Top hitters at the halfway point

Baseball’s 2022 schedule was tailored to an exact length of 26 weeks. It started on Thursday, April 7, and it’s slated to run through Wednesday, October 5.

That makes it easy for even the most math-challenged among us to calculate the season’s halfway point — precisely 13 weeks. We reached it after the final pitch last Wednesday (July 6).

I’ve collected the stats for batters and pitchers through the 13-week mark, giving us a chance to review the best (and worst) performances of 2022’s first half. We’ll look at hitters today, pitchers next Tuesday.

Paul Goldschmidt, the first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, ranks as the MVB (Most Valuable Batter) in the majors for 2022’s opening half. He boasted a .343 batting average with 19 homers and 65 runs batted in as of July 6. None of those figures is the best in its category, though all are impressive.

Two other stats — bases per out (BPO) and base value (BV) — are more important because they measure a batter’s overall efficiency and production. Goldschmidt led the majors in both with a 1.167 BPO and 102 BV.

A quick review: BPO is calculated in three steps: (1) Count the number of bases a batter reached through hits, walks, hit batsmen, and stolen bases, and add the bases he picked up for his team through sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. (2) Count the number of outs the batter made. (3) Divide the total of bases by the number of outs.

Goldschmidt piled up 237 bases against 203 outs, yielding a BPO of 1.167. That’s more than 500 points better than the BPO of .663 for the average big-league batter at 2022’s halfway point.

BV is determined by multiplying a given batter’s outs by the BPO for all hitters. A typical batter in Goldschmidt’s circumstances would have reached 135 bases (203 outs multiplied by a .663 BPO). His actual total of 237 bases gives him an enormous surplus of 102. That’s his BV.

Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros posted the best numbers in the American League through July 6. His BPO at the halfway point was 1.156, and his BV was 92.

You’ll find several breakdowns below, beginning with the 10 first-half leaders in base value in each league, followed by the batters with the worst BVs. The final two lists contain the best and worst BVs for each of the 30 clubs as of July 6.

A new installment will arrive in your email each Tuesday and Friday morning

• 1. Yordan Alvarez, Astros, 92 BV

• 2. Aaron Judge, Yankees, 88

• 3. Jose Ramirez, Guardians, 77

• 4. Mike Trout, Angels, 74

• 5. Rafael Devers, Red Sox, 68

• 6. Taylor Ward, Angels, 50

• 7. Kyle Tucker, Astros, 48

• 8. Jose Altuve, Astros, 47

• 8. Anthony Rizzo, Yankees, 47

• 10. Shohei Ohtani, Angels, 46

• 1. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals, 102 BV

• 2. Bryce Harper, Phillies, 68

• 3. Pete Alonso, Mets, 60

• 4. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies, 59

• 5. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, 56

• 5. Manny Machado, Padres, 56

• 7. Juan Soto, Nationals, 52

• 8. Austin Riley, Braves, 51

• 9. Mookie Betts, Dodgers, 50

• 9. Willson Contreras, Cubs, 50

• 1. Cristian Pache, Athletics, -58 BV

• 2. Leury Garcia, White Sox, -46

• 3. Jonathan Schoop, Tigers, -45

• 4. Adam Frazier, Mariners, -43

• 5. Andrew Velazquez, Angels, -41

• 6. Jeimer Candelario, Tigers, -37

• 7. Taylor Walls, Rays, -35

• 8. Martin Maldonado, Astros, -33

• 9. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers, -32

• 10. Javier Baez, Tigers, -31

• 10. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox, -31

• 10. Nicky Lopez, Royals, -31

• 10. Myles Straw, Guardians, -31

• 1. Jacob Stallings, Marlins, -44 BV

• 2. Maikel Franco, Nationals, -38

• 3. Lorenzo Cain, Brewers, -37

• 4. Cesar Hernandez, Nationals, -36

• 5. Avisail Garcia, Marlins, -35

• 5. Tomas Nido, Mets, -35

• 7. Yadier Molina, Cardinals, -31

• 8. Yan Gomes, Cubs, -30

• 8. Carson Kelly, Diamondbacks, -30

• 10. Diego Castillo, Pirates, -26

• 10. Andrew Knizner, Cardinals, -26

• 10. Bryson Stott, Phillies, -26

• Angels — top BV: Mike Trout, 74; bottom BV: Andrew Velazquez, -41

• Astros — top BV: Yordan Alvarez, 92; bottom BV: Martin Maldonado, -33

• Athletics — top BV: Ramon Laureano, 11; bottom BV: Cristian Pache, -58

• Blue Jays — top BV: Alejandro Kirk, 42; bottom BV: Raimel Tapia, -20

• Guardians — top BV: Jose Ramirez, 77; bottom BV: Myles Straw, -31

• Mariners — top BV: Julio Rodriguez, 45; bottom BV: Adam Frazier, -43

• Orioles — top BV: Trey Mancini, 18; bottom BV: Robinson Chirinos, -20

• Rangers — top BV: Adolis Garcia, 19; bottom BV: Andy Ibanez, -17

• Rays — top BV: Ji-Man Choi, 31; bottom BV: Taylor Walls, -35

• Red Sox — top BV: Rafael Devers, 68; bottom BV: Jackie Bradley Jr., -31

• Royals — top BV: Andrew Benintendi, 19; bottom BV: Nicky Lopez, -31

• Tigers — top BV: Riley Greene, 4; bottom BV: Jonathan Schoop, -45

• Twins — top BV: Luis Arraez, 42; bottom BV: Ryan Jeffers, -17

• White Sox — top BV: Jose Abreu, 36; bottom BV: Leury Garcia, -46

• Yankees — top BV: Aaron Judge, 88; bottom BV: Kyle Higashioka, -18

• Braves — top BV: Austin Riley, 51; bottom BV: Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario, -17

• Brewers — top BV: Christian Yelich, 22; bottom BV: Lorenzo Cain, -37

• Cardinals — top BV: Paul Goldschmidt, 102; bottom BV: Yadier Molina, -31

• Cubs — top BV: Willson Contreras, 50; bottom BV: Yan Gomes, -30

• Diamondbacks — top BV: Christian Walker, 29; bottom BV: Carson Kelly, -30

• Dodgers — top BV: Freddie Freeman, 56; bottom BV: Hanser Alberto, -14

• Giants — top BV: Joc Pederson, 39; bottom BV: Donovan Walton, -18

• Marlins — top BV: Jazz Chisholm Jr., 42; bottom BV: Jacob Stallings, -44

• Mets — top BV: Pete Alonso, 60; bottom BV: Tomas Nido, -35

• Nationals — top BV: Juan Soto, 52; bottom BV: Maikel Franco, -38

• Padres — top BV: Manny Machado, 56; bottom BV: Wil Myers, -18

• Phillies — top BV: Bryce Harper, 68; bottom BV: Bryson Stott, -26

• Pirates — top BV: Bryan Reynolds, 23; bottom BV: Diego Castillo, -26

• Reds — top BV: Brandon Drury, 33; bottom BV: Aramis Garcia, -23

• Rockies — top BV: C.J. Cron, 48; bottom BV: Elias Diaz, -24