits all stat, but the number one stat is not making an out when you walk up to the plate. But just because a stat is #1 it doesn’t mean it comes close to measuring the value of a player.
WAR tries. and for the most part does a good job. But people throw it out because it doesn’t paint the entire picture. Nothing paints the entire picture.
How does the American League leader in walks have a low walk percentage? Maybe I’m missing something here
The author of the article made a mistake and the article probably wasn’t edited. This can be seen on this overall excellent website frequently, unfortunately.
In other words, the author isn’t perfect?
GASP.
Brandon Nimmo as “potential star in the making.” Mets fans: discuss.
He’s injured, Yankee fan. Thanks for starting the discussion though.
On Votto. I could swear that umps have changed the strike zone this year. I am seeing many balls called that look inches off the plate. Not just for him. It may not be all of it, but for a guy who has had such a highly refined sense of the strike zone, I’m sure it messes with him.
The strike zone is awful this year. Different every game and I have seen strikes or balls called that a 5 year old would have gotten right. Umpires have no accountability and it’s killing the game.
We need robo-ump. Pitchers have exceeded the ability of umpires. Pitchers are not throwing in the 80s anymore
The game needs to evolve. Ted Williams couldn’t hit against the shift when pitchers were throwing in the mid 80s. What chance does the average player have today when pitchers are throwing in the mid 90s.
The game was much better in the 70s.. If i was a kid today, I don’t think I’d be a huge baseball fan. It’s not the same game.
Right! Seems like every Rangers game I watch the talking heads bring up the home plate umpires heat map and show the areas outside the strike zone they favor. Don’t their bosses talk to them about this? Obviously not! Bring on the robot ump!
7th player of .400 OBP club from last season is not doing so well. His 2019 OBP is all the way down to .394 from .406
Young Juan Soto, who I believe missed the “qualified” threshold by only about ten plate appearances.
I really enjoy random articles like this. Being a baseball junky, stats and more stats please. Thanks for an off the wall read.
when you hear the word “blue” what tone of hue comes to mind – picasso’s pastel or rembrandt’s dark sea blue?
Gonna go with Van Gogh’s Starry Night.