Who are this year's .300/.400/.500 candidates around MLB?
The measure of an all-around great hitter? Having a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. Here are the guys who could get there this year.
By
Matt Snyder
•
1 min read
When seamheads like us aren't watching baseball, for the most part we're watching highlights or staring at the numbers. There are so many stats out there nowadays that there's something for everyone. Something most seem to agree upon is the good 'ol triple slash line:
Batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage
We all know about hitting .300. That's a good measure of being a very good hitter, as only 21 qualifying hitters are at or above .300 right now.
OBP is, in my humble opinion, the single most important measure of a batter's value. It is almost literally the percentage of times a batter doesn't make an out. Not getting out is the most fundamental thing we learned about being in the batter's box back as children. That some people seem to view this as a new-age sabermetric stat is one of my biggest pet peeves, but that's a topic for a different day (A "Week in Dumb," perhaps!).
And then there's slugging, which adds in how much power a hitter has possessed. It's total bases per at-bat and helps to separate those hollow batting averages from the more meaningful ones.
The most well-polished, all-around hitters in any given season will top a .300/.400/.500 slash line. It's a quick and dirty way to find the best hitters in the majors.
For example, last year Victor Martinez and Andrew McCutchen were the only players to reach that barrier. In 2013, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Cabrera and McCutchen made it. In 2012, it was Buster Posey, Prince Fielder and McCutchen.
So, again, one can easily see the very best all-around hitters make the list.
This season? Right now there are four hitters among qualifiers:
Bryce Harper, .343/.470/.674
Miguel Cabrera, .337/.439/.537
Paul Goldschmidt, .316/.435/.555
Joey Votto, .313/.462/.555
Five others who are close:
Andrew McCutchen, .298/.403/.502 (seeking fourth straight .300/.400/.500 season)
Mike Trout, .293/.394/.580
Anthony Rizzo, .286/.397/.530
Buster Posey, .327/.390/.488
Nelson Cruz, .310/.381/.585
Obviously there are many different ways to judge a hitter and I'd never suggest one method as the "correct" one. The .300/.400/.500 triple slash line is a very good method, though.
