On Base Percentage Single Season Leaders on Baseball Almanac

Single Season Leaders for On Base Percentage

The on base percentage statistic was originally created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth in the 1950s as a means to measure the percentage of times a player reaches any base.

The statistic did not originally include the sacrifice fly denomination, but when it was officially adapted in 1984 it appeared using the sacrifice fly. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the top one-hundred single season leaders in on base percentage. We've also included raw averages to further clarify the truly best single season percentages and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.

"The main idea is to win." - Hall of Famer John McGraw (#4 Overall Single Season Leader for On Base Percentage)

On Base Percentage Single Season Leaders 'Top 100'
Name	OBP (Raw)	Year	Team	League	Rank
Barry Bonds	.609 (.6094)	2004	San Francisco Giants	NL	1
Barry Bonds	.582 (.5817)	2002	San Francisco Giants	NL	2
Ted Williams	.553 (.5528)	1941	Boston Red Sox	AL	3
John McGraw	.547 (.5475)	1899	Baltimore Orioles	NL	4
Babe Ruth	.545 (.5445)	1923	New York Yankees	AL	5
Bob Caruthers	.534 (.5339)	1887	St. Louis Browns	AA	6
Babe Ruth	.532 (.5319)	1920	New York Yankees	AL	7
Tip O'Neill	.531 (.5305)	1887	St. Louis Browns	AA	8
Barry Bonds	.529 (.5291)	2003	San Francisco Giants	NL	9
Yank Robinson	.526 (.5261)	1887	St. Louis Browns	AA	10
Ted Williams	.526 (.5256)	1957	Boston Red Sox	AL	11
Billy Hamilton	.523 (.5228)	1894	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	12
Babe Ruth	.516 (.5156)	1926	New York Yankees	AL	13
Barry Bonds	.515 (.5151)	2001	San Francisco Giants	NL	14
Ted Williams	.513 (.5133)	1954	Boston Red Sox	AL	15
Babe Ruth	.513 (.5126)	1924	New York Yankees	AL	16
Babe Ruth	.512 (.5123)	1921	New York Yankees	AL	17
Mickey Mantle	.512 (.5120)	1957	New York Yankees	AL	18
Pete Browning	.508 (.5083)	1887	Louisville Colonels	AA	19
Rogers Hornsby	.507 (.5072)	1924	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	20
Joe Kelley	.502 (.5024)	1894	Baltimore Orioles	NL	21
Hugh Duffy	.502 (.5017)	1894	Boston Beaneaters	NL	22
Ed Delahanty	.500 (.5000)	1895	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	23
Ted Williams	.499 (.4993)	1942	Boston Red Sox	AL	24
Ted Williams	.499 (.4986)	1947	Boston Red Sox	AL	25
Rogers Hornsby	.498 (.4983)	1928	Boston Braves	NL	26
Ted Williams	.497 (.4970)	1946	Boston Red Sox	AL	27
Ted Williams	.497 (.4969)	1948	Boston Red Sox	AL	28
Babe Ruth	.495 (.4947)	1931	New York Yankees	AL	29
Babe Ruth	.493 (.4931)	1930	New York Yankees	AL	30
Paul Radford	.493 (.4929)	1887	New York Metropolitans	AA	31
Arky Vaughan	.491 (.4909)	1935	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	32
Ted Williams	.490 (.4904)	1949	Boston Red Sox	AL	33
Billy Hamilton	.490 (.4903)	1895	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	34
Reddy Mack	.490 (.4900)	1887	Louisville Colonels	AA	35
Babe Ruth	.489 (.4890)	1932	New York Yankees	AL	36
Rogers Hornsby	.489 (.4890)	1925	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Norm Cash	.487 (.4866)	1961	Detroit Tigers	AL	38
