A few weeks ago, a friend shared a photo in a group chat. The photo indicated the OPS leaders since 2023. Well, there’s little doubt to see some names that baseball fans are familiar with.
However, after seeing that photo, I was just thinking about another question. Which batters have been the most dangerous hitters over the last 4 seasons?
To understand a little bit more, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
From 2020 to 2023, among the players who had at least 2000 plate appearances, Juan Soto led the majors with an OPS of .950. Moreover, Soto owned an OBP over .430 during this period and he’s the only player with an OPS over .430. Over the last 4 seasons, Soto blasted 104 home runs and collected 303 RBI.
In addition, Freddie Freeman won the 2020 NL MVP award. In that season, he slashed .341/.462/.640 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI. Over the last 4 seasons, Freeman batted .321/.410/.540 with 94 home runs and 338 RBI. Freeman is the other player who had an OBP over .400 from 2020 to 2023.
And let’s talk about “Showtime”. Shohei Ohtani is a two-time AL MVP winner. The first time that Ohtani won the AL MVP award was in 2021 and the other time was in 2023. In 2021, Ohtani slashed .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs and 100 RBI. In 2023, he batted .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs and 95 RBI over 135 games. There’s no doubt that Ohtani is one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors. Over the last 4 seasons, Ohtani owned an OPS over .900.
Furthermore, let’s take a look at another MVP award winner. Mookie Betts won the 2018 AL MVP award and finished 2nd in the 2023 NL MVP voting. Mookie Betts crushed 39 home runs and collected 107 RBI last year. Over the last 4 seasons, Mookie Betts slashed .282/.372/.539 with 113 home runs and 286 RBI.
Finally, Paul Goldschmidt won the 2022 NL MVP award and he hit .317/.404/.578 with 35 home runs and 115 RBI in that season. From 2020 to 2023, Paul Goldschmidt had an OPS of .888 and blasted 97 home runs. Moreover, Matt Olson smashed 54 home runs in 2023. In 2021 and 2022, he finished each season with at least 30 home runs. Olson owned an OPS over .880 from 2020 to 2023.
Looking at the top 5 of the chart, 4 of those players had at least 2000 plate appearances from 2020 to 2023 and had an OPS over .900. 3 of those 4 players used to win an MVP award in their careers. Juan Soto had an OPS of .950 over the last 4 seasons. He’s certainly one of the best hitters in the majors, but he hasn’t won an MVP award. And it will surely be interesting to see when Soto will win an MVP award. Furthermore, when we look at other 3 players who owned an OPS over .900 from 2020 to 2023, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, they all now play for the Dodgers. That really tells us how unique the Dodgers lineup is.
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