I think this is something that we dance around in a ton of threads, and it's fucking with my snap opinions on quick glances at players on b-ref. Basically, since forever, my baseline around OBP has been something near:
.370-.380 and up: I love you, I want to be you, please date my sister.
.350-.360: About where you need to be to be considered for 'elite' hitter and/or what I need to be enthusiastic about you as a 1-5 hitter.
.335-340: Anything below this and I'm at least secretly thinking about this fact in a negative way during your plate appearances.
.310-320: Not a serious everyday lineup option. Not for the m-f Red Sox in the m-f AL East. Perhaps you'd enjoy San Diego?
Hopefully that feels a little familiar. I mean, instinctively, the thought of Mike Napoli as my #5 hitter in a slightly more down year horrifies me. But that obviously doesn't make as much sense as it used to. I was 10 in 1993; here's what LMB-wide OBP has done since then:
Basically my entire lifetime of having a brain has been in a world where if you had an OBP of under .330, you were a below-average hitter. Since 2010, if you have a .330 OBP, you're practically coveted.
Obviously, this isn't really news. Through talking about guys like WMB and Napoli, I realized that I probably hadn't fully wrapped my head around how uncalibrated my old instincts had become. I'm sure I've heard much much more in the past couple weeks about the lack of available power than the lack of available basege. If I recall correctly in 2008 there was some concern how much further Ellsbury could push his OBP above .336 to stick at the top of the lineup. What's that line now, for JBJ? What do you think the new .350 is?
.370-.380 and up: I love you, I want to be you, please date my sister.
.350-.360: About where you need to be to be considered for 'elite' hitter and/or what I need to be enthusiastic about you as a 1-5 hitter.
.335-340: Anything below this and I'm at least secretly thinking about this fact in a negative way during your plate appearances.
.310-320: Not a serious everyday lineup option. Not for the m-f Red Sox in the m-f AL East. Perhaps you'd enjoy San Diego?
Hopefully that feels a little familiar. I mean, instinctively, the thought of Mike Napoli as my #5 hitter in a slightly more down year horrifies me. But that obviously doesn't make as much sense as it used to. I was 10 in 1993; here's what LMB-wide OBP has done since then:
Basically my entire lifetime of having a brain has been in a world where if you had an OBP of under .330, you were a below-average hitter. Since 2010, if you have a .330 OBP, you're practically coveted.
Obviously, this isn't really news. Through talking about guys like WMB and Napoli, I realized that I probably hadn't fully wrapped my head around how uncalibrated my old instincts had become. I'm sure I've heard much much more in the past couple weeks about the lack of available power than the lack of available basege. If I recall correctly in 2008 there was some concern how much further Ellsbury could push his OBP above .336 to stick at the top of the lineup. What's that line now, for JBJ? What do you think the new .350 is?
