You can’t score runs if you don’t get on base. While batting average has fallen out of vogue in baseball circles over the past few years, the importance of getting on will never diminish. Here’s how every team stacks up at reaching base.
American League standings ordered by on-base percentage
| Team | Record | On-base percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays | 72-51 | .337 |
| New York Yankees | 65-57 | .329 |
| Boston Red Sox | 67-56 | .324 |
| Houston Astros | 68-54 | .321 |
| Seattle Mariners | 68-55 | .320 |
| Athletics | 55-69 | .319 |
| Detroit Tigers | 72-52 | .316 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 60-63 | .314 |
| Minnesota Twins | 57-65 | .309 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 59-63 | .305 |
| Kansas City Royals | 61-61 | .304 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 56-66 | .304 |
| Cleveland Guardians | 63-58 | .300 |
| Texas Rangers | 61-62 | .300 |
| Chicago White Sox | 44-78 | .299 |
AL East is full of elite on-base teams
The AL East really likes getting on base. Toronto, New York and Boston occupy the top three spots on the list, which makes sense; the Blue Jays have both Vladdy and Carlos Correa who are on-base machines and the Yankees have Aaron Jugdge who gets on basically half the time. The Red Sox are a little more surprising, as they don’t have any one player you’d consider an elite on-base guy, but they also don’t have any players who struggle to get on every time they hit. When your team is full of guys who are good at getting on-base, it leads to a team that nears the top of the list.
Tigers are the lowest good team on the list
Is it a reason to panic that the Tigers are the lowest on the list of any team currently in a playoff position? Not really, but it is noteworthy. They have just one guy in the top 25 of OPB in the American League, and it’s Gleyber Torres at No. 10. Again, no reason to panic, because this isn’t the end all, be-all statistic, but when the playoffs come around, a team’s offense can go stagant quickly and it can tank a season.
National league standings ordered by on-base percentage
| Team | Record | On-base percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 77-44 | .333 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 69-53 | .331 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 60-63 | .325 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 70-52 | .324 |
| San Diego Padres | 69-53 | .322 |
| Chicago Cubs | 68-53 | .321 |
| New York Mets | 64-58 | .320 |
| Atlanta Braves | 54-68 | .319 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 64-59 | .319 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 61-62 | .318 |
| Miami Marlins | 58-64 | .316 |
| San Francisco Giants | 59-63 | .309 |
| Washington Nationals | 49-73 | .309 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 52-71 | .303 |
| Colorado Rockies | 33-89 | .296 |
Brewers hit and hit and hit and hit
Watching your favorite team play against the Brewers is not enjoyable. You know they’re going to hit like 12 singles in a row and blow a game open in the most annoying way possible, yet there’s nothing you can do to stop it. So, yes, it makes sense they have the best OBP in the National League.
Dodgers have multiple guys near the top of the list
The Los Angeles Dodgers slot in right after the Brewers, and that’s thanks to the exact guys you think it would be because of. Will Smith leads the league in OBP, Shohei Ohtani is No. 3 and Freddie Freeman is in the top 10 as well.
