23) and clutch hitter skill rankings. All Rights Reserved. 25. hrisp. So, to put together this list, a number of different statistics were taken into consideration. There is consensus that Ty Cobb leads this category. What is a Full Count in Baseball? RISP is short for runners in scoring position and simply indicates that a runner is closer to making a score or a run in a particular inning. Not bad for a player whom the Blue Jays acquired along with Nori Aoki in exchange for Francisco Liriano at the 2017 trade deadline. John Paciorek had three hits in all three of his turns at bat. He was a negative-WAR player over 147 games, and he was entering his age-33 season. He hit .335 in those spots during a bounce-back 2021 season, compared to a .286 average overall. In terms of influencing the scoring of runs from 2002 to 2013, the three best offensive statistics are: 1. Further rankings vary by source, primarily due to differences in minimums needed to qualify (number of games played or plate appearances), or differences in early baseball records. The Giants' surprising success in 2021 was a total team effort, and Wade provided his fair share of memorable clutch moments. Most successful baseball players surely do not build their careers , Can you imagine the pain from a speeding baseball hitting your groin? PRO: (meaningful stat) Personally I would say that some batters with two strikes and a runner in scoring position would actually try and make some contact and avoid being struck out. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Average Lengths, What Is the Strike Zone in Baseball? 5),power hitter (No. And Marty, its just limiting Vottos overall production to a small sample size that doesnt have a whole lot to do with winning games. Why not?). In years past, they have consistently been not only one of the best teams in baseball, but also the best at hitting with runners in scoring position. TeamRankings.com is not affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or March Madness Athletic Association, neither of which has supplied, reviewed, approved or endorsed the material on this site. * Division Games qualifier is When ESPN did the greatest of the 20th century Ruth finished 2nd to Jordan but like Dan Patrick said when he said Ruth was second "everyone is measured against him", only Jordan was found to be better by the experts or whoever chose this. Easiest way to remove 3/16" drive rivets from a lower screen door hinge? [17] Esteban Yan went two-for-two, including a home run. This year, for lack of a better word, theyre awful with runners in scoring position. Some other values are: wRAA that has an R2 of .5811 (58% of the x-values fit into the equation: y = 0.2586 + 0.5721) Average with RISP makes a difference. All Rights Reserved. The two teams have a common goal: to win the game by scoring more runs than the opposing team. Jordan's line about intimate parties in The Great Gatsby? While great pitches, hits, and throws may draw all the oohs and aahs, everything still boils down to what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. Along the way, he tallied career highs in home runs (35) and RBI (101) for a 2.0 WAR season despite his low baseline batting average. BA/RISP is often used as an indicator of clutch ability, as a hit with a runner on second base or third will likely score the runner and is thus considered a clutch situation. I would even rather pitch to Johnny Peralta than pitch to Prince Fielder or pitch to Victor Martinez because at the end of the day, Peralta is not as good of a hitter as Fielder and hes not as good of a hitter as Martinez. The "b" and "s" in baseball signify the two teams competing against each other in a game of skill and strategy. Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position (abbreviated BA/RISP or BA/RSP) is a baseball statistic derived by dividing a players hits with runners in scoring positions (i.e. He is a .315 career hitter with runners in scoring position, and he hit an impressive .344/.438/.656 with 10 home runs and 79 RBI in those situations in 2021. Batting Average. Before I look at hitting with runners in scoring position, it is important to establish which three offensive statistics are the best at determining wins and runs. Do you have a blog? Breaking it down, the batting averages are roughly normally distributed over the league with an average of about .250. Printed from TeamRankings.com - 2005-2023 Team Rankings, LLC. With runners in scoring position, Chicago had the third-best batting average among playoff teams (.266) and produced more hits than every other playoff squad except the Boston Red Sox, Astros and . ", "Why Is the National Association Not a Major League and Other Records Issues", "Year-by-Year League Leaders for Batting Average", "Melky Cabrera ruled ineligible to win batting crown", "Redus' .462 in 1978 still Minor