Seven stories down, three (including today’s) to go.
My countdown of baseball’s top 100 players began almost a month ago — January 14, to be exact — and proceeded through successive installments on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Seventy batters and pitchers were identified in those first seven stories, running from 100th place through 31st. We’ll cover the next 10 today — 30th place down to 21st — followed by the 20 best players in two stories next week.
If you’ve been following this series, you can skip the next nine boilerplate paragraphs. If you’re unfamiliar with my scoring system, keep reading.
The rankings within the Baseball 100 are determined by 2024’s overall base values (OBV), which measure the relative effectiveness of batters and pitchers.
A positive OBV indicates one of two things:
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A particular batter reached more bases than the average big leaguer would have attained under identical circumstances.
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A given pitcher surrendered fewer bases than his typical counterpart would have yielded under the same conditions.
Click here if you want to know more about the formulas and calculations. (Be aware that OBV is slightly different from the BV described in the link. The initial sign for a pitcher’s BV is reversed for his OBV. A negative sign is better for a pitcher’s BV, but a positive sign is ideal for an OBV, which is what we’re using here.)
The player with the highest OBV — whether a hitter or pitcher — is deemed to be the best overall player. The rankings proceed downward in order.
If two or more players are tied with identical OBVs, I break the tie by matching their ratios of bases per out (BPO) against 2024’s big-league average of .675. BPO is exactly what it sounds like, a comparison of bases reached or yielded (through hits, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices) against outs made or induced.
Preference within a tie is given to the player who surpassed the BPO norm by the greatest amount, either above .675 for a batter or below the same mark for a pitcher.
Each player in the Baseball 100 is listed with his rank, club, primary position (the one he played more than any other in 2024), BPO or BPO allowed (BPOA), the numbers of bases and outs involved, and OBV.
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Club: Astros
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .529 (on 283 bases and 535 outs)
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OBV: +78
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Bottom line: Valdez enjoyed the best season in his seven-year career with Houston. He went 15-7 for the Astros with a 2.91 ERA. The latter was the third-best rate in the American League.
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Club: Red Sox
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Primary position: 3B
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BPO: .873 (on 350 bases and 401 outs)
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OBV: +79
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Bottom line: Devers posted a slugging average of .516, which ranked ninth in the AL. He pounded 28 home runs and drove in 83 runs in 138 games for Boston.
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Club: Royals
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .546 (on 341 bases and 625 outs)
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OBV: +81
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Bottom line: Lugo was a real surprise in 2024. He had posted a pedestrian 8-7 record for the Padres in 2023, but he notched 16 victories for Kansas City in ’24. He was No. 2 in the AL’s Cy Young Award race.
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Club: Padres
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Primary position: LF
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BPO: .861 (on 373 bases and 433 outs)
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OBV: +81
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Bottom line: Profar finished his second stay in San Diego with a .280 batting average and his first All-Star designation in 2024. He moved on to Atlanta as a free agent in January.
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Club: Mariners
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .522 (on 281 bases and 538 outs)
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OBV: +82
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Bottom line: Seattle had the best pitching staff in the majors, and the emergence of Miller was one of the reasons. The second-year man went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 31 starts.
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Club: Guardians
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .307 (on 69 bases and 225 outs)
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OBV: +83
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Bottom line: Yes, the playoffs were rough. But Clase was a dominant closer in the regular season. He led the AL with 47 saves, and he finished third in Cy Young Award balloting.
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Club: Pirates
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .465 (on 185 bases and 398 outs)
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OBV: +84
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Bottom line: The National League’s Rookie of the Year went 11-3 for a Pittsburgh team with an overall losing record, posted a flashy 1.96 ERA, and started the All-Star Game. He’s still only 22 years old.
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Club: Dodgers
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Primary position: 1B
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BPO: .881 (on 363 bases and 412 outs)
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OBV: +85
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Bottom line: Freeman is a 15-year veteran with a lifetime batting average of precisely .300. He hit .282 for Los Angeles last year with 22 home runs and 89 runs batted in.
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Club: Diamondbacks
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Primary position: DH
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BPO: .978 (on 273 bases and 279 outs)
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OBV: +85
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Bottom line: Pederson surprised everyone by upping his slugging average by 99 points (.416 in 2023, .515 in 2024) during his only year in Arizona. He signed with the Rangers as a free agent in December.
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Club: Braves
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Primary position: P
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BPOA: .512 (on 270 bases and 527 outs)
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OBV: +86
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Bottom line: Sale was the ultimate comeback kid, going from 6-5 with Boston in 2023 to 18-3 for Atlanta in 2024. He led the NL with a 2.38 ERA and won the Cy Young Award.