Astros left fielder Michael Brantley and Marlins first baseman Jesus Aguilar are on the verge of truly impressive accomplishments.
Brantley is leading the American League with a .329 batting average, and Aguilar is setting the pace in the National League with 79 runs batted in. The two sluggers are only a month and a half away from capturing the crowns in their respective categories.
But something else is even more remarkable. Brantley and Aguilar deserve extra credit because they’re succeeding despite serious home-field disadvantages:
Brantley is batting only .267 (48-for-180) in Houston’s Minute Maid Park this season, a far cry from his blistering .394 average (67-for-170) on the road.
Aguilar has hit only three homers this year in Miami’s LoanDepot Park, compared to 17 on the road. He consequently has substantially more RBIs in away games (46) than at home (33).
It’s highly unusual, of course, for a batter to generate league-leading numbers while struggling at home. That’s because hitters consistently put up much better numbers in their own ballparks.
This year’s results are typical. Big-league batters are averaging .247 in home games in 2021, running 10 points higher than their collective .237 mark on the road. And their home output of runs batted in (7,365) easily outstrips the corresponding total when away (6,966).
A total of 255 batters had made at least 100 plate appearances this season both at home and on the road (as of August 9), according to Baseball-Reference.com. They collectively reached 23,138 bases through hits, walks, hit batsmen, stolen bases, and sacrifices in home games, compared to 22,502 elsewhere.
That translates to .764 bases per out (BPO) for home batters, outperforming their road BPO of .710 by a difference of .054 (or 7.6%), truly a substantial gap.
Listed below are the 10 batters with this year’s greatest home advantages and disadvantages in BPO, along with the individual leaders for homers, RBIs, and batting average. It’s no surprise to see the Rockies heavily represented — Denver’s Coors Field is notorious for its friendliness to hitters — but you’ll also find a pair of Minnesota Twins on the advantage list.
Subscribe — free — to Baseball’s Best (and Worst)
A new installment will arrive in your email each Tuesday and Friday morning
Biggest home advantage in BPO
1. Garrett Cooper, Marlins, difference of .736 (home 1.321, away .585)
2. C.J. Cron, Rockies, difference of .540 (home 1.149, away .609)
3. Justin Upton, Angels, difference of .538 (home .982, away .444)
4. Nick Castellanos, Reds, difference of .529 (home 1.243, away .714)
5. Alex Kirilloff, Twins, difference of .508 (home .932, away .424)
6. Joshua Fuentes, Rockies, difference of .505 (home .778, away .273)
7. Garrett Hampson, Rockies, difference of .485 (home .895, away .410)
8. Brandon Belt, Giants, difference of .446 (home 1.246, away .800)
9. Tom Murphy, Mariners, difference of .418 (home .818, away .400)
10. Miguel Sano, Twins, difference of .397 (home .918, away .521)
Other home-advantage leaders
HR: C.J. Cron, Rockies, difference of 12 (home 15, away 3)
RBI: C.J. Cron, Rockies, difference of 41 (home 50, away 9)
BA: Joshua Fuentes, Rockies, difference of .148 (home .299, away .151)
Biggest home disadvantage in BPO
1. Joey Wendle, Rays, difference of -.520 (home .480, away 1.000)
2. Michael Brantley, Astros, difference of -.411 (home .625, away 1.036)
3. Eddie Rosario, Indians, difference of -.397 (home .452, away .849)
4. Carson Kelly, Diamondbacks, difference of -.369 (home .662, away 1.031)
5. Kyle Seager, Mariners, difference of -.353 (home .527, away .880)
6. Adam Duvall, Marlins-Braves, difference of -.348 (home .566, away .914)
7. Christian Yelich, Brewers, difference of -.339 (home .649, away .988)
8. Jesus Aguilar, Marlins, difference of -.314 (home .626, away .940)
9. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres, difference of -.304 (home 1.039, away 1.343)
10. Nelson Cruz, Twins-Rays, difference of -.286 (home .745, away 1.031)
Other home-disadvantage leaders
HR: Jesus Aguilar, Marlins, difference of -14 (home 3, away 17)
RBI: Kyle Seager, Mariners, difference of -21 (home 25, away 46)
BA: Joey Wendle, Rays, difference of -.142 (home .206, away .348)