OPS+ is one of the most important statistics used to measure a baseball player’s offensive performance. It takes into account a player’s on-base percentage (OBP) and slugging percentage (SLG). Therefore, players with the highest OPS+ are typically the most valuable hitters in the game. So, who has the highest OPS+ in baseball history?
Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds is widely considered to be the greatest hitter of all-time and his OPS+ of 182 is the highest in baseball history. Bonds was an incredibly consistent hitter throughout his career, posting an OPS+ of at least 150 in 12 of his 22 seasons in the majors. His career-high OPS+ of 182 came in 2004 when he hit 45 home runs and posted a .609 slugging percentage.
Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and his OPS+ of 179 is the second highest in baseball history. Ruth was an incredibly productive hitter, posting an OPS+ of at least 150 in 12 of his 22 seasons in the majors. His career-high OPS+ of 179 came in 1920 when he hit a staggering 54 home runs and posted a .847 slugging percentage.
Ted Williams
Ted Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and his OPS+ of 177 is the third highest in baseball history. Williams was an incredibly consistent hitter throughout his career, posting an OPS+ of at least 150 in 11 of his 19 seasons in the majors. His career-high OPS+ of 177 came in 1941 when he hit 37 home runs and posted a .735 slugging percentage.
Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters of all-time and his OPS+ of 172 is the fourth highest in baseball history. Pujols was an incredibly productive hitter, posting an OPS+ of at least 150 in 10 of his 17 seasons in the majors. His career-high OPS+ of 172 came in 2008 when he hit 37 home runs and posted a .658 slugging percentage.
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters of all-time and his OPS+ of 171 is the fifth highest in baseball history. Henderson was an incredibly consistent hitter throughout his career, posting an OPS+ of at least 150 in 13 of his 25 seasons in the majors. His career-high OPS+ of 171 came in 1990 when he hit 28 home runs and posted a .577 slugging percentage.
Conclusion
OPS+ is one of the most important statistics used to measure a baseball player’s offensive performance. It takes into account a player’s on-base percentage (OBP) and slugging percentage (SLG). Therefore, players with the highest OPS+ are typically the most valuable hitters in the game. Barry Bonds has the highest OPS+ in baseball history with 182, followed by Babe Ruth (179), Ted Williams (177), Albert Pujols (172), and Rickey Henderson (171).