Sunday, January 10, 2010

Obsessed With OPS+?

You might be asking yourself, what is OPS+? Don't worry, it's not that complicated; OPS+ measures the performance of a player against the rest of the AL or NL in a given year.

An OPS+ of 100 is considered league average performance. Anything above 100 is above league average. Conversely, anything below 100 is below league average. Fairly simple.


However, what's considered league average fluctuates from year to year. It fluctuates even more dramatically from era to era. That's why you may be surprised by where some of the names fall on this list. I know I was. One thing to remember is OPS+ is adjusted to a player's ballpark(s).

Minimum 500 PAs
1. Al Rosen (Cleveland Indians, 1953) - 179 (1.034 OPS)
2. Mike Epstein (Washington Senators, 1969) - 176 (.965 OPS)
3. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1937) - 172 (1.105 OPS)
4. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1940) - 171 (1.103 OPS)
5. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1935) - 169 (1.039 OPS)
5. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1938) - 169 (1.122 OPS)
6. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1946) - 163 (.977 OPS)
6. Mike Epstein (Oakland Athletics, 1972) - 163 (.866 OPS)
7. Al Rosen (Cleveland Indians, 1952) - 159 (.911 OPS)
8. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1934) - 156 (1.005 OPS)
8. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1939) - 156 (1.042 OPS)
8. Sid Gordon (Boston Braves, 1950) - 156 (.960 OPS)
9. Shawn Green (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2001) - 154 (.970 OPS)
9. Shawn Green (Los Angeles Dodgers, 2002) - 154 (.944 OPS)
10. Sid Gordon (New York Giants, 1948) - 148 (.927 OPS)
10. Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers, 2009) - 148 (.937 OPS)
11. Al Rosen (Cleveland Indians, 1954) - 147 (.910 OPS)
12. Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox, 2009) - 145 (.961 OPS)
13. Al Rosen (Cleveland Indians, 1950) - 144 (.948 OPS)
14. Sid Gordon (Boston Braves, 1951) - 143 (.883 OPS)
14. Shawn Green (Toronto Blue Jays, 1999) - 143 (.972 OPS)
14. Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox, 2008) - 143 (.958 OPS)
15. Sid Gordon (New York Giants, 1949) - 142 (.909 OPS)
15. Sid Gordon (Boston Braves, 1952) - 142 (.866 OPS)
16. Richie Scheinblum (Kansas City Royals, 1972) - 140 (.800 OPS)
17. Buddy Myer (Washington Senators, 1935) - 138 (.907 OPS)
18. Buddy Myer (Washington Senators, 1938) - 137 (.918 OPS)
19. Goody Rosen (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1945) - 134 (.840 OPS)
20. Ian Kinsler (Texas Rangers, 2008) - 133 (.892 OPS)
21. Hank Greenberg (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1947) - 132 (.885 OPS)
22. Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers, 2008) - 130 (.888 OPS)
23. Mike Epstein (Washington Senators, 1970) - 129 (.815 OPS)
24. Elliott Maddox (New York Yankees, 1974) - 127 (.781 OPS)
25. Cal Abrams (Pittsburgh Pirates/Baltimore Orioles, 1954) - 125 (.793 OPS)
26. Mike Epstein (Washington Senators/Oakland A's, 1971) - 124 (.780 OPS)
27. Al Rosen (Cleveland Indians, 1951) - 123 (.809 OPS)
27. Mike Lieberthal (Philadelphia Phillies, 1999) - 123 (.914 OPS)
28. Harry Danning (New York Giants, 1939) - 122 (.838 OPS)
28. Morrie Arnovich (Philadelphia Phillies, 1939) - 122 (.811 OPS)
29. Sid Gordon (Milwaukee Braves, 1953) 121 (.834 OPS)
29. Mike Lieberthal (Philadelphia Phillies, 2003) - 121 (.825 OPS)
30. Buddy Myer (Washington Senators, 1934) - 120 (.835 OPS)

Under 500 PAs, Over 150 PAs
1. Greg Goossen (Seattle Pilots, 1969) - 175 (.982 OPS)
2. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1945) - 167 (.948 OPS)
3. Phil Weintraub (New York Giants, 1944) - 162 (.935 OPS)
4. Ron Blomberg (New York Yankees, 1973) - 154 (.893 OPS)
4. Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers, 2007) - 154 (1.004 OPS)
5. Ron Blomberg (New York Yankees, 1972) - 153 (.843 OPS)
6. Ron Blomberg (New York Yankees, 1974) - 147 (.856 OPS)
7. Ron Blomberg (New York Yankees, 1971) - 143 (.840 OPS)
8. Art Shamsky (New York Mets, 1969) - 139 (.863 OPS)
9. Richie Scheinblum (Cincinnati Reds/California Angels, 1973) - 136 (.808 OPS)
10. Phil Weintraub (Philadelphia Phillies, 1938) - 133 (.844 OPS)
11. Norm Sherry (Los Angeles Dodgers, 1960) - 126 (.853 OPS)
12. Jimmie Reese (New York Yankees, 1930) - 123 (.871 OPS)
12. Phil Weintraub (New York Giants, 1945) - 123 (.806 OPS)
12. Sid Gordon (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1954) - 123 (.843 OPS)
13. Art Shamsky (Cincinnati Reds, 1966) - 121 (.842 OPS)
13. Elliott Maddox (New York Yankees, 1975) - 121 (.776 OPS)
14. Steve Yeager (Los Angeles Dodgers, 1974) - 119 (.771 OPS)
14. Gabe Kapler (Milwaukee Brewers, 2008) - 119 (.838 OPS)
15. Hank Greenberg (Detroit Tigers, 1933) - 118 (.835 OPS)
15. Cal Abrams (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1951) - 118 (.813 OPS)
15. Cal Abrams (Baltimore Orioles, 1955) - 118 (.773 OPS)

1 comment:

William J. Tasker said...

I didn't know Elliot Maddox was Jewish. I really like watching him play.