Who’s the Best Player in Baseball?
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The answer to this age-old question is difficult to determine. However, we can take a look at some of the best players in baseball and try to make a decision.
Mike Trout
Mike Trout is an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. Trout is a five-time All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP), and is considered to be one of the best players in baseball. In 2019, he won the AL MVP award for the third time in his career. Trout has also won five Silver Slugger Awards and two Hank Aaron Awards.
Hitting
Trout is a five-tool player, a term used for a player who excels in all aspects of the game. He has above-average speed, great power, and an exceptional batting eye. He’s one of the best defenders in the outfield, and has one of the strongest throwing arms in baseball. In other words, there’s not much Trout can’t do on a baseball field.
Fielding
Fielding is often considered one of the most important aspects of baseball, and Mike Trout is widely considered one of the best fielders in the game. He has won multiple Gold Glove Awards, and his defensive WAR (wins above replacement) is consistently among the best in baseball.
Base Running
With 643 career stolen bases, Rickey Henderson is MLB’s all-time leader in stolen bases. But who is the player with the highest stolen base percentage? That would be Mike Trout, who has been caught stealing just 20 times in his career, for a success rate of 96.7%.
Mookie Betts
In 2019, Mookie Betts had a batting average of .346, with an on-base percentage of .438, and a slugging percentage of .640. He also had 32 home runs and 80 RBIs. Betts was second in the American League in runs scored (135), and fifth in stolen bases (30). He won the Gold Glove Award for outfielders, and the Silver Slugger Award. He was also the American League MVP. All of these accomplishments make him the best player in baseball.
Hitting
Mookie Betts is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he won the 2018 World Series. A four-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner, Betts is one of the best all-around players in baseball.
A contact hitter with power, Betts has shown a ability to hit for high averages and hit for power in his career. In 2019, he won the batting Triple Crown, leading the majors in batting average (.346), home runs (32), and runs batted in (122). He also led the majors in slugging percentage (.640) and OPS+ (179).
Fielding
Mookie Betts is one of the best players in baseball. He is an excellent fielder and has won multiple Gold Glove Awards.
Base Running
Betts’ most impressive feat may be his 31.6 feet/second sprint speed, which not only led baseball in 2018, but is the fastest sprint speed ever recorded in MLB Statcast history. In fact, of the 218 times a player has been clocked at 30 or more feet/second since Statcast began tracking in 2015, Betts has done it 18 times — eight more than the next closest player (Byron Buxton).
But Betts isn’t just fast — he’s smart on the bases, too. He led all of baseball with 10 “outs above average” on the basepaths last season, per Statcast. Not only does he take extra bases better than anyone in baseball, but he’s also really good at avoiding getting caught stealing. He was successful on 18 of his 21 stolen-base attempts last year (85.7 percent), which was well above the league average of 72 percent.
Christian Yelich
Christian Yelich is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball. He is one of the top players in baseball and is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
Hitting
Yelich is a five-tool player, meaning he excels in five different areas of the game: hitting for average, hitting for power, base running, fielding and arm strength. He’s one of the best hitters in baseball and is a true five-tool player. Yelich is a career .319 hitter with 165 home runs and 563 RBIs. He’s also stolen 122 bases and has an .880 OPS.
Fielding
In addition to being an outstanding hitter, Yelich is also an elite fielder. He has won a Gold Glove in each of the past two seasons, and he is widely considered to be one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball. Yelich’s defensive abilities help him contribute to his team in a variety of ways, and they are a big reason why he is considered to be one of the best players in the game today.
Base Running
Yelich is phenomenal at getting on base. He had a .402 on-base percentage in 2019, which led the league. He also had a .429 on-base percentage in 2018, which was second in the league behind only Joey Votto. Yelich has only had an OBP below .400 once in his career, and that was his rookie season when he posted a .288 OBP.
