We’ve reached the finish line — the final installment of the Baseball 100, my 10-part rundown of the sport’s best players.
The series began precisely one month ago on January 14, proceeding gradually toward the top of the list. It should come as no surprise that the two honorees with the very best scores are the reigning Most Valuable Players of the American and National Leagues.
Every installment has included the following nine boilerplate paragraphs, which explain the scoring system. If you know what they contain (or if you don’t care), you can proceed to the profiles.
The rankings within the Baseball 100 are determined by 2024’s overall base values (OBV), which measure the relative effectiveness of batters and pitchers.
A positive OBV indicates one of two things:
A particular batter reached more bases than the average big leaguer would have attained under identical circumstances.
A given pitcher surrendered fewer bases than his typical counterpart would have yielded under the same conditions.
Click here if you want to know more about the formulas and calculations. (Be aware that OBV is slightly different from the BV described in the link. The initial sign for a pitcher’s BV is reversed for his OBV. A negative sign is better for a pitcher’s BV, but a positive sign is ideal for an OBV, which is what we’re using here.)
The player with the highest OBV — whether a hitter or pitcher — is deemed to be the best overall player. The rankings proceed downward in order.
If two or more players are tied with identical OBVs, I break the tie by matching their ratios of bases per out (BPO) against 2024’s big-league average of .675. BPO is exactly what it sounds like, a comparison of bases reached or yielded (through hits, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, and sacrifices) against outs made or induced.
Preference within a tie is given to the player who surpassed the BPO norm by the greatest amount, either above .675 for a batter or below the same mark for a pitcher.
Each player in the Baseball 100 is listed with his rank, club, primary position (the one he played more than any other in 2024), BPO or BPO allowed (BPOA), the numbers of bases and outs involved, and OBV.
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Club: Athletics
Primary position: DH
BPO: .970 (on 386 bases and 398 outs)
OBV: +117
Bottom line: Rooker played in virtual anonymity in Oakland, even though he launched 39 home runs and drove in 112 runs. His .365 on-base percentage was seventh-best in the AL.
Club: Guardians
Primary position: 3B
BPO: .928 (on 435 bases and 469 outs)
OBV: +118
Bottom line: Ramirez’s power numbers were among the best of his 12-year career in Cleveland: 39 homers, 118 RBIs, and a .537 slugging average. He finished fifth in the AL’s MVP race.
Club: Blue Jays
Primary position: 1B
BPO: .952 (on 418 bases and 439 outs)
OBV: +122
Bottom line: The 2024 season was a major disappointment for Toronto, but not for Guerrero. He drove home 103 runs and batted .323. The latter was the AL’s second-best average.
Club: Tigers
Primary position: P
BPOA: .464 (on 270 bases and 582 outs)
OBV: +123
Bottom line: Skubal is the top-rated pitcher in the Baseball 100, so it only makes sense that he won the AL’s Cy Young Award. The Detroit starter led the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39), and strikeouts (228).
Club: Orioles
Primary position: SS
BPO: .957 (on 443 bases and 463 outs)
OBV: +130
Bottom line: Henderson followed his 2023 Rookie of the Year Award with a breakout season for Baltimore in 2024. He launched 37 homers, drove in 92 runs, and scored 118.
Club: Astros
Primary position: DH
BPO: 1.005 (on 402 bases and 400 outs)
OBV: +132
Bottom line: Alvarez posted his fourth straight year with more than 30 home runs for Houston, blasting 35 in 2024. His .308 batting average was the fourth-highest in the American League.
Club: Royals
Primary position: SS
BPO: 1.065 (on 478 bases and 449 outs)
OBV: +175
Bottom line: Witt led both major leagues in hits (211) and batting average (.332), sparking Kansas City to an unexpected playoff slot. He also won the first Gold Glove in his three-year career.
Club: Yankees
Primary position: RF
BPO: 1.103 (on 472 bases and 428 outs)
OBV: +183
Bottom line: Soto scored 128 runs for the Yankees, the highest total in the AL. He also notched 41 homers and 109 RBIs. He moved across town to the Mets as a free agent in December.
Club: Dodgers
Primary position: DH
BPO: 1.235 (on 562 bases and 455 outs)
OBV: +255
Bottom line: Ohtani led the National League in homers (54) and RBIs (130) in his first season with the Dodgers. He also stole 59 bases and won his league’s MVP trophy.
Club: Yankees
Primary position: CF
BPO: 1.355 (on 546 bases and 403 outs)
OBV: +274
Bottom line: Judge duplicated Ohtani’s feats in the American League, setting the pace in home runs (58) and runs batted in (144). His reward was his second MVP victory in three years.
