The most important thing for a pitcher is to get an out. The most important thing for a batter is to avoid making an out. Sounds completely stupid to break it down in such simplistic form, but that doesn’t make it any less accurate. To that end, let’s explore the players that were best at avoiding the out in the truncated 2020 season.
WHAT IS ON BASE PERCENTAGE?
It is just what it sounds like. OBP records the rate that a player is able to get on base. A perfect mark is 1.000.
It takes a bit of work, but you could figure it out pretty quickly if you really wanted to.
OBP = Hits+Walks+HBP / At-Bats+Walks+HBP+Sac Flies
(sac bunts and catcher’s interference are not included)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE KEY
The league average in 2020 was .322.
Here is a quick key.
Anything under .300 is horrible.
.300-.315 is poor.
.316 to .325 is league average.
.326-.340 is passable.
.341-.360 is solid.
.361-.375 is impressive.
.376-.399 is an all-star level.
Anything over .400 is elite.
If you haven’t already, it would be greatly beneficial to your fantasy league if you replaced batting average with OBP.
THE WORST AT GETTING ON BASE IN 2020
*We are using 150 plate appearances to qualify for inclusion in this report. There were 203 such men in 2020.
| Name | G | PA | AVG | HR | RBI | R | SB | BB/K | OBP |
| Gregory Polanco | 50 | 174 | 0.153 | 7 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 0.20 | 0.214 |
| Javier Baez | 59 | 235 | 0.203 | 8 | 24 | 27 | 3 | 0.09 | 0.238 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 44 | 181 | 0.157 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0.30 | 0.250 |
| Evan White | 54 | 202 | 0.176 | 8 | 26 | 19 | 1 | 0.21 | 0.252 |
| Gary Sanchez | 49 | 178 | 0.147 | 10 | 24 | 19 | 0 | 0.28 | 0.253 |
| Erik Gonzalez | 50 | 193 | 0.227 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 0.16 | 0.255 |
| Michael Chavis | 42 | 158 | 0.212 | 5 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 0.16 | 0.259 |
| Tyler O’Neill | 50 | 157 | 0.173 | 7 | 19 | 20 | 3 | 0.35 | 0.261 |
| Niko Goodrum | 43 | 179 | 0.184 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 7 | 0.26 | 0.263 |
| Albert Pujols | 39 | 163 | 0.224 | 6 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 0.36 | 0.270 |
| Eduardo Escobar | 54 | 222 | 0.212 | 4 | 20 | 22 | 1 | 0.37 | 0.270 |
| Stephen Piscotty | 45 | 171 | 0.226 | 5 | 29 | 17 | 4 | 0.17 | 0.271 |
| Yuli Gurriel | 57 | 230 | 0.232 | 6 | 22 | 27 | 0 | 0.44 | 0.274 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 55 | 208 | 0.189 | 7 | 19 | 24 | 1 | 0.37 | 0.275 |
| Matt Chapman | 37 | 152 | 0.232 | 10 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 0.15 | 0.276 |
| Miguel Sano | 53 | 205 | 0.204 | 13 | 25 | 31 | 0 | 0.20 | 0.278 |
| Tim Lopes | 46 | 151 | 0.238 | 2 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 0.18 | 0.278 |
| Kevin Newman | 44 | 172 | 0.224 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0.57 | 0.281 |
| Adam Eaton | 41 | 176 | 0.226 | 4 | 17 | 22 | 3 | 0.38 | 0.285 |
| Rio Ruiz | 54 | 204 | 0.222 | 9 | 32 | 25 | 1 | 0.37 | 0.286 |
| Jose Altuve | 48 | 210 | 0.219 | 5 | 18 | 32 | 2 | 0.44 | 0.286 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | 53 | 199 | 0.211 | 5 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 0.41 | 0.286 |
| Nicky Lopez | 56 | 192 | 0.201 | 1 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 0.44 | 0.286 |
| Garrett Hampson | 53 | 184 | 0.234 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 6 | 0.22 | 0.287 |
| Justin Upton | 42 | 166 | 0.204 | 9 | 22 | 20 | 0 | 0.26 | 0.289 |
| Shohei Ohtani | 46 | 175 | 0.190 | 7 | 24 | 23 | 7 | 0.44 | 0.291 |
| J.D. Martinez | 54 | 237 | 0.213 | 7 | 27 | 22 | 1 | 0.37 | 0.291 |
| Victor Robles | 52 | 189 | 0.220 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 0.17 | 0.293 |
| Adalberto Mondesi | 59 | 233 | 0.256 | 6 | 22 | 33 | 24 | 0.16 | 0.294 |
| Ryan McMahon | 52 | 193 | 0.215 | 9 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 0.27 | 0.295 |
| Austin Meadows | 36 | 152 | 0.205 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 2 | 0.34 | 0.296 |
| Evan Longoria | 53 | 209 | 0.254 | 7 | 28 | 26 | 0 | 0.28 | 0.297 |
| Keston Hiura | 59 | 246 | 0.212 | 13 | 32 | 30 | 3 | 0.19 | 0.297 |
| Wilson Ramos | 45 | 155 | 0.239 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0.32 | 0.297 |
| Adam Frazier | 58 | 230 | 0.230 | 7 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 0.49 | 0.297 |
| Nicholas Castellanos | 60 | 242 | 0.225 | 14 | 34 | 37 | 0 | 0.28 | 0.298 |
| Brian Goodwin | 50 | 164 | 0.215 | 6 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0.31 | 0.299 |
| Alex Gordon | 50 | 184 | 0.209 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 0.49 | 0.299 |
Despite some good work on this list in certain respects, this list is replete with poor overall performers in 2020.
