You don't need me to tell you about the season that Aaron Judge is having—but I'm going to do so anyway.
Right now, Judge leads the American League in 19 different hitting categories, some of which...I'm not even sure what they mean.
Judge is leading the AL in WAR for position players, offensive WAR, OBP, slugging, OBP + slugging, total bases, home runs, walks, adjusted OPS+, runs created, adjusted batting runs, adjusted batting wins, extra-base hits, times on base, offensive win percentage, (fewest) at-bats per home run, base-out runs added, and situation wins added.
He was also named the top batter at the World Cricket Championships, and filled in for Aaron Rodgers at the Jets' "mandatory" mini-camp. Rumor has it he will be taking Krisnaps Porzingis' place in Game Four for the Celtics.
No, Judge cannot possibly keep up this incredible pace (he wrote, placatingly, obsequiously to the juju gods). But let's consider where it would rank him among the all-time greats, if he somehow did.
What are the all-time greatest seasons by a batter for OPS, on-base percentage-plus-slugging, currently the gold standard for judging a hitter's performance?
Right now, Judge's 1.135 OPS for 2024 would rank him...88th, just ahead of Mickey Mantle's 1961 season.
At least, that's the official measure. But let's get serious for a moment.
As you know, MLB recently decided to count in all the known statistics for the old, force-segregated Negro Leagues. That was a fine gesture by an institution that specializes in little else but fine gestures, but it doesn't tell us much.
Undoubtedly, the best Negro League players (and many others excluded from the game for so long because of color) were at least as good as those in the major leagues. But 23 games—which is what the official Negro League season often were—just does not a real season make.
So let's throw those figures out for the sake of argument. Let's also, though, throw out the stats for all the white players who played the old, segregated baseball. (I would include in this Stan Musial, whose National League was barely integrated during his great, 1948 season. Sorry, Stan the Man.)
Let's also get rid of the juicers—cough, cough, head-actually-grew Barry Bonds, cough—and those who played most of their games at altitudes above low cloud cover (looking at you, Larry Walker and Todd Helton). Also the abbreviated Covid season and the 1994 strike season must go (apologies, Juan Soto and Frank Thomas).
And even...an extraordinary cheating event, such as Norm Cash's corked bats in 1961.
By my lights, this gets us down to the very best, on-the-level, playing the game fairly against all comers, best seasons there ever were, as measured by OPS:
1—Ted Williams, 1957, 1.257
2—Mickey Mantle, 1957, 1.177
3—Mickey Mantle, 1956, 1.169
4—Aaron Judge, 2024, 1.135
5—Mickey Mantle, 1961, 1.135
Not too rooting bad, as an Aussie cricketeer might say.
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40 comments:
Just stop him frum diving, running into walls, slipping in the shower and eating airport sushi . . .
That's all I ask.
So you're saying the big kid might be pretty good?
While on that subject, where's Ohtani in that top five?
Good question, ranger!
The only time Shohei has gone over 1.000 in OPS, was when he was DHing and occasionally pitching for the Angels last year.
His OPS was 1.066, which ranks him 227th on MLB's official list.
On mine, he would come in 27th, and that's even with tossing all sorts of suspected juicers and truncated seasons.
Blasphemy! Blasphemy, I say!
You mean to say that Ohtani (aka The Gambler) is not the greatest baseball player since The Babe? How dare you contradict all the machinations of the Gammonites! How dare you, sir! Why, I'd put money on it! (but I'd have my interpreter lay the money out)
Mentally the team has already left for Boston,
You know Cortes isn’t gonna hold ‘em
BTR99 you’re right about Cortes - So who did you pick to win the KC hot dog race?
Yanks playing getaway day baseball...
This Cortes guy sure is nasty just like I read in all the papers. Not nasty in a good way though.
There goes your no-hitter…
Well, I knew we weren’t gonna win this one.
At least we avoided the Ignominy of being no-hit
Rizzo!!!
They might want to think about re-signing that Soto kid. He looks like he may turn out to be pretty good.
Yabba Dabba Do
That comedic play by the right side of KC's infield was worth the price of admission.
Winny can you hear me.
Get ready.
Does Holmes ever pitch a clean inning?
You have a few more minutes
This inning brought to you by pfizer blood pressure medications. Take two if Holmes is pitching.
It’s like having Chapman without the sweating
Holmes is not a closer.
You beat me to it, JM. No matter how this ends.
Fucking fucker
Fuck
Holmes is so bad.
And it didn't end well.
And fuck his low ERA. It's bullshit.
Holmes is so bad. Pissed away a sweep.
Fucking Boone is so fucking fuck stupid.
Asshole had to say the Yankees have never swept 4 in KC. Well, they still haven't.
I propose that henceforth we refer to Clay Holmes as The Pineapple Express.
Yes--Chapman's ERA lied, too.
Christ, what an asshole.
Pineapples! We got pineapples here! Pineapples here! Get your pineapples here!
So fucking predictable You can’t keep putting men on base in the ninth and expect to win. And this is exactly what will happen in October with this guy as the “closer”
And why the fuck was LeMahieu playing so far off the bag? Aren’t the coaches watching or are they just paid to scratch their balls and spit sunflower seeds?
Still burning…that play in the ninth between Holmes and Rizzo. Was Rizzo asleep? It was like Alphonse (not Alphonso!) and Gaston.
And please…don’t even think of comparing Judge with Williams, Ruth, Mantle. He’s excellent, but wasn’t Monday supposed to be his day off? He had one job today, to hit. (his replacement in CF, Gold Glove Grisham didn’t exactly distinguish himself in the field) if he wasn’t ready to play he should’ve asked out. Boone loves giving players days off anyway.
So, Hoss, the official for your stat would be - long running jump - VBOTLPTGFAACBSTEWAMBOPS
You're welcome.
Now, I just need a new mnemonic...
and of course, I left out the word "acronym" the official acronym....
I just can't ever get it straight.
Fuck.
Tough loss. But really, Stanton couldn't even DH? Which is all he does?
Holmes...well, 19 saves out of 23 opportunities. Mariano, he ain't. But he's better than Chapman, and far from awful—19 saves in 23 opportunities.
What we need are some people to pick him up. Are they coming? Does Brian Cashman NOT tell strange women at parties that he runs the world?
No, he does not.
From MLTR: The season is over for Yankees depth outfielder Everson Pereira. The 23-year-old has been on the seven-day minor league injured list since May 30. As noted by Conor Foley of the YES Network (X link), New York’s Triple-A affiliate announced this week that they’ve placed Pereira on the full-season IL. It’s not clear what the injury is or whether he requires any kind of surgery, but his season comes to a close after 40 Triple-A contests.DAMN, A PLAYER WHO MIGHT HAVE, MIGHT HAVE HIGHLIGHTED A NICE TRADE PACKAGE. I seems that they scoop the local guys at will. Anyway, bad break.
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