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Ted Williams has the highest career on-base percentage in MLB history, led the American League in 12 seasons (also a record), and held the single-season on-base percentage record for 61 years.
In
baseball statistics ,
on-base percentage (OBP) is a measure of how often a
batter reaches base for any reason other than a
fielding error ,
fielder's choice ,
dropped or uncaught third strike ,
fielder's obstruction , or
catcher's interference . OBP is calculated in
Major League Baseball (MLB) by dividing the sum of
hits ,
walks , and times
hit by a pitch by the sum of
at-bats , walks, times hit by pitch and
sacrifice flies .
[1] A hitter with a .400 on-base percentage is considered to be great
[2] and rare;
[3] only 61 players in MLB history with at least 3,000 career
plate appearances (PA) have maintained such an OBP. Left fielder
Ted Williams , who played 19 seasons for the
Boston Red Sox , has the highest career on-base percentage, .4817, in MLB history.
[4] Williams led the
American League (AL) in on-base percentage in twelve seasons, the most such seasons for any player in the major leagues.
[4]
[5]
Barry Bonds led the
National League (NL) in ten seasons, a NL record.
[5]
[6] Williams also posted the then-highest single-season on-base percentage of .5528 in 1941, a record that stood for 61 years until Bonds broke it with a .5817 OBP in 2002.
[7] Bonds broke his own record in 2004, setting the current single-season mark of .6094.
[7]
Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played at least 10 major league seasons, have been either retired for five seasons or deceased for six months, and have not been
banned from MLB .
[8] These requirements leave 6 living players ineligible who have played in the past 5 seasons; 5 players (
Bill Joyce ,
Ferris Fain ,
Jake Stenzel ,
Bill Lange , and
George Selkirk ) who did not play 10 seasons in MLB; and
Shoeless Joe Jackson , who was banned for his role in the
Black Sox Scandal .
[9]
Key
Rank
Rank amongst leaders in career on-base percentage. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player
Name of the player.
OBP
Total career on-base percentage.
*
Denotes elected to
National Baseball Hall of Fame .
Bold
Denotes active player.
[note 1]
List
Juan Soto, the active leader and 19th all-time in career on-base percentage.
Stats updated as of July 9, 2024.
See also
Notes
^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.
References
^
"Official Rules: 10.00 The Official Scorer" . MLB.com .
Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2010 .
^ Verducci, Tom (April 5, 2004).
"Smart Stats, Dumb Stats" . CNN Sports Illustrated. Archived from
the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2010 .
^
Lewis, Michael (2003).
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game . United States: W.W. Norton & Company Inc. p.
127 .
ISBN
0-393-05765-8 .
^
a
b
"Ted Williams Statistics and History" . Baseball-Reference.com .
Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2010 .
^
a
b
"Yearly League Leaders & Records for On-Base%" . Baseball-Reference.com .
Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2010 .
^
"Barry Bonds Statistics and History" . Baseball-Reference.com .
Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2010 .
^
a
b
"Single-Season Leaders & Records for On-Base%" . Baseball-Reference.com .
Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2010 .
^
"Rules for Election: BBWAA" . National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010 .
^ Neyer, Rob (August 2, 2001).
"Say it ain't so ... for Joe and the Hall" .
ESPN Classic . ESPN Internet Ventures.
Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2010 .
External links
General Batting leaders
Career Annual Season Game Misc
Baserunning leaders
Pitching leaders
Career Annual Season Game Misc
Fielding leaders
Sabermetrics leaders Managing records Multiple stat records Other