Let’s name the best players and best team of the 2020s five years into the decade
The year 2024 is winding down. That means we’ve gotten through half the decade and while usually that isn’t cause for a party, given what we went through in 2020, we should be celebrating. Plus, with half the decade complete, we can do fun things like make up fake awards.
Let’s get to the Half-Decade Award Winners in Major League Baseball for the 2020s. These awards have been voted on by one person and there was a statistical component in addition to the eye test and the whole “feel” thing. The two versions of WAR we use are FanGraphs and Baseball Reference, so that’s what I mean if I say “both versions.”
Let’s go!
Best Baserunner: Ronald Acuña, Jr.
The 2020 season was only 60 games. Acuña tore his ACL in 2021 and 2024. We’ve been deprived of so much excitement.
And yet Acuña still leads the majors in stolen bases in the 2020s with a pretty decent gap. He’s swiped 143 while José Ramírez is second with 126.
Acuña is 143 for 178 in attempted steals this decade, good for 80.3%. The league average is now around 79%, so he’s sitting above the threshold while carrying the highest volume of attempts when everyone in the ballpark knows he’s looking to run every time he gets on base.
There’s a baserunning component to FanGraphs’ WAR and Acuña ranks third this decade behind Trea Turner and Corbin Carroll, but I’m willing to tilt the scales toward Acuña based on the stolen base totals and the penchant for taking the extra base.
Extra bases taken (XBT) measures the percentage of time a runner gets an extra base — that is: gets to third from first on a single, scores from second on a single or scores from first on a double. Obviously not every play is created equal there, but over the course of a full season, the best baserunners should settle toward the top. Acuña led the majors at 76% in 2022 when the league average was 41%, a staggering difference. He ranked 15th in 2020, third in 2021 before his injury, 23rd in 2023 and was in the top 10 last season before the injury. In the 2020s, he’s taken the extra base 62.6% of the time against a league average of around 41%.
My initial thought here was that it would be Matt Chapman. As I perused all the advanced metrics that take range into account, in addition to balancing with things like errors, double plays, putouts, assists, etc., I noticed that while Chapman scored highly, generally Francisco Lindor and Dansby Swanson sat atop the leaderboards. Shortstop is a slightly more important and more difficult position, too. Andrés Giménez also needs to be in the mix here while Daulton Varsho and Ke’Bryan Hayes score well in several metrics. It was a really tough call.
Swanson, though, plays the most important position that gets everyday work. He leads in the FanGraphs’ version of defensive WAR and outs above average. In these five years he’s twice led his league in fielding percentage among shortstops and preventing errors while posting the range numbers he does at that position is incredibly impressive (the league average fielding percentage this decade is .972 while Swanson sits at .985).
The eye test lines up, too.
Basically, there should be something for everyone here.
Clase is the save leader for the decade so far (he has 157; Josh Hader is second with 150 and Kenley Jansen follows with 146 before a drop all the way down to 126) and that’s a decent place to start. Clase also leads both versions of WAR among relievers. He’s had a big workload for a reliever, too, sitting fifth in both innings pitched and appearances among relievers.
Clase has led the AL in saves three times and the majors twice this decade. He’s led the majors in games finished three straight seasons. He’s won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year twice.
How about the rate stats? Clase has a 1.62 ERA, edging out Devin Williams‘ 1.70 for the best mark here. His 0.87 WHIP is third behind Tyler Holton and Liam Hendriks, who both carry significantly lower workloads.
In terms of the Cy Young, Wheeler has replaced Gerrit Cole and Chris Sale in the “always a bridesmaid … ” category. He’s now gotten votes in four different seasons and has finished second twice. Cole won the AL Cy in 2023 while Sale took the NL Cy in 2024. Wheeler is the best pitcher left, in terms of career resume, to have not won one.
He does, however, have a great claim as the best pitcher of the 2020s. He’s second in innings to Aaron Nola and sixth in ERA at 2.94. He trails Framber Valdez by one for the most wins (60 for Valdez, 59 for Wheeler) and ranks sixth in strikeouts. In both WARs, Wheeler is the leader. In the Baseball Reference version, it’s a commanding lead (25.4 for Wheeler with Cole second at 19.9).
It lines up, too, because you’re talking about a guy who has been one of the biggest workhorses while also being one of the stingiest pitchers on the mound. Wheeler has the best all-around case for the best pitcher this decade. Perhaps he soon follows in the footsteps of Cole and Sale and finally grabs his hardware. Until then, this will have to do.
Though Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Yordan Alvarez, Bryce Harper and a few others have been amazing so far this decade, this wasn’t all too difficult a decision.
Here are Judge’s rankings in some of the more prominent counting stats among all MLB players this decade:
- Home runs: 1st (205; second place is Ohtani with 185)
- RBI: 3rd
- Runs: 7th
- Walks: 2nd
Among qualified players, Judge sits sixth in batting average, second in on-base percentage and first in slugging (he has a 48-point lead). Ohtani’s .963 OPS is second to Judge’s 1.049. Soto’s 168 OPS+ is second to Judge’s 188.
Everyone has naysayers and that means Judge will be nitpicked and some people might point to his high-strikeout totals, but the dude so far in the 2020s is hitting .298/.414/.635 with 162-game averages of 56 homers, 128 RBI and 121 runs.
Most Valuable Player: Shohei Ohtani
I think if we ranked a top three in best offensive players, Soto probably sits second and then Ohtani is a strong possibility at No. 3.
Look at the numbers Judge put up. Ohtani is hitting .280/.377/.587 this decade. He’s second to Judge in homers. He’s fifth in runs, sixth in RBI and third in stolen bases.
He’s also 34-17 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 545 strikeouts in 430 innings on the mound. There’s a big shortfall in innings, but make sure to notice that he’s nearly with Wheeler, our best pitcher pick, in ERA and WHIP.
There is one player who has been a top-three offensive performer while also pitching on a rate basis nearly as well as the best pitcher (only in about 52% of the innings). He’s also won three MVPs and a World Series.
It’s a no-brainer. Shohei Ohtani is the most valuable player in baseball in the 2020s.
This one was easy after the Dodgers won the 2024 World Series. We can go through the motions, though.
Championships so far this decade:
Pennants this decade:
Teams to appear in the playoffs all five years:
- Dodgers, Braves and Astros
Most wins this decade:
- Dodgers: 458
- Braves: 417
- Astros: 408
- Rays: 405
- Yankees: 400
We might have been able to justify looking elsewhere if the Dodgers were bounced in the NLDS by the Padres this past season, especially if the Astros actually made a run in the AL side and won it all again. Instead, it is, as I said, a total no-brainer.
