The Simon and Garfunkel hit Mrs. Robinson famously asks … “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” But in terms of MLB on-base percentage leaders of late, it should go … “Where have you gone, Ted Williams?” Teddy Ballgame is the all-time leader in OBP at .482. Yes, you are reading that correctly. More coming on the Splendid Splinter in a bit.
High On-Base Percentages Becoming a Rarer Commodity in MLB
Recent MLB Trend
In the last two seasons, only two players have topped the .400 OBP benchmark for the year: Aaron Judge (.458) and Juan Soto (.419) in 2024, and only Judge last year (.457). For such a vital stat, how can that be?
As recently as 2023, eight players had a .400 or better OBP for the season. In most years since 2010, on average, you have somewhere between five and ten players league-wide with a .400+ OBP for the year. Plenty of factors have probably contributed to this trend: more emphasis on power over contact, less concern about strikeouts, poor pitch selection/recognition by the batter, fewer patient hitters, launch angle obsession, etc. Whatever the reason, the last two years have seen a decline in one of baseball’s most important stats.
This is not to say a .375 on-base percentage is bad. In fact, it is well above league average. However, the numbers are down a bit.
The OBP GOAT
That brings us back to the all-time leader for some historical context. Ted Williams incredibly had a .400 or better OBP in 18 of his 19 seasons. Five times he had a .500+ mark. His career high was .553 in 1941, the same season he hit .406. That was also a year where about 30 guys had a .400+ OBP.
In 1941 Ted Williams reached based 332 times in 606 PA
That’s not a mistype. It’s a .553 OBP pic.twitter.com/fxjBmJ9apF
— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) December 9, 2025
Why? Again, it is hard to pinpoint because there are different variables in each era. Generally speaking, that era of hitters focused more on putting the ball in play and working the starting pitcher. That was when starters routinely threw complete games, so seeing the pitcher for four to five at-bats a game would certainly help your OBP.
OBP by Decade
The American and National League leaders in OBP stayed strong throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In most years, 10+ hitters had a .400 OBP or better. Then, during the 1960s, that eased a bit. Surprisingly, in Carl Yastrzemski’s Triple Crown-winning 1967 season, he was the only MLB player with a .400+ OBP (.426). The 1970s saw another spike in OBP leaders, with multiple years of 10+ batters having a .400+ OBP. In the decade of excess, those numbers dipped a bit.
Next, it became a 20-year boom for OBP. From 1990 to 2009, almost every year, there were 10+ guys with a .400 OBP. That period is also when Barry Bonds set the all-time single-season record of .609 in 2004. Williams may be the all-time leader in this stat, but Bonds isn’t too far behind. 2010 to 2023 generally saw about three to eight guys per year with a .400 OBP, with spikes in 2017 and the pandemic season of 2020.
The Future of OBP Leaders
Like many stats in baseball, OBP seems to be cyclical and unpredictable. The numbers from the last 80+ years don’t lie. The fact that only Judge and Soto have finished a season with a .400+ OBP since 2024 is pretty surprising, but it also wouldn’t be shocking to see 10 players have a .400 OBP in 2026. One certainty is that Ted Williams deserves a statue for this stat alone. Where have you gone, OBP?
Main Photo Credit: © Brandon Brown/Seacoastonline / USA TODAY NETWORK