Runs and Bases 2014: After July

[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 JULY

American League

Runs Produced
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 130 in 104 games (1.25)
Mike Trout, Angels 126 in 103 games (1.22)
Josh Donaldson, Athletics 125 in 104 games (1.20)
Michael Brantley, Indians 122 in 104 games (1.17)
Melky Cabrera, Blue Jays 114 in 109 games (1.05)
Ian Kinsler, Tigers 113 in 104 games (1.09)
Yoenis Cespedes Athletics 112 in 101 games (1.11)
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays 111 in 104 games (1.07)
Adam Jones, Orioles 109 in 107 games (1.02)
Jose Abreu, White Sox 108 in 94 games (1.15)

Bases Produced
Mike Trout, Angels 300 in 103 games (2.91)
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays 269 in 104 games (2.59)
Jose Altuve, Astros 265 in 106 games (2.50)
Jose Abreu, White Sox 264 in 94 games (2.81)
Nelson Cruz, Orioles 257 in 106 games (2.42)
Melky Cabrera, Blue Jays 255 in 109 games (2.34)
Michael Brantley, Indians 253 in 104 games (2.43)
Miguel Cabera, Tigers 250 in 104 games (2.40)
David Ortiz, Red Sox 247 in 104 games (2.38)
Josh Donaldson, Athletics 243 in 104 games (2.34)

National League

Runs Produced
Paul Goldschmidt, D-Backs 125 in 108 games (1.16)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 117 in 108 games (1.08)
Freddie Freeman, Braves 114 in 109 games (1.05)
Anthony Rendon, Nationals 113 in 102 games (1.11)
Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers 109 in 106 games (1.03)
Jayson Werth, Nationals 107 in 103 games (1.04)
Andrew McCutcheon, Pirates 107 in 106 games (1.01)
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs 106 in 106 games (1.00)
Jasiel Puig, Dodgers 103 in 99 games (1.04)
Carlos Gomez, Brewers 103 in 100 games (1.03)

Bases Produced
Andrew McCutcheon, Pirates 296 in 106 games (2.79)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 294 in 108 games (2.72)
Paul Goldschmidt, D-Backs 293 in 108 games (2.71)
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs 266 in 106 games (2.51)
Lucas Duda, Mets 261 in 100 games (2.61)
Yasiel Puig, Dodgers 261 in 99 games (2.64)
Freddie Freeman Braves 255 in 109 games (2.34)
Hunter Pence, Giants 245 in 109 games (2.25)
Carlos Gomez, Brewers 244 in 100 games (2.44)
Todd Frazier, Reds 243 in 107 games (2.27)

Comment: It’s interesting how many Latin players are on these lists- 12 of 26. Five are from the Dominican Republic, three from Cuba, two from Venezuela and two were born in California. You wonder how many more Cubans we’ll see in the comings years, especially after the Castros are gone. I’m surprised there are very few Mexicans in the Major leagues. And the other Latin American countries have very few representatives. It’s mostly in the countries where there was a significant effort to establish the sport in those countries. Baseball like soccer and basketball, seems to have an appeal in poor countries and thus great potential to become a truly international sport.