Top Ten Years Position Player - 2000s

One year to go in Steroid decade number two and it's even more dicey to try and compare players who may have used and may not have used performance enhancing drugs. Of the players on the Top Ten list, only two have not been linked to its use. But we'll let the numbers speak for themselves, and just pose one question. If some of these seasons were aided, and you removed them from the list, just how great do the 1920s seasons of Babe Ruth look again.

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 3 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 2001 SFN NL 73 137 0.328 37 55.207
2 5 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 2002 SFN NL 46 110 0.370 38 54.848
3 16 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 2004 SFN NL 45 101 0.362 40 48.632
4 56 rodrial01 Rodriguez Alex 2007 NYA AL 54 156 0.314 32 40.717
5 71 sosasa01 Sosa Sammy 2001 CHN NL 64 160 0.328 33 38.918
6 105 pujolal01 Pujols Albert 2006 SLN NL 49 137 0.331 26 36.422
7 127 howarry01 Howard Ryan 2006 PHI NL 58 149 0.313 27 35.507
8 147 giambja01 Giambi Jason 2000 OAK AL 43 137 0.333 29 34.676
9 150 rodrial01 Rodriguez Alex 2000 SEA AL 41 132 0.316 25 34.588
10 162 rodrial01 Rodriguez Alex 2005 NYA AL 48 130 0.321 30 34.230

Best Position Player Seasons Ever - Top 100 All-Time

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1990s

Yes, it does. (How did steroids effect the stats, and therefore, the rankings of the best seasons of the decade in the 1990s) Start to get a little sticky this decade as, at least as far as we know, the statistics of the game of baseball began to get marred with the inclusion of steroids into the game. Now, none of us know how pervasive it was, and even with the rumors that some of the best in the game, some included on the list below, have had their names brought through that ringer, we don't now if the playing field was even at all. And if we accept the fact, an unknown one, that the steroid era was predominantly from 1998 to 2003, it could have been much broader.

The year Barry Bonds had in 1993, presumably well before his alleged steroid use began, is one of the best cases he has going forward that Barry Bonds had a deserved Hall of Fame career. Playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bonds was a five tool threat that year, raising his PEVA-B rating to 43.404. Look a little further down the list and you see Mark McGwire's 1998 season, rated 4th in the decade. McGwire did not lead MLB in Run Production that season, 277 to the 292 for Sammy Sosa, his compatriot in the chase for the Home Run Title, now defaced by the rumors of performance enhancing substance use during the chase. And what about Sosa? Where is he on the list? Sosa did not make the top of the list, with an OBP of only 0.377 and an SLG well below the league's best.


D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 29 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 1993 SFN NL 46 123 0.336 29 43.404
2 49 thomafr04 Thomas Frank 1994 CHA AL 38 101 0.353 26 41.278
3 52 piazzmi01 Piazza Mike 1997 LAN NL 40 124 0.362 29 41.108
4 55 mcgwima01 McGwire Mark 1998 SLN NL 70 147 0.299 35 40.809
5 80 bagweje01 Bagwell Jeff 1994 HOU NL 39 116 0.368 26 38.044
6 112 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 1990 PIT NL 33 114 0.301 26 36.095
7 114 thomafr04 Thomas Frank 1991 CHA AL 32 109 0.318 23 36.023
8 115 bagweje01 Bagwell Jeff 1999 HOU NL 42 126 0.304 31 35.960
9 118 ripkeca01 Ripken Jr. Cal 1991 BAL AL 34 114 0.323 31 35.853
10 130 bondsba01 Bonds Barry 1992 PIT NL 34 103 0.311 28 35.418

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1980s

Although the decade of the 1980s was less predominant in the number of great years by position players with only 12 rising above the 32.000 PEVA level, the great players of the 1980s were often good, all-around players with good defensive skills. But it still comes as some surprise that the year which ranks as the best is from Robin Yount. Yount's play for Milwaukee in 1982 can get overshadowed, but as a shortstop, he knocked in 114 Runs in a pitcher's stat era, had the highest SLG in a pitcher's park, and batted 0.331, all adding up to the 1st place rating of 45.717. Not far behind was Mike Schmidt in the strike year of 1981. (The short season of a strike year does not count against a player's PEVA rating)


