| | OPS is simply on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, and it's an excellent shorthand measure of a player's most important offensive skills.
Here are the top 10 OPS men (minimum 1,000 games), through August 30, 1999:
1. Babe Ruth 1.163
2. Ted Williams 1.116
3. Lou Gehrig 1.080
4. Jimmie Foxx 1.038
5. Hank Greenberg 1.017
6. Frank Thomas 1.014
7. Rogers Hornsby 1.010
8. Mickey Mantle .979
9. Mark McGwire .978
10. Joe DiMaggio .977
10. Stan Musial .977
This list pretty much speaks for itself.
Barry Bonds, who ranks with Frank Thomas among the greatest hitters of this or any other era, is 12th on the all-time list with a .970 OPS.
P.S. Astute readers have suggested that on-base times slugging is a better tool. And to be sure, it is slightly more accurate in terms of predicting variance in run production. But the difference is quite small, and in my mind isn't worth the extra complexity involved.
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