Above I noted that anything under .300 is horrible. I should add that anything under .250 is ghastly to the point of inducing uncontrollable vomiting or maybe even diarrhea.
Gregory Polanco has stunk for a while, mostly due to ill health.
Javier Baez? He’s never been able to draw a walk, and he’s often a wild swinger, which can be seen in that BB/K walk that isn’t even ¼ the league average. I threw up in my mouth just looking at that 0.09 number. It’s truly embarrassing that a major league baseball player of his skills could be that bad.
Edwin Encarnacion hit his homers, but his OBP was hideous as perhaps Father Time caught up with him.
Evan White was a terrible offensive performer in his first season.
I’ve talked for a long time about Mike Zunino. I mean Gary Sanchez.
Erik Gonzalez – no one cared about in fantasy.
Michael Chavis didn’t make enough contact despite getting a lot of work in Boston.
Eduardo Escobar neglected his body during the time off and predictably fell face first off a cliff.
Yuli Gurriel didn’t hit, and the birth certificate says 36 years old.
Matt Chapman was hurt and missed a lot of time, but he could certainly use some refinement in his game.
Miguel Sano really isn’t any different than Joey Gallo, other than he walks less.
Shocking to see Jose Altuve on this list.
Shohei Ohtani was miserable at everything he did in 2020. Amazing he still went 7/7 actually.
J.D. Martinez, you know the perennial all-star level performer – sucked ass in 2020.
Victor Robles simply didn’t show his skills enough in 2020.
Adalberto Mondesi is a flawed offensive player. I think there is something inherently wrong with the 5×5 fantasy game if a player like this can be an elite performer in the setup.
THE BEST AT GETTING ON BASE IN 2020
*We are using 150 plate appearances to qualify for inclusion in this report. There were 203 such men in 2020.
| Name | G | PA | AVG | HR | RBI | R | SB | BB/K | OBP |
| Juan Soto | 47 | 196 | 0.351 | 13 | 37 | 39 | 6 | 1.46 | 0.490 |
| Freddie Freeman | 60 | 262 | 0.341 | 13 | 53 | 51 | 2 | 1.22 | 0.462 |
| Marcell Ozuna | 60 | 267 | 0.338 | 18 | 56 | 38 | 0 | 0.63 | 0.431 |
| Brandon Belt | 51 | 179 | 0.309 | 9 | 30 | 25 | 0 | 0.83 | 0.425 |
| DJ LeMahieu | 50 | 216 | 0.364 | 10 | 27 | 41 | 3 | 0.86 | 0.421 |
| Bryce Harper | 58 | 244 | 0.268 | 13 | 33 | 41 | 8 | 1.14 | 0.420 |
| Anthony Rendon | 52 | 232 | 0.286 | 9 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 1.23 | 0.418 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 58 | 231 | 0.304 | 6 | 21 | 31 | 1 | 0.86 | 0.417 |
| Michael Conforto | 54 | 233 | 0.322 | 9 | 31 | 40 | 3 | 0.42 | 0.412 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 46 | 202 | 0.250 | 14 | 29 | 46 | 8 | 0.63 | 0.406 |
| Brandon Nimmo | 55 | 225 | 0.280 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 1 | 0.77 | 0.404 |
| Jose Iglesias | 39 | 150 | 0.373 | 3 | 24 | 16 | 0 | 0.18 | 0.400 |
| Mike Yastrzemski | 54 | 225 | 0.297 | 10 | 35 | 39 | 2 | 0.55 | 0.400 |
| Alec Bohm | 44 | 180 | 0.338 | 4 | 23 | 24 | 1 | 0.44 | 0.400 |
| Justin Turner | 42 | 175 | 0.307 | 4 | 23 | 26 | 1 | 0.69 | 0.400 |
| Nelson Cruz | 53 | 214 | 0.303 | 16 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0.43 | 0.397 |
| Trea Turner | 59 | 259 | 0.335 | 12 | 41 | 46 | 12 | 0.61 | 0.394 |
