Which Venezuelan Batter Has Had the Best Season in the Major Leagues?

The greatest offensive season ever recorded by a Venezuelan player belongs to Miguel Cabrera, who delivered an extraordinary performance for the Detroit Tigers in 2013, posting an impressive WAR of 7.5. Remarkably, this came just one year after Cabrera achieved baseball immortality by capturing the American League Triple Crown, cementing his status as one of the sport’s all-time legends. (Getty Images)

 

This research aims to identify the best season by a Venezuelan hitter in the major leagues through the 2023 season. Only hitting parameters are considered. In the first stage, we defined the criteria to select extraordinary offensive seasons. We identified 42 seasons from 19 players. They are arranged chronologically, citing the player in his first extraordinary season: César Tovar, Antonio Armas, Andrés Galarraga, Bob Abreu, Richard Hidalgo, Magglio Ordóñez, Melvin Mora, Carlos González, Miguel Cabrera, Víctor Martínez, David Peralta, César Hernández, José Altuve, Yolmer Sánchez, Eduardo Escobar, Eugenio Suárez, Ronald Acuña, Salvador Pérez, and Luis Arraez.

Then we compared the seasons using two criteria:

1. Traditional offensive parameters
2. Sabermetric parameters

Both criteria led to the same result: The best season of a Venezuelan hitter in the big leagues was Miguel Cabrera’s in the 2013 season, which was even better than his 2012 season, in which he won the Triple Crown. If stolen bases are included in addition to hitting, Cabrera 2013 would still maintain first place, but second place would be occupied by Acuña 2023, benefiting from his remarkable 73 stolen bases.

Introduction

Since Alejandro Carrasquel got to the major leagues in 1939, there have been almost 500 Venezuelans in major league baseball. In the 80-plus years that followed, there have been excellent players who have led the league in almost every category of hitters, pitchers, and fielders. This research aimed to identify the best single-season offensive performances, compare them, and classify them according to an assessment criterion. The intention is not to determine the best season of a player, which would also require including the pitchers, as well as considering defense and baserunning. We consider only hitting.

The offensive performance of a season will be assessed in two ways: first, using the traditional methods, then using the novel sabermetric parameters, which provide a more objective description, since they allow comparing players of different eras and ballparks. We will use the English acronyms describing offensive parameters, first defined and listed in Annex 1. Additionally, to ease the reader’s understanding, we include Annex 2, which brings the definition and way of calculating the sabermetric parameters we used, and some common traditional parameters.

Selection criteria

To determine the best offensive season of a Venezuelan player in the majors, it is necessary to begin by looking at what we will call extraordinary seasons. We define a season as extraordinary if it meets one of the three following criteria:

1. Having led the league in an offensive category during the regular season. We considered: R, H, 2B, 3B, HR, RBI, TB, BB, BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS. (Criterion 1)
2. Having had a global offensive performance equal to or better than 1.5 times the league average, with the required minimum plate appearances. Such performance is measured using Adjusted OPS (OPS+), which should be equal to or better than 150; this is a sabermetric parameter detailed further on. Reaching 150 OPS+ is very good, without question. For instance, in 2018, only seven major leaguers had an OPS+ of 150 or better, which represents just 5% of qualified players (those having the minimum required PA). (Criterion 2)
3. Having reached a single-season record for a Venezuelan player in offensive stats, in some of the categories cited in the first criterion. (Criterion 3)

Considering these three criteria, we list 42 extraordinary seasons of Venezuelan hitters. These 42 seasons belong to just 19 players, given the fact that Tovar, Armas, Galarraga, Abreu, Ordoñez, Cabrera, Hernández, Altuve, and Acuña all repeat with more than one extraordinary season each. Of the 42 seasons, 35 meet Criterion 1, and 19 meet Criterion 2. Two seasons don’t meet any of the first two criteria but meet Criterion 3 (Hidalgo and Suárez). Fifteen seasons simultaneously meet the first two criteria.