D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 21 yountro01 Yount Robin 1982 ML4 AL 29 114 0.331 27 45.717
2 53 schmimi01 Schmidt Mike 1981 PHI NL 31 91 0.316 32 40.963
3 69 brettge01 Brett George 1985 KCA AL 30 112 0.335 32 39.324
4 90 murraed02 Murray Eddie 1984 BAL AL 29 110 0.306 28 37.406
5 111 cansejo01 Canseco Jose 1988 OAK AL 42 124 0.307 24 36.135
6 116 ripkeca01 Ripken Jr. Cal 1984 BAL AL 27 86 0.304 24 35.874
7 119 evansdw01 Evans Dwight 1984 BOS AL 32 104 0.295 33 35.847
8 133 mattido01 Mattingly Don 1986 NYA AL 31 113 0.352 25 35.246
9 149 boggswa01 Boggs Wade 1987 BOS AL 24 89 0.363 29 34.592
10 178 cartega01 Carter Gary 1982 MON NL 29 97 0.293 28 33.521

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1970s

For the first time in history, it was a catcher dominated a best season of the decade list, and there should be no surprise that it came from Johnny Bench. For fans of the game today under the age of 30, it's hard to fathom a catcher, and the best defensive catcher to boot, that could hit as well as Bench. Yes, there were the years of Mike Piazza during the last decade (but Piazza was a poor defensive catcher), and Piazza's career from a hitting standpoint did approach that of Bench. But Johnny hit 40 HR, knocked in 125 RBI and had a maximum catcher FV of 2.10 in 1972, good enough, by far, to rank as the #1 year of the decade.

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 41 benchjo01 Bench Johnny 1972 CIN NL 40 125 0.270 25 42.271
2 144 allendi01 Allen Dick 1972 CHA AL 37 113 0.308 30 34.744
3 152 torrejo01 Torre Joe 1971 SLN NL 24 137 0.363 31 34.530
4 161 fostege01 Foster George 1977 CIN NL 52 149 0.320 29 34.233
5 167 schmimi01 Schmidt Mike 1974 PHI NL 36 116 0.282 25 34.027
6 176 stargwi01 Stargell Willie 1973 PIT NL 44 119 0.299 33 33.533
7 182 lynnfr01 Lynn Fred 1979 BOS AL 39 122 0.333 27 33.455
8 185 murcebo01 Murcer Bobby 1971 NYA AL 25 94 0.331 25 33.373
9 191 benchjo01 Bench Johnny 1974 CIN NL 33 129 0.280 27 33.034
10 193 morgajo02 Morgan Joe 1976 CIN NL 27 111 0.320 33 32.946

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1960s

With many of the great players from the 1950s playing at a high level in the early 1960s, it is not surprising to see Mays, Mantle, and Aaron predominant the Top Ten list of Position Player seasons during that decade as well. But despite their inclusion five times on the list, it was the year of Frank Robinson for the Cincinnati Reds in 1962 that took the top spot. Combined with power production that produced 136 RBI and 39 HR, his 0.342 batting average elevated Robinson to the top spot in the decade, one year after winning the MVP award in 1961. But guess what, folks, he didn't win the MVP in this most dominant year of the decade. Maury Wills did. Just goes to show you just how important being on a winning squad can be, and how fickle using MVP awards won as a criteria for greatness.

