Runs and Bases after May

[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.

American League

Runs Produced
Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays 67 in 52 games (1.29 per game)
Kendrys Morales, Royals 63 in 48 games (1.31)
Brian Dozier, Twins 57 in 48 games (1.19)
Jason Kipnis, Indians 57 in 50 games (1.14)
Eric Hosmer. Royals 54 in 48 games (1.13)
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays 53 in 45 games (1.18)
Mike Trout, Angels 53 in 51 games (1.04)
Prince Fielder, Rangers 53 in 51 games (1.04)
Lorenzo Cain, Royals 52 in 44 games (1.18)
Mark Teixeira, Yankees 52 in 48 games (1.08)

Bases Produced
Nelson Cruz, Mariners 146 in 50 games (2.92)
Josh Donaldson Blue Jays 143 in 52 games (2.75)
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers 141 in 51 games (2.76)
Jason Kipnis, Indians 135 in 50 games (2.70)
Mike Trout, Angels 135 in 51 games (2.65)
Prince Fielder, Rangers 129 in 51 games (2.53)
Brian Dozier, Twins 121 in 48 games (2.52)
Mark Teixeira, Yankees 120 in 48 games (2.50)
Eric Hosmer, Royals 117 in 48 games (2.44)
Stephen Vogt, Athletics 116 in 49 games (2.37)
Jose Altuve, Astros 116 in 50 games (2.32)

National League

Runs Produced
Bryce Harper, Nationals 67 in 49 games (1.37)
Paul Goldschmidt, Dodgers 67 in 49 games (1.37)
Adrian Gonzalez Dodgers 58 in 48 games (1.21)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 58 in 50 games (1.16)
Justin Upton, Padres 58 in 51 games (1.14)
Ryan Braun, Brewers 56 in 49 games (1.14)
Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 53 in 45 games (1.18)
Derek Norris, Padres 53 in 50 games (1.06)
Brandon Crawford, Giants 53 in 51 games (1.04)
Matt Kemp, Padres 53 in 52 games (1.02)

Bases Produced
Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs 168 in 49 games (3.43)
Bryce Harper, Nationals 164 in 49 games (3.35)
Todd Frazier, Reds 140 in 48 games (2.92)
Anthony Rizzo, Reds 134 in 48 games (2.79)
Justin Upton, Padres 131 in 51 games (2.57)
Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 126 in 50 games (2.52)
Matt Carpenter, Cardinals 125 in 45 games (2.78)
Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers 124 in 48 games (2.58)
Joc Pederson, Dodgers 123 in 49 games (2.51)
Dee Gordon, Marlins 122 in 48 games (2.54)

Comment: Everybody talks about Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, but how come we don’t hear more about Josh Donaldson and Paul Goldschmidt, two of the most productive players of recent years? Trout, in 546 games has produced 638 runs and 1540 bases, averages of 1.17 and 2.82. Harper has 373 runs and 965 bases in 408 games, (0.91 and 2.37). Donaldson had 450 runs and 1016 bases in 459 games, (0.98 and 2.21). Goldschmidt has 575 runs and 1342 bases in 513 games (1.12 and 2.62). There are a lot of young players on these lists. 16 of the 28 different players are in their 20’s and seven of them have not reached the age of 27, normally a player’s prime years.