We must take into account that Criterion 1, which incorporates players leading any of the offensive categories, in some cases includes seasons that, strictly speaking, could not be called extraordinary. This is the case of the good seasons by Tovar (1971), Hernández (2016 and 2020), Sánchez (2018), and Peralta (2021); although they had some league leads, their OPS+ is not extraordinary, as it was slightly above (Tovar, Hernández) or below (Sánchez, Peralta) the league average, as indicated further on. Even recognizing this limitation, the authors decided to maintain Criterion 1 as a qualifier of an extraordinary season, given the natural importance of leading the league in these offensive categories. We reiterate that the definition of extraordinary season does not include stolen bases; it includes only batting statistics.

 

Table 1. Offensive parameters of the 42 extraordinary seasons. Bold indicates league leader. OPS+ of 150 or better gets highlighted with a gray background

(Click image to enlarge)

 

Description of Extraordinary Seasons

Table 1 shows the records of each player in the offensive parameters defined by Criteria 1 and 2. Additionally, we list at-bats (AB). All 12 categories were taken from Baseball-Reference. The procedure for calculating the last four parameters (OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+) can be seen in Annex 2. The numbers in bold indicate that the player led the league in that category. Seasons with an OPS+ of 150 or higher are highlighted in a gray background.

We hereby summarize the 42 extraordinary seasons, chronologically organized:

César Tovar, 1970 (Minnesota Twins)

The first Venezuelan to lead the league in a category was César Tovar, who led the American League in doubles with 36 (tied with two other players) and triples (13), while being second in runs with 120, third in hits with 195, and sixth in steals (30), making him one of the top hitters in the league.

César Tovar, 1971 (Minnesota Twins)

Tovar continued his good performance, leading the league in hits with 204 while becoming the first Venezuelan to reach 200 hits in a season, ending second in runs with 94 and fourth in batting average (.311), even though his OPS+ was just 104, mainly due to his low number of extra-base hits.

Antonio Armas, 1981 (Oakland Athletics)

In 109 games during a strike-shortened season, Armas led the league in homers with 22 (tied with three other players) while becoming the first Venezuelan to lead a major league in that category.

Antonio Armas, 1984 (Boston Red Sox)

Armas led the American League with 43 homers, 123 runs batted in, and 339 total bases, becoming the first Venezuelan to lead his circuit in RBIs and TB.

Andrés Galarraga, 1988 (Montreal Expos)

This was the Big Cat’s first great season, in which he showed his potential as a hitter with a .302 average, 29 homers, and 92 RBIs, leading the league in hits (184), doubles (42), and total bases (329), while becoming the first Venezuelan to reach the 150 OPS+ plateau.

Andrés Galarraga, 1993 (Colorado Rockies)

Galarraga was coming off two bad seasons, with batting averages of .219 in 1991 and .243 in 1992, when in the Rockies franchise’s debut in Denver in 1993, he became the first Venezuelan to win the batting title with an impressive .370. He was also the first Venezuelan to close a campaign with a line of .300 BA, .400 OBP, and .600 SLG, by slashing .370/.403/.602.

Andrés Galarraga, 1996 (Colorado Rockies)

This was Galarraga’s great season in his power burst when he led the league with 47 homers and 150 RBIs, and was second with 89 extra-base hits, the last two records for a Venezuelan in the majors. More importantly, his 150 RBIs are the National League record for a first baseman.

Andrés Galarraga, 1997 (Colorado Rockies)

Galarraga continued his golden years as one of the Blake Street Bombers, ending with a .318 batting average, 41 homers, and a league-leading 140 RBIs.

Andrés Galarraga, 1998 (Atlanta Braves)

Galarraga hit 44 home runs and drove in 121 runs with a high .991 OPS. He did not lead the league because it was the year of Mark McGwire’s 70 homers and Sammy Sosa’s 66, but his OPS+ of 157 put him on the list. More importantly, with this season in Atlanta, Galarraga proved that his quality as a slugger was not favored by playing in the hitter-friendly ballpark in Denver.

Bob Abreu, 1999 (Philadelphia Phillies)

This was one of the great years of “El Comedulce” Abreu. He paced the league in triples (tied with Neifi Pérez, Colorado) and was third in batting with .335 and OBP with .446, the latter being the second-best mark by a Venezuelan in the majors, very close to the best, Cabrera’s .448 in 2011.