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 24 robinfr02 Robinson Frank 1962 CIN NL 39 136 0.342 27 44.982
2 31 mayswi01 Mays Willie 1965 SFN NL 52 112 0.317 34 43.109
3 32 robinfr02 Robinson Frank 1966 BAL AL 49 122 0.316 31 42.918
4 38 mantlmi01 Mantle Mickey 1961 NYA AL 54 128 0.317 30 42.398
5 39 mantlmi01 Mantle Mickey 1960 NYA AL 40 94 0.275 29 42.394
6 48 matheed01 Mathews Eddie 1960 ML1 NL 39 124 0.277 29 41.382
7 54 mayswi01 Mays Willie 1962 SFN NL 49 141 0.304 31 40.947
8 59 yastrca01 Yastrzemski Carl 1967 BOS AL 44 121 0.326 28 40.383
9 61 aaronha01 Aaron Hank 1963 ML1 NL 44 130 0.319 29 40.268
10 72 mayswi01 Mays Willie 1960 SFN NL 29 103 0.319 29 38.898

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1950s

With all these great players in the most dominant hitting decade of them all, what is Al Rosen doing at the top of the list of best seasons of the 1950s? Geez, among the 27 players who had seasons above the 32.000 PEVA level from 1950 to 1959, how could Al top Mantle, Aaron, Mathews, and Mays? Well, the Cleveland Indians star had a fantastic year in 1953. Beyond the stats listed below, he also scored 115 runs, had 85 walks and only 48 strikeouts. That's 48 strikeouts for a player with 43 homers, folks. Tell that to Ryan Howard. Then there's an OPS of 1.035, and the top rated Field Value for a 3B that year at 1.70. Now he wasn't dominant above the fold compared to the average in those categories as a Ruth, Gehrig, or Bonds in the Top Ten of All-Time Seasons, but his PEVA of 48.401 was good enough to rank #17 All-Time.

But how did he compare to those other greats of the 1950s. Let's take the top three and compare their interval PEVA factors. Although Mantle exceeded Rosen in IPR-SLG, with a dominant 2.07 factor, Mantle's durability factors kept his overall PEVA just slightly below Rosen. With Aaron's 1959 season, while his durability factors were even higher than Rosen's during Aaron's 1959 season, his FV and IPR-OBP factors pulled the overall PEVA into third place. D=Durability (G, PA); RPR (Run Production); FV (Field Value); IPR (Independent Production SLG, OBP)

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 17 rosenal01 Rosen Al 1953 CLE AL 43 145 0.336 29 48.401
2 18 mantlmi01 Mantle Mickey 1956 NYA AL 52 130 0.353 25 47.236
3 45 aaronha01 Aaron Hank 1959 ML1 NL 39 123 0.355 25 41.920
4 47 matheed01 Mathews Eddie 1953 ML1 NL 47 135 0.302 22 41.677
5 57 mantlmi01 Mantle Mickey 1957 NYA AL 34 94 0.365 26 40.637
6 58 musiast01 Musial Stan 1953 SLN NL 30 113 0.337 33 40.502
7 68 mayswi01 Mays Willie 1955 NY1 NL 51 127 0.319 24 39.404
8 74 snidedu01 Snider Duke 1953 BRO NL 42 126 0.336 27 38.655
9 76 matheed01 Mathews Eddie 1959 ML1 NL 46 114 0.306 28 38.592
10 78 camparo01 Campanella Roy 1953 BRO NL 41 142 0.312 32 38.348

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1940s

Notice the hole in the middle of the Ted Williams legacy. World War II robbed Williams of a chance to jump way up the best player of all-time list when those missing years are added in, but even despite that gap, his career still ranks #6 in Total PEVA for a career. But there's no denying just who stands out in the 1940s as having the best seasons of the decade. Taking the top 4 on the list, Ted Williams not only was the last player to bat 0.400 for a season in 1941, the #2 year on the list, but followed that up with arguably a better season, with 36 HR, 137 RBI, and a 0.356 average.

