Rankings of Negro League players should consider that Negro League data is not complete. Research is still ongoing and we’ll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Negro Leagues Data: Frequently Asked Questions

Negro American League Batting Leaders

Wins Above Replacement--all

<strong>Wins Above Replacement</strong><br>A single number that presents the number of wins the player added<br>to the team above what a replacement player (think AAA or AAAA) would add.<br>Scale for a single-season: 8+ MVP Quality, 5+ All-Star Quality, 2+ Starter,<br>0-2 Reserve, < 0 Replacement Level <br>Developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com

1. LaMarque • KCM 2.8
2. Smith • KCM 2.7
3. Brown • KCM 2.5
4. Thompson • KCM 2.5
5. Jessup • CAG 1.5
6. Clarke • CBE 1.3
Williams • IC 1.3
8. Renfroe • KCM 1.3
9. Powell • BBB 1.2
10. Greene • KCM 1.1

WAR Position Players

<strong>Wins Above Replacement for position players</strong><br>A single number that presents the number of wins the player added<br>to the team above what a replacement player (think AAA or AAAA) would add.<br>Scale: 8+ MVP Quality, 5+ All-Star Quality, 2+ Starter,<br>0-2 Reserve, < 0 Replacement Level <br> Developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com

1. Brown • KCM 2.5
2. Thompson • KCM 2.5
3. Renfroe • KCM 1.3
4. Greene • KCM 1.3
5. Jethroe • CBE 1.0
6. Ware • CBE 1.0
7. Souell • KCM 0.9
8. Ritchey • CAG 0.9
9. O'Neil • KCM 0.8
10. Grace • CBE 0.8

Offensive WAR

<strong>Offensive Wins Above Replacement (everything but Fielding)</strong><br>The same statistic as Wins Above Replacement for Position<br>Players (WAR), but with the fielding value excluded.<br>oWAR + dWAR does not equal WAR.<br>Adding would count positions twice.<br>Contains the factor for batting stats, baserunning, a positional adjustment, and the replacement player adjustment.<br> Factors developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com

1. Brown • KCM 2.4
2. Thompson • KCM 2.0
3. Greene • KCM 1.5
4. Souell • KCM 1.3
5. Renfroe • KCM 1.2
6. O'Neil • KCM 0.9
7. Jethroe • CBE 0.9
8. Ware • CBE 0.9
9. Smith • CBE 0.7
10. Roberts • KCM 0.7

Defensive WAR

<strong>Defensive Wins Above Replacement for position players</strong><br>A defensive measure of wins above replacement, but given<br>only the defensive stats of the player and his position adjustment. For this calculation, we use a<br>replacement level on defense is the league average.<br>Based on Baseball Info Solutions defensive runs saved from 2003 on<br>and total zone rating developed by Sean Smith of BaseballProjection.com previously

1. Thompson • KCM 0.7
2. Hairston • IC 0.3
Renfroe • KCM 0.3
4. Ritchey • CAG 0.3
5. McNeal • CAG 0.3
6. Handy • MRS 0.3
7. Taborn • KCM 0.2
8. Merchant • IC 0.2
9. Ferrer • IC 0.2
10. Trouppe • CBE 0.2

Batting Average

<strong>Hits/At Bats</strong><br>For recent years, leaders need 3.1 PA<br>per team game played<br>Bold indicates either highest BA using current stats<br>or awarded title at end of year.

1. Brown • KCM .375
2. Ware • CBE .370
3. Thompson • KCM .335
4. Bostock • CAG .333
Jethroe • CBE .333
6. Souell • KCM .331
7. Greene • KCM .328
8. Longest • CAG .320
9. Hairston • IC .304
10. Armour • CAG .300

On-Base%

<strong>(H + BB + HBP)/(At Bats + BB + HBP + SF)</strong><br>For recent years, leaders need 3.1 PA<br>per team game played

1. Greene • KCM .469
2. Ware • CBE .452
3. Brown • KCM .421
4. Thompson • KCM .413
5. Renfroe • KCM .410
6. Jethroe • CBE .404
7. Bostock • CAG .393
8. Taborn • KCM .383
9. Souell • KCM .379
10. Cooper • KCM .372

Slugging %

Total Bases/At Bats or
(1B + 2*2B + 3*3B + 4*HR)/AB
For recent years, leaders need 3.1 PA
per team game played

1. Brown • KCM .645
2. Jethroe • CBE .583
3. Thompson • KCM .578
4. Ware • CBE .543
5. Greene • KCM .500
6. O'Neil • KCM .450
7. Hairston • IC .429
8. Souell • KCM .416
9. Colás • MRS .411
10. Bostock • CAG .407

