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The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – Best of the Decades (The 1800s)
by James Vlietstra
July 14, 2021
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Introducing V-Rating:
The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB


Background: I have sifted through the numbers to determine who the best offensive players have been in Major League history by using runs produced, total bases, walks, hit by pitches, net stolen bases, grounding into double plays, and sacrifices to determine the most productive players per at bat.
I call this new formula The V-Rating.
Way back in high school math class I learned about algebra. The numerator is divided by the denominator. The formula used for determining a player’s V-Rating includes runs produced plus total bases plus net stolen bases plus walks plus hit-by-pitch minus grounded-into-double plays divided by plate appearances minus sacrifices.
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Here are some of the greatest seasons of each decade.
Some of these seasons include Triple Crown winners, 40/40 seasons and other random seasons that are generally considered some of the greatest of all time.
These are how they rank according to V-Rating:
1870s
1876 Ross Barnes 1.152
1880s
1887 Tip O’Neill 1.255
1889 Billy Hamilton 1.009
1884 Fred Dunlap .979
1890s
1894 Sam Thompson 1.283
1894 Hugh Duffy 1.281
1895 Sam Thompson 1.207
1895 Ed Delahanty. 1.185
1894 Joe Kelley 1.184
1896 Ed Delahanty 1.170
1894 Billy Hamilton 1.170
1894 Ed Delahanty 1.167
1895 Billy Hamilton 1.111
1893 Ed Delahanty 1.094
1899 Ed Delahanty 1.078
1893 Billy Hamilton 1.053
1896 Billy Hamilton 1.014
1891 Billy Hamilton 1.008
1890 Billy Hamilton .973
1897 Billy Hamilton. .966
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PREVIOUS POSTS IN SERIES:
Introducing V-Rating (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB)
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) of Every Hall-of-Fame Batter
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – Monument Park Worthy?
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – The 10,000 Club!
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – The Greatest Single Seasons!
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – Recent Stars
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – The Worst Teams in MLB History
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – The Best Teams!
The V-Ratings (The Ultimate Offensive Metric In MLB) – Two Recent Bad Teams
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NEXT WEEK – We continue to look at the greatest seasons by the decades as we look to 1900 to 1929.
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I welcome your comments and a great discussion!