League best", "In '78, Redus hit .462, a season for the ages", "Gary Redus Minor Leagues Statistics & History", "Ichiro Suzuki Retires at 45: Inside His Stats, Teams, and Legendary MLB Career", "Stat to the Future: Why it's time to stop relying on batting average", Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Batting_average_(baseball)&oldid=1141957850, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from January 2023, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Pre-1920 A player generally is required to appear in at least 100 or more games when the schedule was 154 games, and 90 games when the schedule was 140 games. Copyright 2000-2022 Sports Reference LLC. . Sorry, the reply function didnt work for me there. Coaches and team managers integrate this metric with other stats to calculate probable runs and better forecast scoring scenarios. 19 (tie). [2] Wade Boggs hit .401 over a 162-game span with Boston from June 9, 1985, to June 6, 1986,[6] but never hit above .368 for an MLB season. 1909), Why runners make lousy communists. A few reasons why batting average with runners in scoring position would be different than with no one on: With a runner on third and less than two outs, defenses will often play the infield in. Since runners on first base are not considered to be in scoring position, RISP helps teams determine how many possible runs there were on the base . Batting average does not take into account bases on balls (walks) or power, whereas other statistics such as on-base percentage and slugging percentage have been specifically designed to measure such concepts. On Base %. While runners in scoring position is a fairly recent statRISP was first used in the mid-70sit has gained so much popularity that it has turned into something short of an obsession for many. Customized picks for NFL and college football pickem contests (weekly and season long). J.D. Every baseball stat is worth looking into, such individual players and teams can map out strategies to boost their odds of winning a match. Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox (191 points), Metrics: +.021 BA/RISP, +.037 BA/HL, 41 wRC/RISP, 13 wRC/HL. Fielder Avg 282 OBP 371 Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Martinez Avg 264 OBP 340 This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Now, if you could write something on Productive Outs that would be great. The last Major League Baseball (MLB) player to do so, with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting championship, was Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, who hit .406 in 1941. Plate Appearances; Run Differential; Batting Average on Balls in Play; Isolated Power; Secondary Average; Team Batting Ratios . Sure, I can definitely understand where it might be important to individual hitters but at the same time the numbers that you brought actually seem to work more for my argument that the numbers dont matter. For examining this data, I am going to look at the coefficient of determination, or R2 (I have below this the formula for R, correlation coefficient, that when squared equals the coefficient of determination). [20] In 2012, a one-time amendment to the rule was made to disqualify Melky Cabrera from the title. The number of distinct words in a sentence. Meadows maximized his power production by slugging 10 home runs with runners in scoring position en route to a team-leading 106 RBI in 2021. At Bats Runs Hits Singles Doubles Triples Home Runs Total Bases Runs Batted In Walks Intentional Walks Strikeouts Hit By Pitch Stolen Bases Caught Stealing Grounded into Double Plays Left On Base Two Out RBIs Runners Left In Scoring Position Batting Average On Base % Slugging % On Base Plus Slugging Fielding Errors Interpreted as: highest average with runners in scoring by a player position Juan Soto, Washington Nationals (No. on second or third base) by his at bats with runners in scoring position.. BA/RISP is often used as an indicator of clutch ability, as a hit with a runner on second base or third will likely score the runner and is . TeamRankings.com is solely responsible for this site but makes no guarantee about the accuracy or completeness of the information herein. Is it dependent on overall strength of offense? He had batted .346 with 501 plate appearances, and the original rule would have awarded him the title over San Francisco Giants teammate Buster Posey, who won batting .336.