Richard Hidalgo, 2000 (Houston Astros)

Hidalgo had his career year with 44 homers, the third-best mark for a Venezuelan, .636 SLG, 1.028 OPS, and .314 BA. Despite those great numbers, Hidalgo did not lead the league in any category. His OPS+ was 147. His 89 extra-base hits tie Galarraga’s best mark for a Venezuelan, and his .636 SLG ties Cabrera’s, which makes this season good enough to meet Criterion 3.

Bob Abreu, 2002 (Philadelphia Phillies)

Abreu led the league with 50 doubles (first Venezuelan to reach this mark) and had high percentages in OBP (.413) and OPS (.934).

Magglio Ordóñez, 2002 (Chicago White Sox)

Despite not having led the league in any category, Ordóñez had a great season with 38 HR, 135 RBIs, and a .320 BA. His OPS+ of 154 makes this an extraordinary season (Criterion 2).

Melvin Mora, 2004 (Baltimore Orioles)

This was Mora’s best career season. He led the league with a .419 OBP, plus an excellent .340 BA and .981 OPS.

Magglio Ordóñez, 2007 (Detroit Tigers)

Ordóñez had an exceptional season, winning the batting title with a .363 average and a league-leading 54 doubles, apart from 28 home runs and great numbers with 139 RBIs and 1.029 OPS. His 54 doubles top all Venezuelan batters historically.

Carlos González, 2010 (Colorado Rockies)

González had his best season, proving to be one of the best hitters by leading the league with a .336 BA, 197 hits, and 351 total bases. He also drove in 117 runs and had a .974 OPS.

Miguel Cabrera, 2010 (Detroit Tigers)

In what can be considered Cabrera’s first super-season, he led the league in three departments, with 126 RBIs, .420 OBP, and 178 OPS+. Additionally, he had a .622 SLG and a .328 BA. For the first time, he had a slash line better than .300/.400/.600.

Miguel Cabrera, 2011 (Detroit Tigers)

Cabrera led the league in three offensive departments: batting (.344), OBP (.448), and doubles (48), and also in games played (161) (tied with Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle), while sporting a 1.033 OPS. His OBP is the highest by a Venezuelan in the majors.

Miguel Cabrera, 2012 (Detroit Tigers)

Cabrera won the Triple Crown – something that had not been accomplished by any major-league player in 45 years – while leading the league in six categories (HR, RBI, BA, TB, SLG, and OPS). His total bases rank first all-time among Venezuelans. He was also awarded the MVP.

Miguel Cabrera, 2013 (Detroit Tigers)

Cabrera led again in six categories (BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, and wRC+) with .348, .442, .636, 1.078, 190, and 193 – all of them better than the previous season. For the second time, he had a slash line of .300/.400/.600. His SLG, OPS, OPS+, and wRC+ represent the best single-season performance of anyone from his country. At the end of the season, he won the MVP award again.

Miguel Cabrera, 2014 (Detroit Tigers)

Cabrera led the league with 52 doubles, but his numbers decreased from the previous season. He finished with a .313 BA, 25 HR, and 109 RBIs.

José Altuve, 2014 (Houston Astros)

Altuve had his first extraordinary season, leading the majors with a .341 BA and 225 hits and the American League with 56 stolen bases while ranking second with 47 doubles.

Víctor Martínez, 2014 (Detroit Tigers)

In an extraordinary season, Martínez led the league with a .409 OBP and a .974 OPS, while finishing with 32 homers, 103 RBIs, and a .335 BA.

Miguel Cabrera, 2015 (Detroit Tigers)

Injuries limited him to 119 games, but that didn’t keep him from winning his fourth batting title (.338) and leading the league in OBP for the fourth time (.440).

David Peralta, 2015 (Arizona Diamondbacks)

In his first full major league season, David Peralta led the National League with 10 triples and was sixth in slugging percentage with .522 while hitting .312. He was the team’s Rookie of the Year in his debut (2014) at age 27, after a surprising transition from pitcher to position player; several injuries that drove him to a temporary retirement; and his emergence as a good independent league hitter.

José Altuve, 2015 (Houston Astros)

Altuve led the league in hits with 200, his second season with 200+ hits, while also leading the league in at-bats with 638.

