What Does Baseball Stat Ops Mean?

A reader asks what OPS baseball stats mean.

The answer is that OPS is a combination of a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. It is used to measure a player’s overall offensive contribution.

OPS

OPS is a baseball statistic that combines a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The resulting number is used to measure a player’s overall offensive contribution. OPS is a popular stat because it captures a player’s total offensive production in a single number.

What is OPS?

In baseball, ops is a statistical measure that combines a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage. The resulting number gives a good indication of a player’s overall offensive capabilities.

The term “ops” is short for “on-base plus slugging”, and it is calculating by adding together a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage. The resulting ops number gives a good indication of a player’s ability to get on base and hit for power.

While ops is not an official baseball statistic, it is widely used by baseball analysts and fans alike. It is also used in some sabermetric models, which are used to evaluate players and make predictions about future performance.

There are some limitations to ops as a metric, but overall it is a useful tool for evaluating offensive players.

How is OPS calculated?

On-base plus slugging, or OPS, is a relatively simple baseball statistic that combines a player’s on-base percentage with their slugging percentage to measure overall offensive productivity. The calculation is simple: just add a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage together and you have their OPS.

While OPS doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about a hitter’s ability, it’s a good starting point. And because it’s easy to calculate and understand, it’s become one of the most popular statistics in baseball.

There are two important things to keep in mind when considering OPS. First, because it combines two statistics (on-base percentage and slugging percentage), it can be affected by changes in either one of those statistics. Second, because it’s a counting statistic (it counts all the hits, walks, and extra-base hits a batter gets), it is affected by playing time. So, for example, a player with a high OPS but who doesn’t play every day will have a lower OPS than a player with a lower OPS but who does play every day.

One final note: while OPS+ is often used interchangably with OPS, they are not the same thing. OPS+ is a version of OPS that has been adjusted for league average and park effects.

What is a good OPS?

OPS stands for on base plus slugging. It is a measure of a player’s ability to get on base and hit for power. The higher the OPS, the better the player is at these two things. A good OPS is typically around .800 or higher.

OPS by position

While there are sabermetric ways to calculate a player’s value, OPS+ (on-base plus slugging) is a quick, simple way to compare hitters (and pitchers) from different eras. OPS+ takes a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage and adjusts it to the league average. The final number is then adjusted so that 100 is league average, 110 is 10 percent better than league average, etc.

For example, if the league OPS is .750 and a player has an OPS of .800, his OPS+ would be 133. If the next season the league OPS increased to .775 but the player’s stayed at .800, his OPS+ would drop to 129 because he’s not as far above the new league average.

Here are the 2018 leaders in OPS+ by position:

1B – Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds (170)
2B – Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (164)
3B – Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals (143)
SS – Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians (136)
C – J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies (124)
OF – Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (168)
OF – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (165)
OF – Khris Davis, Oakland Athletics (149)

OPS by era

While OPS++ is a good measure of a player’s total offensive contributions, it’s not the be-all, end-all statistic. OPS doesn’t account for stolen bases, hit by pitches, sacrifice bunts/flies, or defensive abilities. It also relies on batting average and slugging percentage, two stats that can fluctuate greatly from year to year.

OPS is also a relative stat – it’s more useful for comparing players within the same era than across different eras. That’s because the overall level of offense has changed dramatically over time. In the early 1900s, the league-average OPS was around .600. Today, it’s around .750. So a player with an OPS of .850 in 1910 would have been about average offensively, while a player with an .850 OPS in 2010 would have been well above average.

Here’s a look at how OPS has changed over time:

1900-1910: .600
1911-1920: .655
1921-1930: .693
1931-1940: .685
1941-1950: .696
1951-1960: .728
1961-1970: .740
1971-1980: .752
1981-1990: .755
1991-2000: .753
2001-2010: .750

What is a great OPS?

OPS is a simple way of looking at a hitter’s ability to get on base and hit for power. It’s calculated by adding a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The higher the OPS, the better the hitter is.

The all-time leaders in OPS

In baseball, OPS is a statistical measure of a player’s on-base ability and their power. It is calculated by adding a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage. OPS is often used to measure a player’s overall offensive ability, and it is considered one of the most important statistics in baseball.

There are a number of different ways to calculate OPS, but the all-time leaders in OPS are generally considered to be Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Barry Bonds. These three players are often cited as the greatest hitters of all time, and their high OPS totals reflect their incredible offensive ability.

How is OPS used?

OPS is a baseball metric that combines a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The resulting number gives a good indication of a player’s ability to get on base and hit for power. OPS is often used to compare players from different positions and to compare players from different eras.

OPS and player evaluation

There are a few important things to understand when using OPS for player evaluation. First, OPS is a counting stat, which means it simply adds together two other statistics (on-base percentage and slugging percentage). You can’t use OPS to compare players from different eras or different positions. It’s also important to keep in mind that OPS doesn’t measure defense or base-running, two important aspects of the game.

That said,OPS is a useful tool for comparing hitters from the same era and position. When used in conjunction with other stats, it can give you a good idea of a player’s all-around offensive ability. For example, if you see that two hitters have similar batting averages and home run totals, but one has a significantly higher OPS, that hitter is probably getting on base more often and/or hitting for more power.

As with any stat, there are limitations to what OPS can tell you about a player. But when used correctly, it can be a helpful tool in player evaluation.

OPS and contract negotiations

In baseball, OPS has become increasingly important in contract negotiations. For example, in 2012, the Philadelphia Phillies signed first baseman Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million extension with a vesting option for a sixth year. At the time of the extension, Howard had led the National League in OPS three times and was coming off a 2011 season in which he finished fifth.

Conclusion

As you can see, OPS is a stat that encompasses both a player’s ability to get on base and their power. It’s a very useful tool for evaluating hitters, and it’s become increasingly popular in recent years. If you’re looking to get an edge on your opponents in fantasy baseball, pay close attention to OPS when making your draft picks!