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 6 willite01 Williams Ted 1942 BOS AL 36 137 0.356 24 52.075
2 8 willite01 Williams Ted 1941 BOS AL 37 120 0.406 23 51.730
3 26 willite01 Williams Ted 1946 BOS AL 38 123 0.342 28 44.043
4 46 willite01 Williams Ted 1949 BOS AL 43 159 0.343 31 41.778
5 50 musiast01 Musial Stan 1943 SLN NL 13 81 0.357 23 41.278
6 63 holmeto01 Holmes Tommy 1945 BSN NL 28 117 0.352 28 40.065
7 73 musiast01 Musial Stan 1944 SLN NL 12 94 0.347 24 38.717
8 83 dimagjo01 DiMaggio Joe 1941 NYA AL 30 125 0.357 27 37.809
9 104 willite01 Williams Ted 1947 BOS AL 32 114 0.343 29 36.436
10 121 musiast01 Musial Stan 1948 SLN NL 39 131 0.376 28 35.811

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1930s

Although his best years did not quite reach Ruthian levels, the decade of the 1930s would once again belong to a Bronx bomber. This time, Lou Gehrig, with a big push from Jimmie Foxx, would take five spots on the Top Ten List of the best seasons by a position player in the 1930s. With 49 HR, 165 RBI, and a 0.363 batting average in 1934, Gehrig would jump to the top of the list at 50.136 PEVA.

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 13 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1934 NYA AL 49 165 0.363 31 50.136
2 20 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1936 NYA AL 49 152 0.354 33 45.995
3 36 foxxji01 Foxx Jimmie 1933 PHA AL 48 163 0.356 26 42.539
4 43 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1931 NYA AL 46 163 0.373 36 41.968
5 51 foxxji01 Foxx Jimmie 1932 PHA AL 58 169 0.364 25 41.252
6 62 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1931 NYA AL 46 184 0.341 28 40.131
7 65 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1930 NYA AL 41 174 0.379 27 39.839
8 70 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1930 NYA AL 49 153 0.359 35 39.019
9 84 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1937 NYA AL 37 159 0.351 34 37.760
10 88 foxxji01 Foxx Jimmie 1938 BOS AL 50 175 0.349 31 37.579

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1920s

The most dominant player ever! The most dominant decade ever! Babe Ruth pounded his way through the 1920s like no other player over a specific period of time in the history of the game, and that dominance was not even close to ever being challenged, even through the present day, not even in the steroid allegation era of Bonds, McGwire, and Rodriguez, and including the statistically challenging seasons from 1998 to 2003. Babe Ruth produced six seasons above 50.000 PEVA in the 1920s alone (there are only 7 more in the history of baseball from position players), and took 7 of the Top Ten years of the decade. And the dominance was not just HR oriented, check out his OBP and SLG in those years compared to the league average. His #1 year in the run was 1923, when he added a 0.393 batting average to the power mix.

But what may be just as important to note about this decade and its relationship to how PEVA is constructed. One dominant player during a season does not preclude another player from dominance as well. Because PEVA does not use a player's ranking in a category, but the player's relationship on the continuum of Maximum to Average values, Lou Gehrig could produce the #11 Best Season in Baseball History (Position Players) in the same year Ruth came in at #7 All-Time.


D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 1 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1923 NYA AL 41 131 0.393 28 58.931
2 2 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1920 NYA AL 54 137 0.376 25 55.754
3 4 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1921 NYA AL 59 171 0.378 26 54.876
4 7 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1927 NYA AL 60 164 0.356 32 51.850
5 9 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1926 NYA AL 47 146 0.372 31 51.603
6 10 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1924 NYA AL 46 121 0.378 29 51.324
7 11 gehrilo01 Gehrig Lou 1927 NYA AL 47 175 0.373 24 50.953
8 23 hornsro01 Hornsby Rogers 1922 SLN NL 42 152 0.401 26 45.149
9 44 hornsro01 Hornsby Rogers 1929 CHN NL 39 149 0.380 33 41.923
10 64 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1928 NYA AL 54 142 0.323 33 40.061

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1910s

Here comes the Babe! But he wasn't the best this decade, only reaching #2 with his Boston year in 1919, prior to his coming dominance one decade in the future. For the 1910s, there were Cobbs, Speakers, and even a disgraced Joe Jackson to contend with. And at the top of the list was the gruff Tiger Cobb, who in 1917, produced a year with a PEVA rating of 48.911 that jumped to the top of the decade Top Ten list. Batting 0.383 with 102 RBI, Cobb's year was one of four that decade that indicated his dominance of the players in his decade. But perhaps the most striking thing about this list is the figure that pops out beside the Bambino in 1919. Babe Ruth hit 29 home runs that year, low in any era to come, but not far below the total, 49, for the other nine players on the best players of the decade list combined. Oh, what was to come!

