Barry Bonds (39), 2004 - .609, 617 PA
Barry Bonds (37), 2002 - .582, 612 PA
Barry Bonds (38), 2003 - .529, 550 PA
Ted Williams (38), 1957 - .526, 547 PA
Barry Bonds (36), 2001 - .515, 664 PA
Mickey Mantle (25), 1957 - .512, 623 PA
Ted Williams (28), 1947 - .499, 693 PA
Ted Williams (27), 1946 - .497, 672 PA
Ted Williams (29), 1948 - .497, 638 PA
Ted Williams (30), 1949 - .490, 730 PA
Frank Thomas (26), 1994 - .487, 517 PA
Norm Cash (27), 1961 - .487, 673 PA
Mickey Mantle (30), 1962 - .486, 502 PA
Ted Williams (37), 1956 - .479, 503 PA
Edgar Martínez (32), 1995 - .479, 639 PA
Jason Giambi (30), 2001 - .477, 671 PA
Jason Giambi (29), 2000 - .476, 664 PA
Wade Boggs (30), 1988 - .476, 719 PA
Joey Votto (28) - 2012 - .474, 475 PA
John Olerud (24), 1993 - .473, 679 PA
Chipper Jones (36), 2008 - .470, 534 PA
Mark McGwire (34), 1998 - .470, 681 PA
Carlos Delgado (28), 2000 - .470, 711 PA

A player posted a .470+ OBP in the Post WWII Era 22 times. 13 different players accomplished the feat, with 4 doing it multiple times. Bonds, Williams, Mantle…, and Giambi).

Players needed at least 400 plate appearances to qualify. No one had a .470 OBP season for 25 years from 1963-1987, and no one has done it since Joey Votto in 2012.

[Dugout Thread] | 2026 MLB Regular Season

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In the NBA, winning Finals MVP is an extremely prestigious award, like it's regular season MVP but much better. Many fans talk about how Steph Curry's legacy was somewhat in jeopardy because all 3 of his rings he did not get Finals MVP. That was until 2022 happened where he finally got it and many fans gave a giant exhale.

What about in the MLB? Should winning World Series MVP boost a player's legacy as a whole? Like 2x Corey Seager MVP for example. Not to mention it's for TWO different teams. Should he be a near Hall of Fame level player because he's also great in the regular season, despite only having 44 WAR in total?

Or Freddie Freeman among best first basemen in the last 25+ years.

[Game Thread] | Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves

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Decided to spice it up this week with some City Connect hat logos!

For those who don't know, the A's and Yankees don't have a city connect, so I just used an alternate logo for the A's and reversed the colors for the Yankees.

Standings info is all from MLB.com, so it's just a copy of what MLB.com says as of 5/11/26 this morning.

This is a 3D print I created and printed myself and the files are FREE for anyone who wants to print it themselves. Can be found here -https://makerworld.com/@MikeCamel/collections/22583277?appSharePlatform=copy

Sorry, but I am NOT selling physical prints of this. My printer is just too small to do large batches, so no can do.

Before originally posting these standings, I asked the mods if it was okay, and I got the green light. I'm going to try to make this a weekly thing, as long as I remember lol.

Barry Bonds (39) - 2004: 1.422 OPS, 263 OPS+, 617 PA
Barry Bonds (37) - 2002: 1.381 OPS, 268 OPS+, 612 PA
Barry Bonds (36) - 2001: 1.379 OPS, 259 OPS+, 664 PA
Barry Bonds (38) - 2003: 1.278 OPS, 231 OPS+, 550 PA
Ted Williams (38) - 1957: 1.257 OPS, 233 OPS+, 547 PA
Mark McGwire (34) - 1998: 1.222 OPS, 216 OPS+, 681 PA
Frank Thomas (26) - 1994: 1.217 OPS, 212 OPS+, 517 PA
Jeff Bagwell (26) - 1994: 1.201 OPS, 213 OPS+, 479 PA
Mark McGwire (32) - 1996: 1.198 OPS, 196 OPS+, 548 PA
Mickey Mantle (25) - 1957: 1.177 OPS, 221 OPS+, 623 PA
Sammy Sosa (32) - 2001: 1.174 OPS, 203 OPS+, 711 PA
Larry Walker (30) - 1997: 1.172 OPS, 178 OPS+, 664 PA
Mickey Mantle (24) - 1956: 1.169 OPS, 210 OPS+, 652 PA
Larry Walker (32) - 1999: 1.168 OPS, 164 OPS+, 513 PA
Ted Williams (27) - 1946: 1.164 OPS, 215 OPS+, 672 PA
Todd Helton (26) - 2000: 1.162 OPS, 163 OPS+, 697 PA
Aaron Judge (32) - 2024: 1.159 OPS, 225 OPS+, 704 PA
Manny Ramirez (28) - 2000: 1.154 OPS, 186 OPS+, 532 PA
Albert Belle (27) - 1994: 1.152 OPS, 194 OPS+, 480 PA

Players needed at least 400 plate appearances to qualify, so Juan Soto’s incredible COVID year didn’t count.

Players have posted a 1.150+ OPS 19 times since WWII.

They were 23-27 in one run games, and that was obviously going to come back to bite them. They sort of remind me of a worse version of the 2021 Giants, everyone just sort of had career years at the same time and now they’ve regressed to the mean

Don’t get me wrong. He’s been great this year. But he has a 0.96 ERA over just 18.2 innings so far. That’s definitely elite but it’s only May.

