Getting More Out of Less

While watching the World Series this fall, I happened to look up Jimmy Rollins on Baseball-Reference.com and noticed that, despite the fact that his on-base percentage in 2009 was an awful .296, he nevertheless scored 100 runs (thank you, Ryan Howard). I decided to do a list of players in the modern era (post-1900) who scored 100 or more runs with sub-.300 on-base percentages.

It turned out to be a very short list. Rollins was only the second player of the modern era to reach triple digits in runs while failing to record an OBP of .300. The first was Hughie Critz in 1930. Critz, a second baseman, started out that year with the Reds, but was traded to the Giants for Larry Benton on May 21. Installed as the Giants' regular second sacker, he finished the year with a .292 OBP, but scored 108 runs. It's not hard to figure out why. The Giants that year led the NL with a .319 batting average and had three players (Bill Terry, Mel Ott, and Fred Linstrom) with slugging averages at .575 or better. Critz may not have reached base much, but when he did, there was usually someone ready and able to drive him in.

This stat combination was a bit more common in the ninteenth century. Seven players accomplished it, including Steve Brady of the American Association's New York Metropolitans, who in 1884 scored 102 runs on a .283 OBP, the lowest in baseball history for a player with 100 or more runs. However, Critz and Rollins are still the only players to do it since the mound was moved from 50' away from home to 60'6" after the 1892 season.