José Altuve, 2016 (Houston Astros)

Altuve led the league again in hits with 216 and batting average with .338, along with a high OBP (.396) and OPS (.928).

César Hernández, 2016 (Philadelphia Phillies)

This year, César Hernández surprised by leading both circuits with 11 triples (tied with two other players) and a good BA of .294.

Miguel Cabrera, 2016 (Detroit Tigers)

For the first time in the last seven years, Cabrera did not lead any offensive category, finishing with a .316 BA, 38 homers, and 108 RBIs, but his high OPS+ of 155 makes this another extraordinary season.

José Altuve, 2017 (Houston Astros)

In what has been his best year as of 2024, Altuve led the league in hits for the fourth straight time with 204, and in BA for the third time with .346.1

Yolmer Sánchez, 2018 (Chicago White Sox)

Sánchez led the American League in triples with 10, tied with Mallex Smith (Tampa Bay), making this an extraordinary season despite having a BA, OPS, and OPS+ below the league average.

Eduardo Escobar, 2019 (Arizona Diamondbacks)

In what has been his best season, Escobar led the league in triples, and his 118 RBIs were fourth in the National League. He finished with 29 doubles, 10 triples, and 35 homers, which made him finish close to a select group of players with 30/10/30 in a season.

Eugenio Suárez, 2019 (Cincinnati Reds)

Suárez blasted 49 home runs and at some point led the National League, but he finished second. Despite not having led the league in any category and having an OPS+ below 150, he set the HR record for a Venezuelan in the majors, which meets Criterion 3 and puts him on the list.

Ronald Acuña Jr., 2019 (Atlanta Braves)

At just 21, Acuña led the National League with 127 runs, 37 steals, and 715 PA. An injury in the last week of the season may have kept him from entering the 40-40 club. (Only five other players have hit 40 homers and stolen 40 bases in a season.) He finished with 41 HR and 37 SB.

Ronald Acuña Jr., 2020 (Atlanta Braves)

Injuries slowed Acuña down in a pandemic-shortened season (COVID-19). However, his .406 OBP, .581 SLG, .987 OPS, and 156 OPS+ are the best in his short three-season career. His OPS+ makes this another extraordinary season.

César Hernández, 2020 (Cleveland Indians)

Playing for a new team, Hernández led the league with 20 doubles, plus outstanding fielding, good enough to win the Gold Glove Award at second base.

David Peralta, 2021 (Arizona Diamondbacks)

In his second extraordinary season, at 34 years old, David once again led the National League in triples (3B) with 8.

Salvador Pérez, 2021 (Kansas City Royals)

Pérez surprised many by becoming the home-run (48) and RBI (121) leader in both leagues. After a close competition, he tied for the home run lead with Vladimir Guerrero. His 48 home runs are the second-best for a Venezuelan major leaguer, surpassed only by Eugenio Suárez (49).

Luis Arráez, 2022 (Minnesota Twins)

Arraez won his first batting title (.316) in the American League, which many expected, taking into account his formidable average of .331 in seven years in the minor leagues. Contact was his main virtue; he struck out fewer times (43) than he walked (50).

Jose Altuve, 2022 (Houston Astros)

For the sixth time in his career, Altuve finished with an average of .300 or more. His remarkable 161 OPS+, fourth place in the majors, makes him worthy of being included in this list as an extraordinary season, according to Criterion 3.

Luis Arráez, 2023 (Miami Marlins)

Arráez repeated as the batting champion, but this time in the National League, with an average of .354. Arráez’s great season stands out when one notes that only nine major leaguers (among qualified players) reached .300 that season and that the major-league average was a low .248. Additionally, he had 203 hits (third in the majors) and an excellent .393 OBP. More importantly, he became the first player in major league history to win consecutive batting titles in different leagues.

Ronald Acuña Jr. 2023 (Atlanta Braves)

Acuña Jr. had a super season, a legendary one in terms of impact and visibility, leading the league in hits (217), runs (149), OBP (.416), OPS (1.012), and total bases (.383). His 171 OPS+ was also the best in the league. With 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases. Acuña Jr. joined the 40-40 club, which had only four members, and gave rise to a new club (40-70) with a single member.2

Note about José Altuve 2023: We must highlight that José Altuve had an excellent season in 2023, with a high OPS+ of 151. However, by not having the minimum number of at-bats (AB), he does not qualify as an extraordinary season according to Criterion 2.