On-Base Plus Slugging

<strong>On-Base + Slugging Percentages </strong><br>For recent years, leaders need 3.1 PA<br>per team game played

1. Brown • KCM 1.066
2. Ware • CBE .995
3. Thompson • KCM .991
4. Jethroe • CBE .988
5. Greene • KCM .969
6. O'Neil • KCM .810
7. Bostock • CAG .801
8. Souell • KCM .795
9. Hairston • IC .779
10. Renfroe • KCM .772

Games Played

Games Played or Pitched

1. Scott • KCM 65
2. Souell • KCM 61
3. O'Neil • KCM 60
4. Cooper • KCM 54
5. Renfroe • KCM 53
6. Brown • KCM 48
7. Thompson • KCM 44
8. Greene • KCM 42
9. Strong • KCM 41
10. Taborn • KCM 40

At Bats

At Bats

1. Souell • KCM 257
2. Scott • KCM 241
3. O'Neil • KCM 218
4. Brown • KCM 200
5. Renfroe • KCM 174
6. Thompson • KCM 173
7. Cooper • KCM 166
8. Longest • CAG 125
9. Taborn • KCM 123
10. Greene • KCM 116
Strong • KCM 116

Plate Appearances

<strong>Plate Appearances</strong><br>When available, we use actual plate appearances from play-by-play game accounts<br>Otherwise estimated using AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH,<br>which excludes catcher interferences.<br>When <span class=tooltip>this color</span> click for a summary of each PA.

1. Souell • KCM 278
2. Scott • KCM 262
3. O'Neil • KCM 246
4. Renfroe • KCM 222
5. Brown • KCM 216
6. Cooper • KCM 200
7. Thompson • KCM 197
8. Greene • KCM 150
9. Taborn • KCM 143
10. Strong • KCM 138

Runs Scored

Runs Scored/Allowed

1. O'Neil • KCM 54
2. Souell • KCM 52
3. Thompson • KCM 51
4. Brown • KCM 42
Scott • KCM 42
6. Cooper • KCM 38
7. Renfroe • KCM 33
8. Greene • KCM 30
9. Jethroe • CBE 26
10. Hill • CAG 25

Hits

Hits/Hits Allowed

1. Souell • KCM 85
2. Brown • KCM 75
3. O'Neil • KCM 62
Scott • KCM 62
5. Thompson • KCM 58
6. Renfroe • KCM 49
7. Cooper • KCM 46
8. Longest • CAG 40
9. Greene • KCM 38
10. Taborn • KCM 36

Total Bases

<strong>Total Bases</strong><br>Singles + 2 x Doubles + 3 x Triples + 4 x Home Runs.

1. Brown • KCM 129
2. Souell • KCM 107
3. Thompson • KCM 100
4. O'Neil • KCM 98
5. Scott • KCM 90
6. Renfroe • KCM 63
7. Greene • KCM 58
8. Cooper • KCM 55
9. Longest • CAG 49
Jethroe • CBE 49

Doubles

Doubles Hit/Allowed

1. Brown • KCM 22
2. O'Neil • KCM 15
3. Renfroe • KCM 10
Taborn • KCM 10
Scott • KCM 10
6. Hairston • IC 9
Jethroe • CBE 9
8. Thompson • KCM 8
Ware • CBE 8
10. Neil • IC 7

Triples

Triples Hit/Allowed

1. Brown • KCM 7
Souell • KCM 7
3. Scott • KCM 6
4. Thompson • KCM 5
5. Smith • CBE 4
6. Tatum • IC 3
O'Neil • KCM 3
Jethroe • CBE 3
Roberts • KCM 3
Davis • BBB 3
Chism • BBB 3

Home Runs

Home Runs Hit/Allowed

1. Thompson • KCM 8
2. Brown • KCM 6
3. O'Neil • KCM 5
4. Greene • KCM 4
5. Smith • CBE 3
6. Miles • CAG 2
Hill • CAG 2
Jethroe • CBE 2
Strong • KCM 2
Ware • CBE 2
Scott • KCM 2
Roberts • KCM 2
Formental • MRS 2

Runs Batted In

Runs Batted In

1. Brown • KCM 64
2. O'Neil • KCM 36
Thompson • KCM 36
4. Souell • KCM 32
5. Scott • KCM 27
6. Cooper • KCM 26
7. Greene • KCM 24
8. Renfroe • KCM 20
Taborn • KCM 20
10. Longest • CAG 19

Bases on Balls

Bases on Balls/Walks

1. Renfroe • KCM 35
2. Greene • KCM 29
3. O'Neil • KCM 24
Cooper • KCM 24
5. Scott • KCM 21
Thompson • KCM 21
Strong • KCM 21
8. Souell • KCM 16
9. Brown • KCM 15
Formental • MRS 15

