JJ Arey
May 5, 2021
Being the best player in any professional sports league is no small accomplishment. In the NBA, it is relatively easy to identify the best player on the court on any given night, and the impact one player can have on the overall game is much more profound than in any other sport. In the NFL, the best player debate offers a little more variety, but the overwhelming majority of players who have received this coveted title have been from the
quarterback position.
The MLB however offers a more challenging position on the debate of who is truly the best player. A dominant pitcher that can go out on any given start and give you 10 strikeouts an
appearance is what a lot of fans look for in the best player. Another portion of fans look for a dominant hitting prowess at the plate, someone of the likes of Ken Griffey Jr. or Babe Ruth. And then there remains the portion of MLB fans who look for multi-tool players that can do it all- players like Mike Trout or Fernando Tatis Jr.
Right now, the best overall player in the MLB is Mike Trout. I do not think many people will have a problem giving Trout this title. He can hit for both power and contact, he can play the outfield at a Gold Glove level, and has the speed and other athletic tools in his game to cement the argument as being the best player of all time. As a pitcher, Jacob DeGrom currently holds the title as the best, and his back-to-back Cy Young awards in 2018 and 2019 prove that. The question remains however, is who can be regarded as the second best player in the league. To that question, I answer with this.
Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves is the second best player in baseball, and he has been for the past two seasons. In last year’s shortened season, Acuna batted for a whopping .406 OBP and a .987 OPS, with an additional 14 home runs. This year, he is currently hitting .305 with 10 homeruns, and is vaulting himself into position to be crowned the best player. While statistics do not tell the full story of a player’s worth, there is one stat that reveals just how truly valuable a player is to their team. That stat is commonly
referred to as WAR, or wins above
replacement. This stat tracks how much more
value a player offers compared to their
replacement, or the player that would be in their position if they were to not play. The statistics that go into this calculation are Batting Runs + Baserunning Runs +Fielding
Runs + Positional Adjustment + League
Adjustment +Replacement Runs.
Acuna’s career WAR is relatively high, as he currently sits with a 12.1 WAR. To compare, Mike Trout’s career WAR currently sits at 76.1, which he has accumulated through 11 seasons as a major leaguer. Not only does Ronald Acuna fill the statsheet with eye-popping power and a great baseball sense, but he has added a much needed layer of entertainment to the sport struggling to retain viewership. He has a top 5 highest selling jersey in the MLB and his fun, easy-going persona naturally attracts a lot of young baseball fans.
Currently in his fourth season as major leaguer, Ronald Acuna Jr has firmly cemented himself as the second best player behind Mike Trout. He can steal bases, field, score runs, and most importantly- generate runs. His 400+ foot home runs and electric playstyle is just a small part of his game, but I expect to see Acuna battling for multiple MVP awards and batting titles as he continues his newfound takeover of the MLB.
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Statistic References:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/troutmi01.shtml
https://www.fantasypros.com/mlb/stats/hitters.php?range=2021
https://www.instructables.com/Calculating-the-WAR-Statistic/#:~:text=The%20formula%20itself%20is%20not,are %20more%20dif icult%20to%20calculate
https://www.mlb.com/news/most-popular-mlb-jerseys-entering-2021
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