Comparison of extraordinary seasons using the traditional parameters

Which of the 42 seasons in Table 1 can be considered the best offensively? To find the answer, we must establish certain criteria to value each of the offensive categories. It seems reasonable not to give the same value to a single as to a double, a triple, or a home run. On the other hand, we must admit that RBIs and runs, despite being essential to the game, depend on the other players on the team and the opportunities the player has to find men on base (for RBIs) or be driven by other hitters (runs).

Aiming to value quantitatively each one of the extraordinary seasons, we decided to combine the six offensive parameters listed below, using a weight factor of 0.5 for walks (BB), because we considered them less important than a single (1B), which we value as 1. The single can move runners up more than one base, whereas the walk does not. The double, triple, and home run are valued at 2, 3, and 4, respectively, reflecting their increased importance and the number of bases for each. We arbitrarily assigned 2.5 to each RBI, taking into account that they depend not only on the effort of the hitter but also on the contribution of teammates who have been able to get on base. The runs are not included because we don’t consider them a direct contribution of the player, but of other players who drive in the run, except for the run they score on their home run, which is already accounted for.

The following formula is proposed to determine a parameter that can be named VOT (Spanish for Season Offensive Value):

VOT is calculated by dividing by the number of at-bats (AB) to incorporate the opportunities the batter had in his offensive production. Noting that equals the total bases, the previous equation can be simplified to:

We can see that the middle term (TB/AB) of the VOT equals the slugging percentage (See Annex 2), but we have added the ability to draw walks (BB/AB) and drive in runs (RBI/AB) with their respective values. VOT is not cumulative; it is simply an index of offensive power. For instance, a batter with two hits in five at-bats will have a .400 VOT, but if he drove a run, it gets to .900, whereas another player with a double, a homer, and two RBIs in the same five at-bats will get to 2.200. Although we can define other criteria different from VOT, the authors consider that it provides a reasonable quantification of the key elements contributing to the offensive performance of a hitter.

Table 2 presents the results obtained by applying the VOT equation to the data included in Table 1. Under those criteria, we conclude that the best season of all was Miguel Cabrera’s 2013 with a 1.334 VOT, followed by his own 2010 season with 1.278, Ordóñez with 1.243, Hidalgo’s 1.233, and Galarraga’s 1996 with 1.232, all at the top five spots. Cabrera’s 2012 season, in which he won the Triple Crown, stands sixth with a 1.218 VOT. We must also mention Acuña’s 2020 season, in which, despite playing in only 46 games due to the pandemic and injuries, he stands 10th with 1.153. Acuña’s 2023 super-season appears in a distant 19th place, due to the fact that, among other reasons, the VOT parameter does not consider stolen bases.

 

Table 2. Best seasons among Venezuelan hitters in Major League Baseball using traditional statistics to calculate VOT (Spanish for Season Offensive Value)

 

Improving assessment by using sabermetrics

The results obtained with the use of the traditional parameters of hitting (Table 2) have the singularity that they assess equally all players who performed in different times and different ballparks, when we all know the influence of the latter on performance. For instance, Richard Hidalgo ranks fourth among the best seasons (Table 2), above the sixth place held by Miguel Cabrera in 2012, reflected on a better OPS (1.028 vs .999). Is that a reason to say his 2000 season was better than Cabrera’s 2012?

To answer this more objectively, we must take into account that Cabrera’s .999 led the majors, whereas Hidalgo’s 1.028 ranked 13th in a year better for hitters when 19 players went above 1.000 OPS. Hidalgo indeed had a better OPS than Cabrera in 2012, but Cabrera’s performance in OPS was better when analyzing the performance of the other players in the league. This is a weakness of traditional parameters, which can be fixed using sabermetric parameters.

