Baseball is a young man’s game.
That point is made abundantly clear by the statistical record for the first two months of the current season.
Batters under the age of 30 reached 17,936 bases in April and May, nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of the total for all big leaguers. Pitchers in the same group notched 26,131 outs, accounting for 61.9% of the overall amount for the American and National Leagues.
But that doesn’t mean that players of all ages — well, all ages up to 41 — aren’t having successful seasons. I’ve broken the two-month results into seven groups, each consisting of three consecutive ages, to highlight a wide range of top performers.
My stat of choice, as usual, is bases. I counted the number of bases reached by batters through hits, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and sacrifices. You know the drill. (If not, check here.)
The typical batter reached .665 bases per out (BPO) in April and May, the standard that determines the base balance for each hitter and pitcher.
Let’s use Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as an example. He made 133 outs during the two months. The typical batter with the same number of outs would have reached 88 bases (in line with a .665 BPO). But Guerrero piled up 156 bases, giving him an enormous base balance of plus-68, the best in the major leagues.
The scale tips the other way for pitchers. A minus balance is best, since it indicates that the pitcher is yielding fewer bases than normal. Brandon Woodruff of the Brewers was the top pitcher in April and May, as indicated by his balance of minus-76.
The following summaries highlight the cumulative records for batters and pitchers in each age group, including their percentages of the overall totals of bases and outs. Collective base balances are also shown for batters and pitchers in every category. I use “better” and “worse” for those entries — rather than plus and minus — simply to avoid confusion.
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21-23 years old
Batters’ record: 1,458 bases reached (5.2% of overall total), 1,989 outs (4.7%)
Pitchers’ record: 1,099 bases allowed (3.9% of overall total), 1,691 outs (4.0%)
Collective balance for batters: 135 bases better
Collective balance for pitchers: 26 bases better
Notes: There are three dominant stars in the youngest age group. Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as noted above, tops all big-league batters with a positive balance of 68 bases for the first two months, based on 16 homers and a .323 batting average. He celebrated his 22nd birthday in March. San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., also 22 years old, is second in the overall rankings at plus-64, and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. (age 23) is close behind at plus-59.
24-26 years old
Batters’ record: 7,154 bases reached (25.5% of overall total), 11,089 outs (26.2%)
Pitchers’ record: 7,876 bases allowed (28.0% of overall total), 11,448 outs (27.1%)
Collective balance for batters: 220 bases worse
Collective balance for pitchers: 263 bases worse
Notes: Rafael Devers (age 24) of the Red Sox and Shohei Ohtani (26) of the Angels share the best batting records in this group, tied with two-month balances of plus-43. Ohtani, of course, also contributes as a pitcher. His balance of minus-9 means he is nine bases better than average from the mound. The top pitcher in the 24-26 cohort is Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes (26) at minus-38 bases.
27-29 years old
Batters’ record: 9,324 bases reached (33.2% of overall total), 14,079 outs (33.3%)
Pitchers’ record: 8,750 bases allowed (31.1% of overall total), 12,992 outs (30.8%)
Collective balance for batters: 39 bases worse
Collective balance for pitchers: 110 bases worse
Notes: This is the dominant age group in baseball, producing roughly one-third of all bases and outs. At the top of the hitting standings is a pair of 29-year-olds, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Nick Castellanos, both with balances of plus-55. Jesse Winker (age 27) of the Reds is two steps behind at plus-53. But the top performer in the 27-29 category is a pitcher, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff (28), who leads the majors with his previously mentioned base balance of minus-76.
30-32 years old
Batters’ record: 6,593 bases reached (23.5% of overall total), 9,847 outs (23.3%)
Pitchers’ record: 5,546 bases allowed (19.7% of overall total), 8,664 outs (20.5%)
Collective balance for batters: 45 bases better
Collective balance for pitchers: 216 bases better
Notes: The ranks begin to thin out after players pass their 30th birthdays, though several strong performers remain. Max Muncy of the Dodgers and Marcus Semien of the Blue Jays, both 30 years old, are the top producers at the plate. Muncy’s two-month balance is plus-63, while Semien’s is plus-47. Kevin Gausman (age 30) of the Giants is the leading pitcher, based on his balance of minus-59. Next is Gerrit Cole (also 30) of the Yankees at minus-51.
33-35 years old
Batters’ record: 2,647 bases reached (9.4% of overall total), 3,786 outs (9.0%)
Pitchers’ record: 3,389 bases allowed (12.1% of overall total), 5,255 outs (12.4%)
Collective balance for batters: 129 bases better
Collective balance for pitchers: 106 bases better
Notes: Boston’s J.D. Martinez and San Francisco’s Buster Posey are viewed as baseball’s versions of senior citizens, though their respective ages are just 33 and 34. They lead the batters in this group with respective two-month balances of plus-44 and plus-33. There’s no doubt about the dominant pitcher in the 33-35 category. Jacob deGrom of the Mets will celebrate his 33rd birthday later this month. His base balance is a dazzling minus-50.
36-38 years old
Batters’ record: 769 bases reached (2.7% of overall total), 1,209 outs (2.9%)
Pitchers’ record: 1,228 bases allowed (4.4% of overall total), 1,839 outs (4.4%)
Collective balance for batters: 35 bases worse
Collective balance for pitchers: 5 bases worse
Notes: Only four batters in this group have batting balances that reach double digits, led by 37-year-old Yuli Gurriel of the Astros at plus-30. The runner-ups are Justin Turner (age 36) of the Dodgers at plus-21, Yadier Molina (38) of the Cardinals at plus-13, and Ryan Zimmerman (36) of the Nationals at plus-12. Washington’s Max Scherzer (36) is the outstanding pitcher in this category, with a balance of minus-38.
39-41 years old
Batters’ record: 164 bases reached (0.6% of overall total), 250 outs (0.6%)
Pitchers’ record: 221 bases allowed (0.8% of overall total), 361 outs (0.9%)
Collective balance for batters: 2 bases worse
Collective balance for pitchers: 19 bases better
Notes: Nelson Cruz of the Twins is 40 years old, soon to turn 41 at the beginning of next month. He’s also the only batter in 39-41 group with a positive balance, an impressive plus-20. The most successful pitcher in this ancient category is Rich Hill of the Rays, who is already 41. He sits at minus-14 bases for the first two months of the 2021 season.