Baseball for the Thinking Fan

Login | Register | Feedback

btf_logo
You are here > Home > Baseball Newsstand > Discussion
Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

How this one-time MVP found new life in Chicago

Six weeks into the season, the deal has paid off and then some. Bellinger is hitting .288/.360/.530, good for an OPS+ of 141 that makes him 41% above league average as a hitter. His April was so good that it was his best month in four years. Throw in the defense that’s been as advertised, and he rates as one of baseball’s dozen most valuable position players, at least so far as FanGraphs is concerned.

So he’s “back,” right? Well, no—not in the way you think. This version of Bellinger is a quality player, but one that in many ways hardly resembles the ascendant superstar who won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 and the NL MVP Award in 2019. As he nears his 28th birthday this summer, we’re seeing yet another of the seemingly endless iterations of Bellinger. Will this one last?

 

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: May 16, 2023 at 09:15 AM | 3 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: cody bellinger, cubs

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

   1. Walt Davis Posted: May 16, 2023 at 05:04 PM (#6128494)
Six weeks into the season, the deal has paid off and then some. Bellinger is hitting .288/.360/.530, good for an OPS+ of 141 that makes him 41% above league average as a hitter.

Or about 20% but whatever!! What's a factor of two beteen friends? (And of course it doesn't "make" him anything, it "means" he is ...)

Anyway, off to a very fine start but ran into the wall yesterday.
   2. Eric J can SABER all he wants to Posted: May 16, 2023 at 05:47 PM (#6128500)
Bellinger is hitting .288/.360/.530, good for an OPS+ of 141 that makes him 41% above league average as a hitter.

Or about 20% but whatever!! What's a factor of two beteen friends?


My tentative understanding is that OPS+ is scaled the way it is because this way an OPS+ of, say, 141, corresponds to a hitter whose estimated run production is roughly 41% above league average.
   3. Ron J Posted: May 17, 2023 at 06:36 PM (#6128776)
You can test readily enough at the team level. Compare A team's OPS+ to their runs per offensive innings and adjust using the 3 year batting park factor. All of that info is readily available. Bear in mind that the standard error for OPS+ is not small. In the low 20s at the team level the last time I checked. And that it pretty substantially underrates the relative value of OBP.

And the scale wasn't chosen for anything beyond the desire to put league average at 100. The people who came up with OPS+ never tested how well it works as you move away from 100. Among other things, convenient online databases didn't exist before the Lahman database and OPS+ predates those. It was always intended as nothing more than a quick and dirty way to park adjust OPS.

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

 

 

<< Back to main

BBTF Partner

Dynasty League Baseball

Support BBTF

donate

Thanks to
Sebastian
for his generous support.

You must be logged in to view your Bookmarks.

Hot Topics

NewsblogQualifying Offer Value To Land Around $20.5MM
(10 - 7:47pm, Sep 23)
Last: simpson

NewsblogOT - August/September 2023 College Football thread
(93 - 7:27pm, Sep 23)
Last: Brian C

NewsblogOakland vs. the A's: The inside story of how it all went south (to Las Vegas)
(32 - 5:12pm, Sep 23)
Last: Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc

NewsblogOmnichatter for September 2023
(496 - 4:39pm, Sep 23)
Last: Walt Davis

NewsblogIs It Time to Stop Using Scripts on Sports Uniforms?
(11 - 4:26pm, Sep 23)
Last: Walt Davis

NewsblogYankees' status quo under Brian Cashman resulted in 'disaster' season, and a fresh perspective is needed
(6 - 4:11pm, Sep 23)
Last: The Duke

NewsblogCan Freddie Freeman Re-Open the 3,000 Hit Club?
(49 - 4:04pm, Sep 23)
Last: John DiFool2

NewsblogRepublicans propose $614M in public funds for Brewers' stadium upgrades
(35 - 3:17pm, Sep 23)
Last: tell me when i'm telling 57i66135

NewsblogOT - 2023 NFL thread
(4 - 1:38pm, Sep 23)
Last: Lance Reddick! Lance him!

NewsblogOT - NBA Off-Pre-Early Thread for the end of 2023
(3 - 9:58pm, Sep 22)
Last: Athletic Supporter's aunt's sorry like Aziz

NewsblogCarroll makes more history: 1st rookie to have 25-HR, 50-SB season
(3 - 6:28pm, Sep 22)
Last: ReggieThomasLives

NewsblogOT - NBA Bubble Thread
(4096 - 5:01pm, Sep 22)
Last: Hombre Brotani

NewsblogAs Padres’ season spirals, questions emerge about culture, cohesion and chemistry
(43 - 3:32pm, Sep 22)
Last: Never Give an Inge (Dave)

NewsblogOT: Wrestling Thread November 2014
(2971 - 2:21pm, Sep 22)
Last: tell me when i'm telling 57i66135

NewsblogOT Soccer - World Cup Final/European Leagues Start
(98 - 12:09pm, Sep 22)
Last: AuntBea odeurs de parfum de distance sociale

Page rendered in 0.1840 seconds
48 querie(s) executed