Runs and Bases 2015 - After April

[SWC75]

As I did last year, I’m going to make monthly posts giving the American and National League leaders in my two favorite baseball statistics: runs produced and bases produced. Runs produced are runs scored + runs batted in minus home runs so you don’t count them twice, (because a home run is the same run being batted in and also scored by the same person). Bases produced is total batting bases, (one for a single, two for a double, three for a triple and four for a home run) plus walks plus steals. I like these numbers because they are simple to compute and understand and produce a number the meaning of which can be easily comprehended. You can sit in the stands, watch a play and figure out how many runs or bases that player has now produced and know where he is in the standings. I prefer gross numbers because they are things that actually happened and you don’t know if rates of production would have been maintained. But if you want a rate I suggest per game, since the players we are comparing will all tend to be starters who will normally play the entire game. A superior offensive player will tend to produce an average of about 3 bases and 1 run per game. Again, easy to understand and comprehend. I’ll rank the players based on gross numbers and record their per-game averages as well.

AFTER ARPIL

American League

Runs Produced
Kendrys Morales, Royals 32 in 22 games (1.45 per game)
Adam Jones, Orioles 31 in 20 games (1.55)
Devon Travis, Blue Jays 30 in 22 games (1.36)
Mike Trout, Angels 29 in 22 games (1.32)
Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays 29 in 23 games (1.26)
Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox 28 in 21 games (1.33)
Jose Altuve, Astros 27 in 22 games (1.23)
Ian Kinsler, Tigers 27 in 23 games (1.17)
Lorenzo Cain, Royals 26 in 21 games (1.24)
Nelson Cruz, Mariners 26 in 22 games (1.18)

Bases Produced
Nelson Cruz, Mariners 71 in 22 games (3.23)
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 68 in 23 games (2.96)
Mike Trout, Angels 67 in 22 games (3.05)
Jose Altuve, Astros 64 in 22 games (2.91)
Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox 61 in 21 games (2.90)
Josh Donaldson Blue Jays 59 in 23 games (2.57)
Adam Jones, Orioles 58 in 20 games (2.90)
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 58 in 20 games (2.90)
Mark Teixeira, Yankees 58 in 21 games (2.76)
Devon Travis, Blue Jays 58 in 22 games (2.64)

National League

Runs Produced
Adeiny Hechavarria, Marlins 34 in 22 games (1.55)
Paul Goldschmidt, Dodgers 33 in 21 games (1.57)
Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 32 in 21 games (1.52)
Wil Myers, Padres 32 in 23 games (1.39)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 31 in 22 games (1.41)
Matt Kemp, Padres 31 in 23 games (1.35)
Adrian Gonzalez Dodgers 30 in 21 games (1.43)
Bryce Harper, Nationals 28 in 23 games (1.22)
Todd Frazier, Reds 26 in 21 games (1.24)
Matt Holiday, Cardinals 25 in 20 games (1.25)

Bases Producers
Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers 71 in 21 games (3.38)
Joey Votto, Reds 70 in 22 games (3.18)
Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 66 in 21 games (3.14)
Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs 65 in 21 games (3.10)
Bryce Harper, Nationals 64 in 23 games (2.78)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 61 in 22 games (2.77)
Dee Gordon, Marlins 56 in 22 games (2.55)
Adam Lind, Brewers 54 in 21 games (2.57)
Freddie Freeman, Braves 53 in 22 games (2.41)
Matt Kemp, Padres 53 in 23 games (2.30)