Top Ten Years of the 1910s

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 14 cobbty01 Cobb Ty 1917 DET AL 6 102 0.383 31 48.911
2 22 ruthba01 Ruth Babe 1919 BOS AL 29 114 0.322 24 45.484
3 28 cobbty01 Cobb Ty 1915 DET AL 3 99 0.369 29 43.671
4 30 speaktr01 Speaker Tris 1912 BOS AL 10 90 0.383 24 43.198
5 37 cobbty01 Cobb Ty 1911 DET AL 8 127 0.420 25 42.464
6 40 speaktr01 Speaker Tris 1916 CLE AL 2 79 0.386 28 42.388
7 81 jacksjo01 Jackson Joe 1912 CLE AL 3 90 0.395 23 37.904
8 85 cobbty01 Cobb Ty 1918 DET AL 3 64 0.382 32 37.701
9 92 speaktr01 Speaker Tris 1914 BOS AL 4 90 0.338 26 37.327
10 101 bakerfr01 Baker Frank 1912 PHA AL 10 130 0.347 26 36.589

Code: D/A Rank - Decade/All-Time Rank
Age: Age at end of year

PEVA Scoreboard
Above 32.000 - Fantastic, MVP candidate
Above 20.000 - All League Player
Above 15.0000 - All Star Player
Above 10.000 - Very Good Player
3.500 - Average Player

Manny, Steroids, and the Money Train

It's time to put a stop to this. To the continual drip of the steroid juice onto the news pages of baseball, to the careers of what one had assumed was a Hall of Fame player, to the proclivity of a baseball player to harm the game of baseball or even themselves. Oh, I know, how harmed is Manny with all the money he's made. Does he really care about reputation? Or honesty? Or integrity? Or not cheating the game? Probably not. But whether Manny, or ARod, or any of the other supposed cheats of this era care or not, we do, and curing this problem, is not as hard to do as many would think. Okay, MLB and the Union have been moving in a better direction with 50 game suspensions and testing programs for PED's that are currently detectible, but it hasn't gone far enough. On to the new plan, and yes, we'll build on the one already in place and take into consideration you have a Union to bargain with on any new additions to it.

1) The first time penalty should be two-tiered, with the 50 game suspension for those that unknowingly had a PED in their system due to a health store supplement or doctor's script legitimately taken. But, at the discretion of baseball and after a hearing that the player would have to request, if the infraction rose above that level, then a 1 year ban for a first time offense would be invoked.

2) No matter whether it was the 50 game, or 1 year suspension level, not only would the player lose his salary for those suspended game, but he would play the remainder of the year, or subsequent year, (112 games for the 50 game type; 162 games for the 1 year type) at the MLB minimum level (currently $400,000). How harmed is Manny now with the $7.5 million dollar hit when he's coming back in July to make $18 million more for the year? He might think twice if the money train was going to cost him a whole lot more.

3) Any player caught using PEDs would automatically have his current contract revoked. Yes, revoked, Manny would not be due $1 more on the current deal, which may have been illegally obtained due to stats gotten under PED performances. Not one $ more of the $38 million dollars still to come. Any new contract would have to wait until after the 50 game or 1 year suspension and time period of playing under the MLB minimum, per #2 above.

4) #3 above also applies to anyone who admits, or is caught for, PED use, prior to the current year. ARod, you are now playing for the minimum, and the Yankees don't owe you a dime more, if they don't want.

5) All players on the 40 man roster would be subject to a mandatory checking of any prescription with the team doctor to check whether it breached the league PED policy. Not a hard thing to accomplish and it would get rid of doubts, i.e. Manny, of an outside physician making a mistake, or prescribing something that he/she shouldn't.

