In early January, I listened to a podcast show and in the show, a guest indicated an interesting number. He showed that a player finished several seasons with an on-base percentage of .400 or higher and that player used to win an MVP award. After listening to the show, I was thinking about records of on-base percentage.
To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the great fangraphs website. And, I found an interesting record, which is the on-base percentage record from 2013 to 2022.
Over the last 10 seasons, there are 3 players who have an OBP of .400+.
Firstly, Juan Soto made his MLB debut in 2018. Since then, finishing a season with an OBP of .400+ has been very common for Soto. By far in his career, he never finished a season with an OPS below .400. Last year, Juan Soto slashed .242/.401/.452 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI in 153 games. However, he was traded to the Padres last August and after the trade, his on-base percentage was .388 in the Padres uniform in 52 games.
In addition, it’s hard to disagree that Mike Trout is the best hitter in this generation. By far in his career, Trout’s on-base percentage is .415. From 2013 to 2022, he owned an OPS over .400 and there were 7 times that Trout finished a season with an OBP of .400 or higher. Nonetheless, Trout didn’t finish the 2022 season with a .400 OBP. In 2022, Trout hit .283/.369/.630 with 40 home runs and 80 in 119 games.
Finally, when it comes to on-base percentage, we can’t ignore Joey Votto. Votto has played 16 seasons in the majors, hitting .297/.412/.513 with 342 home runs and 1106 RBI. From 2013 to 2022, there were 5 times that he finished a season with an OBP of .400 or higher. However, over the last 4 seasons, he didn’t finish a season with an OBP of .400. Due to injury, Votto only played 91 games in 2022 and his OBP was .319, which is the lowest in a single season in his career.
Getting on-base is surely an important thing in baseball. And, finishing a season with an OBP of .400 or higher isn’t easy. In the 2022 season, 6 players each finished the season with an .400+ OBP. The 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge led the majors with an OBP .425. By far in his career, his OBP is .394. While reviewing the on-base percentage over the last 10 seasons, we can truly see how great Juan Soto and Mike Trout are. Soto has spent 5 years in the majors, and he finished each season with a .400+ OBP. Nevertheless, Mike Trout’s OBP dropped from .466 to .369. It will be worth watching whether Mike Trout’s OBP will bounce back to .400 in 2023. Furthermore, Joey Votto is already 39 years old. Since 2019, he hasn’t finished a season with a .400 OBP. Is it possible to see him finish a season with a .400 OBP again?
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