Another aspect to be considered in terms of offense is that some ballparks are more hitter-friendly than others due to their different dimensions and the density of the air in the location. In a place with much less dense air (as in Denver, for instance), the ball travels faster and farther. Looking at 2018, in the Texas Rangers’ home, 35 percent more runs were scored than when they played on the road; in Denver, it was 27 percent, whereas the opposite happened in Miami, where teams scored 35 percent fewer runs at home than on the road. So we have a Park Factor PF=1.35 for the Rangers, PF=1.27 for the Rockies, and PF=0.65 for the Marlins. The first two are hitter-friendly ballparks, while the latter is pitcher-friendly. Park Factor is not a constant value; it changes from season to season and might refer to other offensive parameters, apart from runs scored.

For a more objective assessment of offensive performance, we need to take into account individual performance, but compare it to the rest of the players in that season. At the same time, objectivity requires the incorporation of the ballpark effect, whether hitter-friendly or not. It is here that sabermetric parameters have made a significant contribution to baseball, enabling a more objective evaluation of players’ performance in general, by incorporating new elements enabling the comparison of performance in different times, different leagues, and different ballparks. For instance, going back to the comparison between Hidalgo’s season and Cabrera’s 2012 season in which Hidalgo’s 1.028 OPS was better than Cabrera’s .999, we can see that Adjusted OPS or OPS+, which incorporates the aforementioned correction (see Annex 2) and is defined below, yields a better number for Cabrera (164) than for Hidalgo (147).

Sabermetric parameters

We selected two sabermetric parameters to qualify offense, both with the same objective but with a difference in the way they are calculated. One is OPS+ from Baseball-Reference and the other is wRC+ from FanGraphs.

Other sabermetric parameters are not considered here, such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which considers the global performance of a player (offense, defense, and baserunning), Baseball-Reference’s offensive WAR, or Bill James’s Runs Created (RC), because they all include baserunning, and this research intends to value hitting alone.

The OPS+ Parameter

The traditional parameter OPS is the sum of the capacity to reach base (OBP) and the slugging or power of the hitter (SLG). The sabermetric parameter OPS+, also known as adjusted OPS, is a correction of OPS taking into account the league average and ballpark effect. OPS+ has been conveniently designed to make an OPS+ of 100 the league average, and every point above or below the league average is a percentile point above or below the league average. For instance, a 150 OPS+ means that the player produces 50 percent more than the league average, and an OPS+ of 80 means he produces 20 percent below average. OPS+ is a more adequate parameter than OPS because it enables the comparison of players from different times, leagues, and ballparks. For instance, in 2018, only 10 percent of the qualified players had an OPS+ of 136 or better. Qualified players had at least 502 plate appearances. The highest OPS+ in 2018 was Mike Trout with 199. Miguel Cabrera reached 190 in 2013.

Equations to calculate OPS and OPS+ are presented in Annex 2. More details of OPS+ can be found on the Baseball Reference portal.

The wRC+ parameter

The sabermetric parameter wRC+ gets the name of Weighted Runs Created Plus. Runs Created are the number of runs a player contributes to his team during the season. It is a concept that differs from runs (R), which depend on what other players can do. Runs created depend solely on the hitter. In the wRC+ parameter, two adjustments are included: one that takes into account the league average of the rest of the players in the year (enabling the comparison between players from different eras) and another one that incorporates the park factor. Similar to OPS+, the formula is scaled to make 100 the league average. In 2018, only 10 percent of the players had a wRC+ above 137. The best was Mike Trout with 191. Miguel Cabrera had an extraordinary value of 193 in 2013.

The formulae for its calculation are shown in Annex 2. More details can be found in the FanGraphs portal.

 

Table 3. Best seasons of a Venezuelan hitter in the major leagues using sabermetric parameters, organized by averaging OPS+ and wRC+

 

NOTES

1 This season, Altuve won every possible award: The Sporting News Player of the Year, the Hank Aaron Award to the best hitter in the major leagues, the Baseball America Player of the Year, the Outstanding Player Award by the MLBPA, which is voted by the players themselves, the Silver Slugger Award, and the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

2 In this – Acuña’s super-season – he won the MVP and the Hank Aaron Award in the National League, the Sporting News Player of the Year, the National League Outstanding Player Award, and the Silver Slugger Award.

 

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