Would these steps eradicate the problem? Probably not. It wouldn't stop a young Dominican from trying to get his first payday, or a minor leaguer just trying to make the show, or hang onto the show. But it might just get rid of most of the arrogant, self-absorbing, money grubbing players who think they deserve Hall of Fame adulation and record shattering feats, along with obscene, ticket raising salaries, for steroid abusing performances, if they knew the money train was ending if they got caught.

Time to toughen it up, folks, and the time is now!

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1900s

Best Batting Years of the 1900s

American League and National League, together for the first decade, although not quite fully integrated since the American League's entrance was not until 1901. But the top season for a MLB player from the decade would remain with the National League with the shortstop from the Pirates, Honus Wagner. At 34 years of age, Wagner produced a 0.354 Batting Average and 109 RBI and 48.837 PEVA in 1908. And with two others years in the decade's Top Ten in 1905 and 1907, ushered in, for really the first time, the era of the producing shortstop that continues today with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez (prior to his shift to 3B), Hanley Ramirez, and others. But even with the addition of Cal Ripken in the 1980s and 1990s, there has yet to be a better shortstop in the history of the game, and his year in 1908 goes a long way toward proving that point, a point he would continue to add to in his entire career. Was Alex Rodriguez ever as good a player as Honus Wagner? I guess that depends both on your view of his steroid use and how the rest of this decade plays out.

TOP TEN YEARS - BATTING - 1900's

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 15 wagneho01 Wagner Honus 1908 PIT NL 10 109 0.354 34 48.837
2 33 stonege01 Stone George 1906 SLA AL 6 71 0.358 30 42.914
3 66 cobbty01 Cobb Ty 1909 DET AL 9 107 0.377 23 39.724
4 75 lajoina01 Lajoie Nap 1901 PHA AL 14 125 0.426 27 38.604
5 86 flickel01 Flick Elmer 1900 PHI NL 11 110 0.367 24 37.675
6 113 sheckji01 Sheckard Jimmy 1903 BRO NL 9 75 0.332 25 36.040
7 117 seymocy01 Seymour Cy 1905 CIN NL 8 121 0.377 33 35.870
8 120 wagneho01 Wagner Honus 1907 PIT NL 6 82 0.350 33 35.816
9 128 wagneho01 Wagner Honus 1905 PIT NL 6 101 0.363 31 35.473
10 146 delahed01 Delahanty Ed 1902 WS1 AL 10 93 0.376 35 34.689

Code: D/A Rank - Decade/All-Time Rank
Age: Age at end of year

PEVA Scoreboard
Above 32.000 - Fantastic, MVP candidate
Above 20.000 - All League Player
Above 15.0000 - All Star Player
Above 10.000 - Very Good Player
3.500 - Average Player

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1890s

Best Batting Years of the 1890s

Without the American League yet on the horizon and a short stay by the American Association, baseball was dominated in the decade of the 1890s by the players of the National League. And none had a more profound effect on the dominant years of the decade than the man many people forget on their list of all-time greats. Ed Delahanty. While many in his team home town now place the years of Mike Schmidt or Ryan Howard, even Chuck Klein, at the top of the list of their all-time great seasons, it was the pre-1900 player Delahanty who deserves the most accolades. With 137 RBI generated from only 9 HR in 1899, Delahanty batted 0.410 on his way to the best year of the decade, with a PEVA-B Rating of 42.557. And as you can see from the list below, he wasn't done with the 1899 season, as his years in 1896, 1893, and1897 were also in the Top Ten. Guess, that's why he's in the Hall of Fame, and ranked #19 All-Time in the Best Players Ever List, too.