[21][22]. Please adjust your filters. That means if you go 0 for 10 with RISP in a game that generally means you must hit several homeruns if you assumed your pitching staff gave up 3 runs in the game. Viewers of their teams will often have their sad sigh when their team leaves runners stranded in scoring position and will look up how their team does in those situations and say, this is why we dont score runs or this is why we dont win games. They will also look at other teams and see how good of an offense the other team might have and immediately make the assumption that they are going to be better at hitting with runners in scoring position than most other teams if their offense is better. Consider these three different play scenarios to better understand how RISP can affect batting strategies: While the batter is at greater risk of an out, hitting the ball to this section of the field gives both runners the opportunity to advance, with the runner on 3rd possibly scoring a run. George Brett and Tony Gwynn hold the two highest BA/RISPs of all time in a single season with .469 and .489, respectively. A .257 career hitter with runners in scoring position entering the 2021 season, Judge enjoyed the best year of his career in that category with a .335 average and 29 wRC. any player Some defensive statistics Copyright Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2022. 2. wRC+ has an R2 of .2739 (27% of the wRC+ x-values fit the formula: y = 0.5518x + 27.727) 1957 to the present A player has needed 3.1 plate appearances per team game originally scheduled; thus, players were no longer penalized for walking so frequently, nor did they benefit from walking so rarely. This is commonly seen as a much better, though not perfect, indicator of a player's overall batting ability as it is a measure of hitting for average, hitting for power, and drawing walks. The reason it doesnt seem like RISP correlates with winning games has some to do with the fact that power is down with RISP. He has a career .217 batting average on balls in play, and across . You debunk Matt Williams and then at the end of the article you say this, .which is good enough to at the very least say that better offensive teams are more likely to hit better with runners in scoring position than weak offensive teams.. That is how the batting average statistics will be presented. It is, certainly, a weak correlation; but it's not a zero one, so perhaps it has some small predictive value. (In 1954, for example, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 19:32. Despite leading all of baseball with 43 wRC with RISP, Soto falls well short of the top 25 as a result of his ugly .179 average in high-leverage situations. Every baseball game is the chance to compete with others and cooperate with your teammate. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. They simply mean the batter has scored nicely on his batting average with runners in scoring position in a particular season. WAR with an R2 of .5329 (53% of the WAR x-values fit the formula: y = 1.1243x + 59.614) Career Batting With and Without Runners In Scoring Position LEGEND: SIT - situation (NO-RISP - no runners in scoring position, RISP - runners in scoring position) AB - at-bats H - hits 2B - doubles 3B - triples HR - home runs BB - walks IBB - intentional walks HBP - hit by pitch SF - sacrifice flies OBP - on-base percentage SLG - slugging percentage OPS - on-base plus slugging percentage AVG+ . The Washington Post Sports section provides sports news, video, scores, analysis and updates about high school, college, and pro sports teams, including the Capitals, Nationals, Redskins, United . There has to be great pitching too that is not put into account. 22 (tie). Printed from TeamRankings.com - 2005-2023 Team Rankings, LLC. A few dozen others have hit safely in their only career at-bat. The only player in the entire top 25 with a negative differential in one of his batting average metrics, Willy Adames made up for his middling .254 average with RISP by hitting a blistering .467 in high-leverage situations. (in the Houston Astros), What is a Fielders Choice in Baseball? A hit is more likely to score at least one or two runs-depending on the speed of the runner, the strength of the outfielder's arm, the number of runners in scoring position, etc.-because the runners will be going on contact--that is, they run once the batter hits the ball. At the time I wrote that piece, the Brewers had a team batting average with runners in scoring position of .276 and a SLG% of .503 (good enough for #3 and #2 in MLB respectively). Something of a forgotten man in a crowded Seattle outfield, Fraley tallied 1.6 WAR in 78 games on the strength of his on-base ability (.352 OBP), solid defense (4 DRS) and clutch hitting. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. (Elwyn Brooks). The Hilltoppers ended the 2022 season collectively with 38 home runs, 240 RBI, and a .303 batting average from the dugout. 24. abrisp. But , Playing baseball requires learning and acquiring challenging skills. Metrics: +.055 BA/RISP, +.094 BA/HL, 33 wRC/RISP, 16 wRC/HL. The aim is to get a base runner nearer to the home plate and score a run. Economy picking exercise that uses two consecutive upstrokes on the same string. For scoring runs, AVG has R2 value of .181 (18% of AVG x-values. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Beneath the surface of those impressive counting numbers, he was undoubtedly one of baseball's best clutch performers. There would still be several players better than others with RISP if we could assume the sample size for everyone right??? Sabermetrics, the study of baseball statistics, considers batting average a weak measure of performance because it does not correlate as well as other measures to runs scored, thereby causing it to have little predictive value. Runners in Scoring Position. I mean, they batted .330 with runners in scoring position, had a .370 wOBA, and a 138 wRC+, and won 97 games, 32 games over .500. For those who dont know, when looking at the data and calculating a formula of best fit, R2 shows a percentage value of how many of the samples of the x-value fit the line of best fit (the line that in perfect situations can calculate the y-values). I can't think of any reasons why a hitter would substantially change his approach based on a runner being in scoring position, except perhaps trying to hit a sac fly with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. The Cardinals offense is also scoring about a run less this year than they did last year (4.83 Runs/9 innings in 2013 and 3.67 Runs/9 innings in 2014) meanwhile their pitching has practically been identical to last year with a FIP of 3.31, xFIP of 3.66, and SIERA of 3.60 this season compared to last years 3.39 FIP, 3.63 xFIP, and SIERA of 3.57. And my compliments to you on a great article that you wrote as well on your website about runners in scoring position! He was one of only three players with at least 40 wRC with RISP last year. Find out more. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. For instance, a batter may opt for a sacrifice bunt in a zero-out situation if theres a runner on 2nd base. I understand what you are saying to a degree. Jake Fraley, Seattle Mariners (184 points), Metrics: +.094 BA/RISP, +.136 BA/HL, 15 wRC/RISP, 8 wRC/HL. With 1.9 WAR in 85 games, Urias was a quiet bright spot for the rebuilding Orioles while playing all over the infield. For Matt Williams' sake, I also looked at how much batting average with runners in scoring position determines wins and runs: 1. a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position for Grizzlies. With a runner on second, teams often will not shift on lefty pull hitters that they normally would shift on, since the shift makes it harder to cover third in a steal situation. Unfortunately, for a while now Marty Brennaman has been seemingly leading a war of the old-school against his own teams star first baseman Joey Votto over hitting. * Away/Neutral Games qualifier is For scoring runs, AVG has R2 value of .181 (18% of AVG x-values fit the formula: y = 2005.8x + 213.05) I mean Ive seen it several times where a team doesnt score with bases loaded and nobody out and end up losing. Hit By Pitch per Game. WAR that has an R2 of .3831 (38% of the x-values fit into the equation: y = 0.2005x + 0.8901). When Is a Baseball Player in Scoring Position? 100, 101 points). [15]. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Thank you! Wenzen-ball is reader-supported. hrisp. And , By its mechanics alone, baseball is already a challenging play. 1b. Metrics: +.052 BA/RISP, +.012 BA/HL, 34 wRC/RISP, 11 wRC/HL. No one will argue that hitting with runners in scoring position can help to win games because it does often result in scoring a run but it should not be looked at as one of the key stats in a players production. At Bats per Home Run; Home Run % Strikeout % Walk % Extra Base Hit . Has Microsoft lowered its Windows 11 eligibility criteria? Copyright 2023 - Wezen-Ball. The 27-year-old hit a staggering .429 in high-leverage spots, good for eighth among players with at least 20 such plate appearances. TeamRankings.com is not affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or March Madness Athletic Association, neither of which has supplied, reviewed, approved or endorsed the material on this site. The Giants acquired LaMonte Wade Jr. from the Minnesota Twins prior to the 2021 season in exchange for right-hander Shaun Anderson. List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders, List of Major League Baseball batting champions, "MLB Single-Season (Post-1900) Batting Leaders", "Do Motivated Players Have Higher Batting Averages? In Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the leader in career batting average is Isao Harimoto, a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, who hit .319 in his NPB career. by Handedness, Taking a Closer Look at Hitting with Runners in Scoring Position, How Jose Abreus Career in Cuba Reflects His Future MLB Success, The Resurgence of Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo. So Matt, not to rain on your parade, but batting