HOME	OFFENSE RATIO WEB SITE	CONCEPT
	Graphical Presentation of Batting Statistics for Major League Baseball Players and Teams Historic and Current Stats

P. Adel, July, 1998

Top Single Season Performances  (refer to Top OR)

Looking at players since 1950 (seasons with 300 or more at bats):

A single season OR of 1.5 or higher has been achieved 6 times by 4 different players.

Mantle : '56 (1.414)
Jeff Bagwell : '94 (1.443), and
McGwire : '96 (1.460).

(An OR of 1.0 means one base [TB+BB] for each out.)
 

Since 1950, four players have multiple seasons with an OR of 1.3 or better: Mantle and Williams four times each, three times by McGwire, and twice by Bonds.

The top single season performances prior to 1950 are presented on TopORpre50.

Ought to Be List (Candidates for the Hall?)
(refer to Retired Offense Ratio Diagram)

Only one retired player with more than 2000 at bats and career OR over 1.0, Charlie Keller, is not in the hall of fame.

There are 6 retired players not in the Hall of Fame with a career OR > 0.9 and more than 4000 at bats, including Joe Jackson who was banned, 5 more players, including Charlie Keller, with more than 3000 at bats, and only one more over 0.9 with more than 2000.

The 12 retired players with >2000 at bats and career OR > 0.9 that are not in the Hall of Fame are:
 

Larry Doby was the thirteenth player on this august list until he was selected to the Hall this year.

Top Active Players
(refer to Active Offense Ratio Diagrams, act198.gif, act298.gif)

Active players with a career OR >1.0 as of end of the 1998 season, and with 2000 at bats or more are:
 

Conspicuously absent from this list is Ken Griffey Jr. who's career OR as of the end of 1998 is 0.991. Also note that Frank Thomas' career OR through 1997 was a whopping 1.239. Only Ruth, Williams and Gehrig had higher career OR. If Bonds retired before the start of next season his career OR would fall between Stan Musial and Roger Hornsby, with more career at bats than Hank Greenberg and Ralph Kiner, all HOFers.

Williams vs. DiMaggio

DiMaggio's highest season OR was 1.266 in 1939. Williams went over 1.3 in four seasons, with a high OR of 1.658. Career OR: Williams 1.366, DiMaggio 1.028.

McGwire vs. Ruth

Babe Ruth holds seven of the top 13 single season slugging averages, including the three highest, 1920, 1921, and 1927. Ruth had eleven seasons with OR over 1.3, with a single season high of 1.874 (an all time record), and the highest career OR of all time, 1.420. It may surprise some contemporary fans that Ruth achieved these numbers with a combination of power and average. Ruth had a 0.342 career batting average.

McGwire's 1998 season slugging average is seventh on the all time list. However, slugging is not a pure power statistic. Slugging average is total bases per at bat, total bases equals (H + 2B + 2*3B + 3*HR), and slugging average therefore can be expressed as [batting average + double average + 2* triple average + 3* home run average]. This shows that slugging average is a hitting average weighted for power, but consisting of a combination of batting average and power. It is also interesting to note that slugging average is equally weighted for total hits and doubles.

McGwire has overtaken Ruth in the pure power arena. As described in the previous file, Offense Ratio is a function of average and power according to the equation

Offense Ratio = (Power Average x Batting Average) / (1 - Batting Average),

where power average is (total bases + walks)/hits. Ruth went over 3.0 (TB+BB)/H in only one full season, 3.116 in 1920. McGwire has been over 3.0 in each of the last four seasons, with a high of 3.586 (TB+BB)/H in 1998. Note that 3 (TB+BB)/H is equivalent to averaging 3 bases (a triple) per hit with no walks, or averaging one base per hit (singles only) and averaging two walks per hit.

The purest power statistic is total bases per hit. McGwire averaged 2.5 total bases per hit and drew 162 walks in 1998. Ruth averaged 2.25 total bases per hit and drew 148 walks in 1920.

 A single season average of more than 2 total bases per hit has been achieved 196 times (300 at bats or more). McGwire holds three of the top four spots:

Looking at the power average by taking walks into account, McGwire again holds the top two single season performances, and three of the top six, while Ruth's best season, 1920, comes in at number 13.
 

The power average indicates a player's ability to hit the long ball and, through having a good eye or by commanding respect from opposing pitchers and coaches, or both, the ability to accumulate walks. It is worth repeating that power alone does not make for a great hitter, it is the combination of power and average.

Stars (Career OR>0.8)

>9000 at bats:
Rose, Yount, Winfield, Brett, Dawson, Perez,

<9000 at bats:
Dw. Evans, Dar. Evans, Garvey, Fisk, J. Rice, Santo,

<8000 at bats:
Murphy, Cepeda, K. Hernandez, Reg Smith, Hodges, Mattingly,

<7000 at bats:
Lynn, N. Cash, Powell, Luzinski, Colavito, F. Howard, Hrbek, Wertz,

<6000 at bats:
Kluzewski, Clift, Woodling, Fournier, Berger, Trosky, Maris, Allison,

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