TOP TEN YEARS - BATTING - 1890s

D/ARank Player ID Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 35 delahed01 Delahanty Ed 1899 PHI NL 9 137 0.410 32 42.557
2 42 broutda01 Brouthers Dan 1892 BRO NL 5 124 0.335 34 42.196
3 60 delahed01 Delahanty Ed 1896 PHI NL 13 126 0.397 29 40.317
4 95 kellejo01 Kelley Joe 1896 BLN NL 8 100 0.364 25 36.936
5 97 delahed01 Delahanty Ed 1893 PHI NL 19 146 0.368 26 36.872
6 129 duffyhu01 Duffy Hugh 1894 BSN NL 18 145 0.440 28 35.452
7 132 delahed01 Delahanty Ed 1897 PHI NL 5 96 0.377 30 35.320
8 139 hamilbi01 Hamilton Billy 1894 PHI NL 4 87 0.404 28 34.987
9 141 broutda01 Brouthers Dan 1891 BS2 AA 5 109 0.350 33 34.762
10 153 keelewi01 Keeler Willie 1897 BLN NL 0 74 0.424 25 34.488

Code: D/A Rank - Decade/All-Time Rank
Age: Age at end of year

PEVA Scoreboard
Above 32.000 - Fantastic, MVP candidate
Above 20.000 - All League Player
Above 15.0000 - All Star Player
Above 10.000 - Very Good Player
3.500 - Average Player

Top Ten Years Position Player - 1880s

Best Batting Years of the 1880s

Another decade of short seasons and leagues not around today, except the National, of course, brought a short amount of dominant years. In fact, the decade of the 1880s produced the fewest number of above 32.000 PEVA seasons in history, with only 9. That's far behind what many think as the best years for hitting, despite the steroid days of the recent decades, when the 1950 saw 27 players reach the 32.000 PEVA level. But then, again, what's the surprise. Mays, Aaron, Snider, Banks, and Mantle all played in that decade, after all.

Dominant Batting Decades (# of player above 32 PEVA)
1950s - 27, 1960s - 21, 1910s - 19, 1930s - 18, 1990s - 17
2000s - 16 (through 2008), 1920s - 16, 1900s - 15, 1940s - 14
1870s - 12, 1970s - 12, 1980s - 12
1890s - 11, 1880s - 9

What position player had the best year of the 1880s. Dan Brouthers of the Buffalo Bisons. In 1883, future Hall of Fame player Brouthers played in 98 games for the Bisons in a home park, Riverside Park, that was slightly favorable to hitters, 102 PF. While not a home run hitter, Brouthers produced runs. His 97 RBI led Major League Baseball, as did his 182 RPR (Runs+RBI). He also led baseball in SLG and OBP, although neither were dominant, in historic terms, compared to the average SLG or OBP at the time. All this and more added up to the best year of the decade, slightly better than contemporaries Cap Anson and Fred Dunlap, with a PEVA-B score of 39.597, good for #67 All-Time.

TOP TEN YEARS - BATTING - 1880s

D/ARank Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 67 Brouthers Dan 1883 BFN NL 3 97 0.374 25 39.597
2 79 Anson Cap 1881 CHN NL 1 82 0.399 29 38.143
3 89 Dunlap Fred 1884 SLU UA 13 NA 0.412 25 37.571
4 124 Browning Pete 1885 LS2 AA 9 73 0.362 24 35.668
5 156 Brouthers Dan 1882 BFN NL 6 63 0.368 24 34.359
6 158 Stovey Harry 1889 PH4 AA 19 119 0.308 33 34.320
7 184 Connor Roger 1885 NY1 NL 1 65 0.371 28 33.375
8 198 Kelly King 1884 CHN NL 13 95 0.354 27 32.756
9 212 Dalrymple Abner 1880 CHN NL 0 36 0.330 23 32.143
10 NA O'Neill Tip 1887 SL4 NL 14 123 0.435 NA 31.789

Code: D/A Rank - Decade/All-Time Rank
Age: Age at end of year

PEVA Scoreboard
Above 32.000 - Fantastic, MVP candidate
Above 20.000 - All League Player
Above 15.0000 - All Star Player
Above 10.000 - Very Good Player
3.500 - Average Player

Top Ten Years Position Players - 1870s

Stat Geek Baseball presents the Top Ten of the Decade blog series. This blog is the 1st in our series of Top Ten Position Player Lists, first starting with the best of the 1870s. A new article will appear every two days through the end of May, counting down each decade from 1870 through the present day. Stop back and find out who the best players were in the decade of your choice, where they ranked overall in the history of baseball, and how the decade ranked as well.