| Clint Frazier | 39 | 160 | 0.267 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 3 | 0.57 | 0.394 |
| Jason Heyward | 50 | 181 | 0.265 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 0.81 | 0.392 |
| Mike Trout | 53 | 241 | 0.281 | 17 | 46 | 41 | 1 | 0.63 | 0.390 |
| Jesse Winker | 54 | 183 | 0.255 | 12 | 23 | 27 | 1 | 0.61 | 0.388 |
| Mark Canha | 59 | 243 | 0.246 | 5 | 33 | 32 | 4 | 0.69 | 0.387 |
| Jose Ramirez | 58 | 254 | 0.292 | 17 | 46 | 45 | 10 | 0.72 | 0.386 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 44 | 184 | 0.321 | 9 | 34 | 19 | 1 | 0.32 | 0.386 |
| Rhys Hoskins | 41 | 185 | 0.245 | 10 | 26 | 35 | 1 | 0.67 | 0.384 |
| Jeff McNeil | 52 | 209 | 0.311 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 0.83 | 0.383 |
| Aaron Hicks | 54 | 211 | 0.225 | 6 | 21 | 28 | 4 | 1.08 | 0.379 |
| Dominic Smith | 50 | 199 | 0.316 | 10 | 42 | 27 | 0 | 0.31 | 0.377 |
| David Fletcher | 49 | 230 | 0.319 | 3 | 18 | 31 | 2 | 0.80 | 0.376 |
| Cavan Biggio | 59 | 265 | 0.250 | 8 | 28 | 41 | 6 | 0.67 | 0.375 |
| Alex Dickerson | 52 | 170 | 0.298 | 10 | 27 | 28 | 0 | 0.53 | 0.371 |
| J.D. Davis | 56 | 229 | 0.247 | 6 | 19 | 26 | 0 | 0.55 | 0.371 |
| Jose Abreu | 60 | 262 | 0.317 | 19 | 60 | 43 | 0 | 0.31 | 0.370 |
| Manny Machado | 60 | 254 | 0.304 | 16 | 47 | 44 | 6 | 0.70 | 0.370 |
| Tommy La Stella | 55 | 228 | 0.281 | 5 | 25 | 31 | 1 | 2.25 | 0.370 |
There were a lot of storylines to follow in 2020. One that likely didn’t get enough discussion was the fact that Juan Soto went full on Barry Bonds. A .490 OBP is historically good. If he had a number like that in a full season he would post a top-30 mark all-time. The only player in the 21st century with a mark of .490 in a season is Bonds. That’s it.
Freddie Freeman could win the NL MVP.
Marcell Ozuna, Freeman’s teammate, could win the NL MVP.
Brandon Belt had an epic season, while no one was looking.
DJ LeMahieu will get AL MVP votes.
Bryce Harper is uneven, but he’s always been impressive at getting on base.
Anthony Rendon is a hell of a baseball player. He had a .412 OBP last season.
Ronald Acuna is the only player in baseball to post a mark of .390 and hit less than .265 as he was all the way down at .250. He’s a prime example of a guy who is hurt by traditional 5×5, not that it kept him from starring overall, but with his OBP counted he would have been off the charts (he was top-30 overall in 5×5 leagues but could have been top-10 in OBP setups).
Jose Iglesias, Mike Yastrzemski and Alec Bohm. If you bet that trifecta of .400 OBP performances you would have won one of the biggest long shot bets in the history of betting.
Jason Heyward was actually pretty good this season. For reals. Hell, he had a better OBP than Mike Trout.
Jesse Winker hit just .255 as he slowed down the stretch but that .388 OBP is still damn impressive.
Rhys Hoskins posted an OBP .139 points clear of his batting average, and that is impressive. Cavan Biggio was up .125 points and J.D. Davis saw his OBP climb .124 above his batting average.
Consider using OBP in your league in 2020. Even if you don’t, pay attention to OBP when you take a look at player performances in 2020 as the smallish sample size did some wild things to come fellas batting averages.
For the entire list of qualifiers, you can click on the link.