Stolen Bases

Stolen Bases

1. Souell • KCM 16
2. O'Neil • KCM 15
3. Scott • KCM 12
Brown • KCM 12
5. Jethroe • CBE 10
6. Thompson • KCM 7
7. Cooper • KCM 6
8. Greene • KCM 5
9. Boyd • MRS 4
10. Longest • CAG 3
Ritchey • CAG 3
Hill • CAG 3
Renfroe • KCM 3

Singles

Singles Hit/Allowed

1. Souell • KCM 72
2. Scott • KCM 44
3. Brown • KCM 40
4. Cooper • KCM 39
O'Neil • KCM 39
6. Renfroe • KCM 37
Thompson • KCM 37
8. Longest • CAG 33
9. Greene • KCM 27
10. Taborn • KCM 26

Adjusted OPS+

<strong>OPS+</strong><br>100*[OBP/lg OBP + SLG/lg SLG - 1]<br>Adjusted to the player&#x2019;s ballpark(s)

1. Brown • KCM 184
2. Ware • CBE 166
3. Thompson • KCM 164
4. Jethroe • CBE 163
5. Greene • KCM 160
6. O'Neil • KCM 117
7. Bostock • CAG 115
8. Souell • KCM 113
9. Hairston • IC 108
10. Renfroe • KCM 108

Runs Created

<strong>Runs Created</strong><br>A set of formulas developed by Bill James and others<br>that estimates a player&#x2019;s total contributions<br>to a team&#x2019;s runs total.<br>This is computed with the "technical" formula when possible.<br>If SB or CS data is missing, the "basic" formula is used.<br>If HBP, IBB, SH, SF, or GIDP data is missing, the "stolen base" version of the formula is used. <br>Team Runs Created is the sum of player Runs Created.

1. Brown • KCM 54
2. Thompson • KCM 41
3. Souell • KCM 40
4. O'Neil • KCM 35
5. Scott • KCM 29
6. Greene • KCM 27
7. Renfroe • KCM 25
8. Jethroe • CBE 20
Cooper • KCM 20
10. Ware • CBE 19

Adj. Batting Runs

<strong>Adjusted Batting Runs</strong><br>A set of formulas developed by Gary Gillette, Pete Palmer and others<br>that estimates a player&#x2019;s total contributions<br>to a team&#x2019;s runs total via linear weights.<br>0.0 is an avg performance, <0 is worse than avg and >0 is better than avg

1. Brown • KCM 22
2. Thompson • KCM 15
3. Greene • KCM 12
4. Ware • CBE 8
5. Jethroe • CBE 7
6. Scott • MRS 6
7. Smith • CBE 5
8. Grace • CBE 5
9. O'Neil • KCM 5
10. Steele • BBB 5

Adj. Batting Wins

<strong>Adjusted Batting Wins</strong><br>A set of formulas developed by Gary Gillette, Pete Palmer and others<br>that estimates a player&#x2019;s total contributions<br>to a team&#x2019;s wins with his bat.<br>0.0 is an avg performance, <0 is worse than avg and >0 is better than avg

1. Brown • KCM 2.1
2. Thompson • KCM 1.4
3. Greene • KCM 1.1
4. Ware • CBE 0.8
5. Jethroe • CBE 0.7
6. Scott • MRS 0.6
7. Smith • CBE 0.5
8. Grace • CBE 0.5
9. O'Neil • KCM 0.5
10. Steele • BBB 0.4

Extra Base Hits

<strong>Extra Base Hits</strong><br>Doubles + Triples + Home Runs

1. Brown • KCM 35
2. O'Neil • KCM 23
3. Thompson • KCM 21
4. Scott • KCM 18
5. Jethroe • CBE 14
6. Souell • KCM 13
7. Renfroe • KCM 12
8. Greene • KCM 11
Hairston • IC 11
10. Smith • CBE 10
Taborn • KCM 10
Ware • CBE 10

Times On Base

<strong>Times on Base</strong><br>Hits + Bases on Balls + Hit By Pitch<br>Does not include Reached on Error or Catcher Interference.

1. Souell • KCM 105
2. Brown • KCM 91
3. O'Neil • KCM 88
4. Renfroe • KCM 87
5. Scott • KCM 83
6. Thompson • KCM 81
7. Cooper • KCM 71
8. Greene • KCM 69
9. Taborn • KCM 54
10. Longest • CAG 49

Offensive Win %

<strong>Offensive Winning Percentage</strong><br>The percentage of games a team with nine of this player<br>batting would win. Assumes average pitching and defense.<br>This uses the Pythagorean win pct formula with the player's RC/G for runs scored and the league's R/9 as runs allowed.

