The Bill James Handbook 2013 has 34 pages of leaderboards, many of which cannot be found anywhere else. Here are few of them.
Highest RBI% |
(minimum 502 PA) |
Josh Hamilton |
Tex |
47.69 |
Edwin Encarnacion |
Tor |
47.13 |
Garrett Jones |
Pit |
44.08 |
Miguel Cabrera |
Det |
43.88 |
Ryan Braun |
Mil |
43.73 |
Mike Trout |
LAA |
43.07 |
Allen Craig |
StL |
42.46 |
Andrew McCutchen |
Pit |
42.33 |
Yoenis Cespedes |
Oak |
41.88 |
Prince Fielder |
Det |
41.35 |
RBI Percentage describes the rate at which a hitter drives in runs when he bats with men on base.
- While Miguel Cabrera outpaced Mike Trout by 56 RBI, the two were nearly identical in their percentage of RBI per opportunity at 43.88 percent and 43.07 percent, respectively.
- Garrett Jones and Andrew McCutchen combined for 182 of the Pirates’ 620 RBI, nearly 30 percent of the team’s total production.
- Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder combined for 247 of the Tigers’ 698 RBI, which is more than 35 percent.
Lead Changing RBI |
Miguel Cabrera |
Det |
46 |
Aramis Ramirez |
Mil |
41 |
Carlos Beltran |
StL |
38 |
Chase Headley |
SD |
38 |
Buster Posey |
SF |
38 |
David Wright |
NYM |
37 |
Adrian Beltre |
Tex |
36 |
Adam Jones |
Bal |
36 |
Josh Willingham |
Min |
36 |
Garrett Jones |
Pit |
36 |
- Cabrera did not lead our RBI Percentage list, but he was well clear of the field with 46 lead changing RBI.
- Adam Jones and Garrett Jones were the only two players in the top-10 with fewer than 90 total RBI.
Grounded Into Double Plays |
Miguel Cabrera |
Det |
28 |
Howie Kendrick |
LAA |
26 |
Michael Young |
Tex |
26 |
Derek Jeter |
NYY |
24 |
Joe Mauer |
Min |
23 |
Robinson Cano |
NYY |
22 |
Yunel Escobar |
Tor |
21 |
J.J. Hardy |
Bal |
21 |
Carlos Santana |
Cle |
21 |
Ryan Zimmerman |
Was |
20 |
- With so many opportunities to drive in runs, it is not a huge surprise that Miguel Cabrera also led baseball with 28 GIDPs.
- The top-nine hitters are all from the American League.
Pitches Per Plate Appearance |
(minimum 502 PA) |
A.J. Ellis |
LAD |
4.44 |
Adam Dunn |
CWS |
4.43 |
Kevin Youkilis |
Bos-CWS |
4.36 |
Joe Mauer |
Min |
4.32 |
Carlos Santana |
Cle |
4.27 |
Curtis Granderson |
NYY |
4.27 |
Mark Reynolds |
Bal |
4.27 |
Nick Swisher |
NYY |
4.26 |
Buster Posey |
SF |
4.26 |
Jason Kubel |
Ari |
4.25 |
Four of the 10 leaders are catchers.
Highest First Pitch Swing % |
(minimum 502 PA) |
Josh Hamilton |
Tex |
47.0 |
Ian Desmond |
Was |
44.8 |
Freddie Freeman |
Atl |
44.2 |
B.J. Upton |
TB |
43.5 |
Yadier Molina |
StL |
42.4 |
Delmon Young |
Det |
41.9 |
Pedro Alvarez |
Pit |
39.4 |
Chris Davis |
Bal |
39.3 |
Danny Espinosa |
Was |
39.1 |
Yonder Alonso |
SD |
38.3 |
Bryce Harper |
Was |
38.1 |
- Josh Hamilton’s extreme highs and extreme lows in 2012 may have something to do with his hyper-aggressiveness on the first pitch of each at-bat. From the beginning of the season through May, Hamilton hit .368 with 21 home runs. In June and July, he hit .202 with just eight home runs.
- The Nationals have three players—Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, and Bryce Harper—in the top-11. Patience at the plate is clearly not a priority for them.
Lowest First Swing % |
(minimum 502 PA) |
Martin Prado |
Atl |
6.9 |
Kevin Youkilis |
Bos-CWS |
7.3 |
Joe Mauer |
Min |
7.7 |
Mike Trout |
LAA |
7.7 |
J.J. Hardy |
Bal |
8.1 |
Dustin Pedroia |
Bos |
8.1 |
Ben Revere |
Min |
8.8 |
A.J. Ellis |
LAD |
9.5 |
Jamey Carroll |
Min |
10.9 |
Mark Teixeira |
NYY |
13.0 |
Surprisingly, despite his low first-pitch swing percentage, J.J. Hardy only had a .282 on-base percentage in 2012. Every other player on this list had an on-base percentage at least 50 points higher (Teixeira second lowest at .332), each one of them significantly above MLB’s overall on-base percentage of .319.