First, we'll start out with an explanation of the PEVA player rating system. First off, it's complicated, and based on what types of production, plus fielding, produce how players have been paid since 1995. The PEVA system is based from 0 (actually 0.200) to 64.000. No player, over an entire season, has ever reached the maximum 64.000 level. It's hard, although not impossible to do. How would a player reach that level? He would have to rank at the top of the year's stats in three PEVA categories (Games, Plate Appearances, Runs + RBI) and play in a home park with a Park Factor even or below average Park Factor over the last three years. He would have to have a Slugging Percentage and On Base Percentage that dominated the year, and a Fielding Value (when modified by that dominance) would rank at the top of the year's stats as well.

But when you say dominance, what do you mean? The entire PEVA system is based on maximum and average yearly values and how a player rates below and above that level, then modified for park factor. So in those six categories mentioned, as far as a position player goes, (Games, Plate Appearances, Runs+RBI, Slugging Percentage, On Base Percentage, Field Value), the more dominant a player is between the average and the maximum, the higher his PEVA Rating Score. It is not, however, a purely 1:1 relationship, as certain value are modified based on how other factors dominant. Sorry, but it is complicated, (5,000 hours worth) but in the end produces a PEVA value that correlates to salary. And it does not matter what the era of the player was; PEVA is valid in a comparative basis from one era to the next.

PEVA Scoreboard
Above 32.000 - Fantastic, MVP candidate
Above 20.000 - All League Player
Above 15.0000 - All Star Player
Above 10.000 - Very Good Player
3.500 - Average Player

Now past the boring part, and on to the lists.

Best Batting Years of the 1870s

Not household names today, and often not highly regarded in the Hall of Fame discussions due to a low amount of games played and counting stats during the seasons of the decade, the decade of the 1870s produced 12 players with a PEVA score about 32.000 and player that should get a lot of credit for the years they produced. Folks, Ross Barnes, Deacon White, and Paul Hines should be in the Hall of Fame. It's not their fault they didn't play 162 game seasons and with a ball that could soar out of small ballparks.

What position player had the best year of the 1870s. Orator Shaffer played for the Indianapolis Blues in 1878, in a park so hard to hit in, South Street Park, that it's Park Factor was 87. Kinda like playing in Petco Park today. In a year when the maximum number of games played was 63, the most HRs hit was 4 and the total amount of homers was 23 for the entire league. Orator Shaffer did not hit a Home Run in 1878, but he dominated the year in other categories, ... he played the most games, 63, had an OBP and SLG percentages that when adjusted for playing in the tough hitting park, placed him above the Max Dominant Factor for those categories, and was one of the best fielding outfielders in baseball, with good range and a good arm. All in all, Orator Shaffer had the best year of all position players in the 1870s, at 50.240 PEVA rating score, which ranks #12 overall in baseball history. And all this for a player with 0 home runs.

TOP TEN YEARS - BATTING - 1870s

D/ARank Name First Year Team Lg HR RBI AVG Age PEVA-B
1 /12 Shaffer Orator 1878 IN1 NL 0 30 0.338 27 50.240
2 /19 Barnes Ross 1876 CHN NL 1 59 0.429 26 46.554
3 /25 Jones Charley 1879 BSN NL 9 62 0.315 29 44.728
4 /27 Hines Paul 1879 PRO NL 2 52 0.357 24 43.731
5 /34 Barnes Ross 1873 BS1 NA 2 62 0.425 23 42.762
6 /77 Hines Paul 1878 PRO NL 4 50 0.358 23 38.405
7 /110 White Deacon 1877 BSN NL 2 49 0.387 30 36.179
8 /125 McVey Cal 1875 BS1 NA 3 87 0.355 26 35.627
9 /137 White Deacon 1875 BS1 NA 1 60 0.367 28 35.065
10 /192 Barnes Ross 1871 BS1 NA 0 34 0.401 21 32.973

Code: D/A Rank - Decade/All-Time Rank
Age: Age at end of year