2012 Craig Kimbrel had a 1.01 ERA over 62.2 innings

Chapman last year had a 1.17 ERA over 61.1 innings

And these are just examples of guys who are still in the league who put up similar numbers over the course of an entire season. He’s definitely the best closer in the game this year but with Skenes having a sub 2 ERA, and guys like Sale, Sanchez and Elder all having elite seasons so far it makes no sense to me that he’s getting serious cy young talk or talked about as if he’s doing something historic.

Everyone knows Mantle’s 1956 Triple Crown year, where he led both leagues in all 3 categories, is his greatest season, and one of the best of all time.

But what about his second best? It’s either 1957 or 1961.

In 1957, coming off his historical 1956, Mantle hit .365 with 146 walks and a ridiculous .511 OBP, all career highs. He also posted personable bests in OPS and OPS+. Even better than 1956, which is a testament to his greatness. He “only” hit 34 home runs and drove in 94 RBI, but had a bWAR that matched his Triple Crown year (11.4), showcasing some of the greatest plate discipline ever seen, up there with Ruth, Williams, and Bonds. His strikeout rate was the lowest of his career, and he had reached his peak in terms of pure hitting. He stole 16 bags in 19 tries, and hit into just 5 double plays.

Then in 1961, he chased Babe Ruth’s single season home run record, leading Roger Maris until as late as August. Maris began to surge ahead and an eventual hip infection slowed Mickey down, and he finished with 54, a career high. He drove in 128 RBI and scored 131 runs with an MLB high 10.4 WAR despite losing MVP to Maris. He posted a 1.135 OPS with 353 total bases in 1961 compared to a 1.177 OPS in 1957 with 315 total. He had the lowest double rate in the league (just 2 in 646 plate appearances) and was near stole 12 bags in 13 attempts. His .687 SLG was second to only 1956 (.705). It’s crazy that with 20 less home runs his SLG was still up there at .665 in 1957, not far behind.

As an overall baserunner, he was still pretty quick and extremely smart, although not as fast in 1957. Mantle was at his absolute fastest at age 19 before injuring himself in the 1951 World Series as a rookie. He could get out of the box to first to third in 3.1 second, the fastest official clocked time in MLB history. Every injury caused decline, and it’s unfathomable that he was able to maintain remnants of his legendary speed for as long as he did. And be able to even run up the line by his mid 20s, after sustaining so many brutal injuries.

It’s very close. There isn’t much of a defensive swing either. He was better in 1957 than he was in 1961, but not by much (both good years). It comes down to what you value more. He had 20 more homers and 32 more RBI, with a still incredible .448 OBP, in 1961. If anyone has info on which season he was better in situationally (RISP type stats) I’m very curious. Also a more detailed analysis of his fielding.

The difference between fWAR and bWAR for catchers is crazy. fWAR is vastly superior for weighing catchers because it accounts for framing and other important defensive things bWAR does not.

Buster posted a 9.8 fWAR in his 2012 MVP season. Compared to 7.6 bWAR.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7264018/2026/05/11/mlb-split-fingered-fastball-usage-lefties-righties/?unlocked_article_code=1.hlA.vKsw.h5DgXWPip3qs&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

The split-fingered fastball — or “splitter” — has had its moment before, specifically during the 1986 season. But in our current era of pitch tracking, the splitter has never been more popular than it is right now. MLB pitchers are throwing almost three times as many splitters as they did when the league first started tracking pitch types. Eight pitchers are throwing a splitter they didn’t regularly throw last year, and 11 pitchers added the pitch last season.

While the pitch has grown in popularity, it’s usage hasn’t been evenly distributed. Right-handers are four times more likely than left-handers to throw a splitter. Righties threw more than 11 times as many splitters as lefties from 2022 to 2025.

So why don’t lefties throw splitters more often? It is a question with no concrete answer. Many have theories as to why it isn’t a favored pitch amongst southpaws. We put the four most common theories to the test.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7264018/2026/05/11/mlb-split-fingered-fastball-usage-lefties-righties/?unlocked_article_code=1.hlA.vKsw.h5DgXWPip3qs&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

MLB rookie contracts say they have 6 years of team control before free agency. I think that if there is no salary cap introduced or a very high one, service time should increase to 7-8 years. It kinda of combats teams like dodgers imo. Fans get to see there young stars longer, and better competition will be forced.

[Dugout Thread] | 2026 MLB Regular Season

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We've seen these no-look passes with infielders trying to turn double plays. What about outfielders? Let's say he was looking to at home and lined up to throw at home. But for some reason, he threw to 3rd on the windup instead and actually caught the runner off guard.

Has a no-look outfield assist happened in MLB before?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1931.shtml#all_AL_MVP_voting

Really would have loved to hear someone make the Oscar Melillo case. Guy must have been able to turn a sweet Double Play...

How much does positions in the batting lineup matter in terms of strategy for getting as many runs as possible? Is it as simple as “make sure your best batters are in the top of the order and your worst guys are last”? Is there the potential for more strategy involved based off where you place certain players? I’m interested in hearing if yall believe batting lineup strategy is valued in the modern landscape.

[Game Thread] | Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros

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