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One question we get asked quite often is whether any players have ever finished a season with a lower on-base percentage than batting average. The answer is yes and Raphy posted about it last year. So far in 2010 there are a few players showing this rarity although the odds are that they'll all revert back to having OBP > BA over time.
| Rk | Player | PA | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | GDP | SB | CS | Pos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando Cabrera | 25 | .200 | .208 | 2010 | 35 | CIN | NL | 6 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .375 | .575 | /*6 |
| 2 | Rod Barajas | 22 | .227 | .238 | 2010 | 34 | NYM | NL | 6 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .571 | .799 | /*2 |
| 3 | Adrian Beltre | 21 | .381 | .400 | 2010 | 31 | BOS | AL | 6 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .450 | .831 | /*5 |
| 4 | Adam Kennedy | 20 | .150 | .158 | 2010 | 34 | WSN | NL | 6 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .211 | .361 | /*435 |
| 5 | Bengie Molina | 16 | .250 | .267 | 2010 | 35 | SFG | NL | 4 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .267 | .517 | /*2 |
| 6 | David Murphy | 8 | .125 | .143 | 2010 | 28 | TEX | AL | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .411 | /7 |
| 7 | Tony Abreu | 7 | .429 | .500 | 2010 | 25 | ARI | NL | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .929 | /*6 |
In case it's not clear, the reason why these guys all make the list is because sacrifice flies do not count as at-bats, and hence are not part of the batting average calculation, but they count as an 0-for-1 plate appearance when calculating on-base percentage. If these guys had a walk or a HBP (notice that all them have zero of each) then their BA and OBP would be equal, and if they had 2 or more BB or HBP then we'd see the more customary OBP > BA.
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This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 2:34 pm and is filed under Season Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
April 12th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
i know it was a simple mis-type but sac flies don't count as AB's ... you accidentally wrote PA
April 12th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Fixed...thanks.
April 13th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Orlando Cabrera ... gunning for his fourth league sacrifice-flies title in five years, which would tie him with Brooks Robinson for the most league titles since the stat was recognized in 1954. Can he outpace two-time defending NL sac-flies champ Bengie Molina?
Ah, the drama behind the low walk totals!
April 13th, 2010 at 11:22 pm
I forgot that Molina was hitting around .250 just a few days ago. Look at his average now! .478!
April 14th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
"If these guys had a walk or a HBP (notice that all them have zero of each) then their BA and OBP would be equal..."
Not true! If they had one walk (and they already have one SF), their OBP would be like their BA but with 1 for 2 added. This would make their OBP somewhere between their BA and .500. The OBP and BA would only be equal if (as with Abreu) the BA is .500.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
True, Pete. I got lazy and didn't think it through.