1. Brown • KCM .828
2. Ware • CBE .773
3. Thompson • KCM .770
4. Jethroe • CBE .761
5. Greene • KCM .750
6. Bostock • CAG .615
7. Souell • KCM .605
8. O'Neil • KCM .587
9. Hairston • IC .568
10. Longest • CAG .541

Hit By Pitch

Times Hit by a Pitch.

1. Ware • CBE 5
Taborn • KCM 5
3. Souell • KCM 4
4. Chism • BBB 3
Renfroe • KCM 3
Longest • CAG 3
Bankhead • MRS 3
Hill • CAG 3
Scott • MRS 3
10. Thompson • KCM 2
Boyd • MRS 2
Atkins • CBE 2
Greene • KCM 2
Nelson • CBE 2
O'Neil • KCM 2
Abernathy • IC 2

Sacrifice Hits

Sacrifice Hits (Sacrifice Bunts)

1. Renfroe • KCM 10
2. Cooper • KCM 9
3. Chism • BBB 3
Greene • KCM 3
LaMarque • KCM 3
Merchant • IC 3
Haywood • IC 3
Handy • MRS 3
Britton • BBB 3
Wilson • BBB 3
Brown • 2TM 3
Hill • CAG 3

Power-Speed #

<strong>Power/Speed Number</strong><br>2 x (Home Runs x Stolen Bases)/(Stolen Bases + Home Runs)<br>The harmonic mean of HR and SB.<br>To do well you need a lot of both.<br>Developed by Bill James.

1. Brown • KCM 8.0
2. O'Neil • KCM 7.5
3. Thompson • KCM 7.5
4. Greene • KCM 4.4
5. Scott • KCM 3.4
6. Jethroe • CBE 3.3
7. Hill • CAG 2.4
8. Ware • CBE 2.0
9. Souell • KCM 1.9
10. Cooper • KCM 1.7

AB per HR

<strong>At Bats Per Home Run</strong>

1. Thompson • KCM 21.6
2. Greene • KCM 29.0
3. Brown • KCM 33.3
4. Ware • CBE 40.5
5. Miles • CAG 41.0
6. Jethroe • CBE 42.0
7. O'Neil • KCM 43.6
8. Hill • CAG 57.5
9. Strong • KCM 58.0
10. Drake • IC 85.0

Outs Made

<strong>Outs Made</strong><br>(At Bats - Hits) + Double Plays Grounded Into <br>+ Sac. Flies + Sac. Hits + Caught Stealing.

1. Scott • KCM 179
2. Souell • KCM 173
3. O'Neil • KCM 158
4. Renfroe • KCM 135
5. Cooper • KCM 129
6. Brown • KCM 125
7. Thompson • KCM 116
8. Strong • KCM 90
9. Taborn • KCM 89
10. Hill • CAG 85
Longest • CAG 85

rOBA

rOBA
A measure of a player's offensive contributions, weighted in proportion to each event's actual run value

1. Brown • KCM .483
2. Ware • CBE .463
3. Greene • KCM .459
4. Jethroe • CBE .456
5. Thompson • KCM .450
6. Bostock • CAG .386
7. O'Neil • KCM .384
8. Souell • KCM .384
9. Renfroe • KCM .384
10. Taborn • KCM .370

Rbat+

Rbat+
Batting runs as computed for WAR, but indexed to the environment the player played in, where 100 is league average.

1. Brown • KCM 175
2. Ware • CBE 169
3. Greene • KCM 166
4. Thompson • KCM 159
5. Jethroe • CBE 158
6. Renfroe • KCM 123
7. Bostock • CAG 122
8. Souell • KCM 118
9. O'Neil • KCM 118
10. Taborn • KCM 114

A ** by the stat's value indicates the player had fewer than the required number of at bats or plate appearances for the BA, OBP, SLG or OPS title that year. In order to rank the player, the necessary number of hitless at bats were added to the player's season total. The value printed here is their actual value and not the value used to rank them, therefore some numbers may appear out of order.

For rate stats, generally a minimum of 3.1 Plate Appearances/Team Game (batting), 1.0 IP/Team Game (pitching), 0.67 Gm and Chances/Team Game (fielding), 0.2 SB att/Team Game (catchers), 0.1 SB att/Team Game (baserunners only since 1951), and 0.1 decision/Team Game (W-L%) is needed for single-season leaderboards. For pitcher fielding the minimums are reduced by a third. For LF, CF, RF fielding stats, we only have reliable data since 1898, so all leaders are since 1898. Explanation of min. requirements

More 1947 Negro American League Pages

1947 NAL Season

Minor Leagues

Standings

Fielding

Batting

Pitching

Managers

Fielding

Batting

Pitching

Leaders & Awards

Other