average with runners in scoring position has very little to do with determining runs or wins. For example from 2007 until today (an 8+ season period consisting of 1.4 million plate appearances) the overall league batting average has been 0.258 while the league batting average with runners in scoring position has been 0.263 over the same period. Starting pitchers and especially relievers simply dont give up the long ball. WAR has an R2 of .29 (29% of the WAR x-values fit the formula: y = 2.5609x + 68.94) OPS with an R2 of .9132 (91% of the OPS x-values fit the formula: y = 2059.2x 791.27) by Retrosheet. Stolen Bases When the runner advances one base unaided by a hit, a putout, an error, a force-out, a fielder's choice, a passed ball, a wild pitch, or a balk. While runners in scoring position is a fairly recent statRISP was first used in the mid-70sit has gained so much popularity that it has turned into something short of an obsession for many. 65, 122 points). RISP sample size isnt really all that low of a sample anymore if you look at a hitters entire career with RISP. More likely it explains for certain players intentional changes in their game geared towards scoring runs, and for most players just signifies the noise that is random number generators, aka baseball at-bats. 15. For these people, it is for the most part a blind hypothesis, just assuming it is true because it seems that it should be true. After playing only nine games over the previous two seasons, Lowrie made good on a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics and posted a 101 OPS+ over 512 plate appearances. What Does E# Mean in Baseball Standings? A variation to this statistic is called Batting Average with two outs and Runners in Scoring Position, which is also calculated by dividing a players' hits with runners on second or third by his at bats in this situation. Can You Find MLB RISP Stats for Teams as Well as Individual Players? And listening to one of the Reds games (as I always do), listening to Marty Brennaman (who I think is a good broadcaster for his catchy phrases and also because hes from where Im from), I heard him talk about Votto and he said, Votto will take a 3-0 pitch an inch off the outside corner, when he could do with it what he did Wednesday. Baseball stat sheets usually reflect both individual and team batting average with RISP. * League Games qualifier is The one constant in an inconsistent and banged up Yankees lineup, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting. In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. Getting him some help in a largely punchless Marlins lineup would go a long way toward avoiding teams pitching around him when the game is on the line. Batters are in a scoring position if they are trying to advance from the second or third base. Picks, tools and data that give you an edge in NFL survivor and knockout style pools. Why is AVG higher with runners in scoring position than without? 3. wOBA with an R2 of .3999 (40% of the wOBA x-values fit the formula: y = 3482.9x 389.93). Outfielder Starling Marte made headlines this past season by becoming the first player in MLB history to steal at least 20 bases in each league, splitting his contract year between the Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics and hitting .310/.383/.458 with 47 total steals. A Simple Instruction. I am simply a casual fan, but here is my logic. So a case could be made that the strength of a teams offense overall does dictate how that same team hits with runners in scoring position. 2. You could attribute it to a particular batting style that favors contact and line drives over fly balls - I doubt Adam Dunn's BARISP is particularly good, for example (it's 20 points lower for his career than his batting average, in fact), but Tony Gwynn does have a higher BARISP than his career batting average, by 14 points. They misuse the word 'significant' there, but it's forgivable as it's probably not meant as a statistics term. He checked in at No. The modern-era record for lowest batting average for a player that qualified for the batting title is held by Chris Davis, who hit .168 in 2018. [4] However, Williams played in both games of a doubleheader, went 6-for-8, and ended the season 185-for-456,[5] which is .40570 and becomes .406 when rounded.[4]. 22 (tie). Austin Meadows, Tampa Bay Rays (180 points), Metrics: +.065 BA/RISP, +.054 BA/HL, 31 wRC/RISP, 9 wRC/HL. Small ball strategies include stolen bases, situational batting, and sacrifice play such as bunts and flies. I dont really look at it that way though. abrisp. Although much focus is directed at long balls during offensive play, small ball tactics have a place where runners are in scoring position. any player Ruth played in places that could have been actual parks. What is the Cycle in Baseball? In modern times, a season batting average of .300 or higher is considered to be excellent, and an average higher than .400 a nearly unachievable goal. Get the Facts Here! Deadline pickup Abraham Toro will likely be tasked with replacing Seager at the hot corner for the Seattle Mariners. 