Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt are the clear choices for the Most Valuable Player Awards in their respective leagues.
The latest base-value standings make the case for both stars. Judge, an outfielder for the New York Yankees, is the American League’s BV leader by a wide margin. Goldschmidt, a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, holds a similarly large advantage in the National League.
The 2022 season reached the three-quarters pole last Sunday (August 21) — 19-and-a-half weeks completed, six-and-a-half weeks to go. So I took the occasion to generate base-value stats for both leagues.
If you aren’t familiar with the formula, here’s a synopsis of the process:
I began by compiling the number of bases each batter reached through hits, walks, hit batsmen, and stolen bases, and I added the bases he picked up for his team through sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies.
Then I divided the total of bases by the number of outs the batter made. The result was an average known as BPO, bases per out. This year’s collective BPO for all big-league batters (as of August 21) was .661.
BV was determined by multiplying a given batter’s outs by the BPO for all batters. Judge, for example, made 327 outs in the first three-quarters of the season. A typical hitter in his circumstances would have reached 216 bases (327 outs multiplied by a .661 BPO). But Judge piled up 377 bases, yielding an enormous surplus of 161. So that’s his BV: plus-161.
Here’s another way to look at it: Judge got to 161 more bases than the average big leaguer would have reached under the same conditions in the first three-quarters of 2022. That was the largest overage in the American League. Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros was a distant second with a base value of 115.
There’s a similar disparity in the National League. Goldschmidt reached the three-quarters mark with a BV of plus-152. NL runner-up Juan Soto, who has played for both the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres this season, was far behind with a BV of 105.
You’ll find several breakdowns below, beginning with the 10 leaders at the three-quarters point in each league, followed by the batters with the worst BVs. The last two lists contain the best and worst BVs for each team as of August 21.
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American League top 10
1. Aaron Judge, Yankees, 161 BV
2. Yordan Alvarez, Astros, 115
3. Jose Ramirez, Guardians, 88
4. Shohei Ohtani, Angels, 81
5. Rafael Devers, Red Sox, 72
5. Mike Trout, Angels, 72
7. Jose Altuve, Astros, 67
8. Andres Gimenez, Guardians, 64
9. Matt Carpenter, Yankees, 58
9. Kyle Tucker, Astros, 58
National League top 10
1. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals, 152 BV
2. Juan Soto, Nationals-Padres, 105
3. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, 103
4. Austin Riley, Braves, 92
5. Manny Machado, Padres, 81
6. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals, 77
7. Mookie Betts, Dodgers, 76
8. Pete Alonso, Mets, 74
9. Bryce Harper, Phillies, 68
10. Trea Turner, Dodgers, 61
American League bottom 10
1. Jonathan Schoop, Tigers, -73 BV
2. Leury Garcia, White Sox, -58
2. Cristian Pache, Athletics, -58
4. Myles Straw, Guardians, -53
5. Tucker Barnhart, Tigers, -47
6. Jeimer Candelario, Tigers, -44
7. Nicky Lopez, Royals, -43
8. Andrew Velazquez, Angels, -41
9. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox-Blue Jays, -40
10. Brett Phillips, Rays-Orioles, -36
10. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers, -36
10. Abraham Toro, Mariners, -36
National League bottom 10
1. Maikel Franco, Nationals, -58 BV
2. Cesar Hernandez, Nationals, -47
3. Avisail Garcia, Marlins, -46
4. Jacob Stallings, Marlins, -44
5. Yadier Molina, Cardinals, -40
5. Tomas Nido, Mets, -40
5. Geraldo Perdomo, Diamondbacks, -40
8. Lorenzo Cain, Brewers, -36
8. Yoshi Tsutsugo, Pirates, -36
10. Robinson Cano, Mets-Padres-Braves, -35
American League team top and bottom
Angels — top BV: Shohei Ohtani, 81; bottom BV: Andrew Velazquez, -41
Astros — top BV: Yordan Alvarez, 115; bottom BV: Martin Maldonado, -27
Athletics — top BV: Sean Murphy, 22; bottom BV: Cristian Pache, -58
Blue Jays — top BV: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 57; bottom BV: Raimel Tapia, -20
Guardians — top BV: Jose Ramirez, 88; bottom BV: Myles Straw, -53
Mariners — top BV: Julio Rodriguez, 46; bottom BV:— Abraham Toro, -36
Orioles — top BV: Adley Rutschman, 38; bottom BV: Rougned Odor, -28
Rangers — top BV: Corey Seager, 39; bottom BV: Brad Miller, -27
Rays — top BV: Yandy Díaz, 36; bottom BV: Taylor Walls, -32
Red Sox — top BV: Rafael Devers, 72; bottom BV: Jackie Bradley Jr., -39
Royals — top BV: Andrew Benintendi, 22; bottom BV: Nicky Lopez, -43
Tigers — top BV: Kerry Carpenter, 6; bottom BV: Jonathan Schoop, -73
Twins — top BV: Byron Buxton, 49; bottom BV: Gilberto Celestino, -19
White Sox — top BV: Jose Abreu, 53; bottom BV: Leury Garcia, -58
Yankees — top BV: Aaron Judge, 161; bottom BV: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, -28
National League team top and bottom
Braves — top BV: Austin Riley, 92; bottom BV: Marcell Ozuna, -28
Brewers — top BV: Rowdy Tellez, 31; bottom BV: Lorenzo Cain, -36
Cardinals — top BV: Paul Goldschmidt, 152; bottom BV: Yadier Molina, -40
Cubs — top BV: Willson Contreras, 54; bottom BV:— Frank Schwindel, -29
Diamondbacks — top BV: Christian Walker, 40; bottom BV: Geraldo Perdomo, -40
Dodgers — top BV: Freddie Freeman, 103; bottom BV: Hanser Alberto, -17
Giants — top BV: Wilmer Flores and Joc Pederson, 32; bottom BV: Donovan Walton, -18
Marlins — top BV: Jazz Chisholm Jr., 43; bottom BV: Avisail Garcia, -46
Mets — top BV: Pete Alonso, 74; bottom BV: Tomas Nido, -40
Nationals — top BV: Juan Soto, 87; bottom BV: Maikel Franco, -58
Padres — top BV: Manny Machado, 81; bottom BV: Wil Myers, -20
Phillies — top BV: Bryce Harper, 68; bottom BV: Didi Gregorius, -29
Pirates — top BV: Bryan Reynolds, 43; bottom BV: Yoshi Tsutsugo, -36
Reds — top BV: Brandon Drury, 44; bottom BV: Nick Senzel, -26
Rockies — top BV: C.J. Cron, 35; bottom BV:— Sam Hilliard, -19