2023 Astros Player Hitting Stats | Houston Astros Player Team Hitting Pitching Reset Filters 2023 Spring Training Astros Year to Date All Positions Select Player Pool Select a Split Standard Expanded Statcast PLAYER TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Sorry, no results. Join our linker program. Josh VanMeter, Arizona Diamondbacks (170 points), Metrics: +.121 BA/RISP, +.080 BA/HL, 17 wRC/RISP, 6 wRC/HL. What is a Wild Card in Baseball (MLB) Explained. No stranger to producing when it matters, Martinez is a career .305/.384/.565 hitter in 1,479 plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Winning a baseball match is all about scoring more runs than the opposing team. Just a set of statistical parameters and a straightforward point system. A bad hitter that is having an average season with RISP will go back (expectedly) to be being a bad hitter with RISP, because of his history of being bad with RISP. OPS has an R2 of .3099 (31% of the OPS x-values fit the formula: y = 948.7x + 19.173) All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Category: Glossary This page was last edited on 2 July 2017, at 16:41. 18. But just how much of a teams success is based on hitting with runners in scoring position and how much of hitting with runners in scoring position is based on team success? Interacting within the game is , Baseball stars gained their esteemed reputation because they showcase a set of skills that make , Astigmatism. His reason for using at bats rather than outs is less obvious, but it leads to the intuitive idea of the batting average being a percentage reflecting how often a batter gets on base, whereas hits divided by outs are not as simple to interpret in real terms. Wait a minute. The latest stats, facts, news and notes on Mike Trout of the LA Angels . . Henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball. Do you have a sports website? Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (181 points), Metrics: +.075 BA/RISP, +.130 BA/HL, 19 wRC/RISP, 7 wRC/HL. After some digging and debating, I landed on these four metrics to measure clutch: The question was how to use those statistics to best demonstrate the difference between Player A and Player B in terms of contact ability. In 1887, bases on balls were counted as hits by the major leagues in existence at the time. Is it meaningful for projecting future performance? Maybe some players change their swing in ways that happen to yield a better average - with a guy on second you swing for a single, but with the bases empty you just go for the home run (again, see Dunn, Adam for a great example). Hays posted a .921 OPS with eight home runs and 22 RBI in 30 games in September and October, which could be a sign of bigger things to come. Stick with it. Especially when you consider just how many position players are in the league. Since Atlanta Braves fans will undoubtedly be clamoring for Freeman's inclusion here, his subpar .222 average in high-leverage spots is what kept him out of contention. 1b. 12 (tie). That ability to put the bat on the ball served him well in the clutch. An exception to the rule was made for, 19201949 A player had to appear in 100 games to qualify in the NL; the AL used 100 games from 1920 to 1935, and 400 at-bats from 1936 to 1949. * All Games qualifier is [11] While finishing six plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting title, Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox hit .159 for the 2011 season, nine points lower than the record. Curious about who the first player was to miss the cut? Sometimes, youll hear sports commentators refer to a particular batter as a clutch hitter. Austin Hays, Baltimore Orioles (179 points), Metrics: +.077 BA/RISP, +.095 BA/HL, 22 wRC/RISP, 9 wRC/HL. 3. wRAA has an R2 of .2366 (24% of the wRAA x-values fit the formula: y = 0.2366x + 80.996). Hits with Runners in Scoring Position. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. wRC+ that has an R2 of .5558 (56% of the x-values fit into the equation: y = 0.9678x + 3.3038) In baseball, part of what is commonly debated is how important it is to hit with runners in scoring position. [10] The modern-era (post-1900) record for highest batting average for a season is held by Nap Lajoie, who hit .426 in 1901,[10] the first year of play for the American League. Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position (BA/RISP): A player's batting average when there is at least one runner on second or third base. Two years ago, it looked like Brandon Crawford was washed up after he hit .228/.304/.350 for a 74 OPS+ that ranked 132nd among 135 qualified hitters.