Ty Cobb	.486 (.4863)	1915	Detroit Tigers	AL	39
Babe Ruth	.486 (.4860)	1927	New York Yankees	AL	40
Jesse Burkett	.486 (.4858)	1895	Cleveland Spiders	NL	41
Tris Speaker	.483 (.4832)	1920	Cleveland Indians	AL	42
Harry Heilmann	.481 (.4809)	1923	Detroit Tigers	AL	43
Edgar Martinez	.479 (.4789)	1995	Seattle Mariners	AL	44
Ed Delahanty	.478 (.4784)	1894	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	45
Lou Gehrig	.478 (.4777)	1936	New York Yankees	AL	46
Billy Hamilton	.477 (.4772)	1896	Boston Beaneaters	NL	47
Jason Giambi	.477 (.4769)	2001	Oakland Athletics	AL	48
Jason Giambi	.476 (.4759)	2000	Oakland Athletics	AL	49
Wade Boggs	.476 (.4757)	1988	Boston Red Sox	AL	50
Cupid Childs	.475 (.4755)	1894	Cleveland Spiders	NL	51
John McGraw	.475 (.4752)	1898	Baltimore Orioles	NL	52
Harry Heilmann	.475 (.4750)	1927	Detroit Tigers	AL	53
Lou Gehrig	.474 (.4741)	1927	New York Yankees	AL	54
Luke Appling	.474 (.4739)	1936	Chicago White Sox	AL	55
Lou Gehrig	.473 (.4730)	1930	New York Yankees	AL	56
Lou Gehrig	.473 (.4729)	1937	New York Yankees	AL	57
John Olerud	.473 (.4728)	1993	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	58
Hughie Jennings	.472 (.4721)	1896	Baltimore Orioles	NL	59
Ed Delahanty	.472 (.4719)	1896	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	60
Dan Brouthers	.471 (.4707)	1891	Boston Red Stockings	AA	61
Tris Speaker	.470 (.4699)	1916	Cleveland Indians	AL	62
Bill Joyce	.470 (.4699)	1896	New York Giants	NL
Bill Joyce	.470 (.4699)	1896	Washington Senators	NL
Mark McGwire	.470 (.4699)	1998	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Carlos Delgado	.470 (.4698)	2000	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	65
Joe Kelley	.469 (.4695)	1896	Baltimore Orioles	NL	66
Tris Speaker	.469 (.4694)	1923	Cleveland Indians	AL	67
Jimmie Foxx	.469 (.4693)	1932	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	68
Todd Helton	.469 (.4685)	2004	Colorado Rockies	NL	69
Jesse Burkett	.468 (.4683)	1897	Cleveland Spiders	NL	70
Oyster Burns	.468 (.4677)	1887	Baltimore Orioles	AA	71
Joe Jackson	.468 (.4677)	1911	Cleveland Naps	AL
Lou Gehrig	.467 (.4675)	1928	New York Yankees	AL	73
George Sisler	.467 (.4671)	1922	St. Louis Browns	AL	74
Cupid Childs	.467 (.4668)	1896	Cleveland Spiders	NL	75
Ty Cobb	.467 (.4666)	1911	Detroit Tigers	AL	76
Joe Morgan	.466 (.4664)	1975	Cincinnati Reds	NL	77
Dan Brouthers	.466 (.4662)	1890	Boston Red Stockings	PL	78
Lou Gehrig	.466 (.4658)	1935	New York Yankees	AL	79
Gary Sheffield	.465 (.4653)	1996	Florida Marlins	NL	80
Lou Gehrig	.465 (.4652)	1934	New York Yankees	AL	81
Lefty O'Doul	.465 (.4652)	1929	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Tris Speaker	.464 (.4641)	1912	Boston Red Sox	AL	83
Ed Delahanty	.464 (.4641)	1899	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Mickey Mantle	.464 (.4639)	1956	New York Yankees	AL	85
Edgar Martinez	.464 (.4637)	1996	Seattle Mariners	AL	86
Ted Williams	.464 (.4637)	1951	Boston Red Sox	AL
Willie Keeler	.464 (.4637)	1897	Baltimore Orioles	NL
Todd Helton	.463 (.4634)	2000	Colorado Rockies	NL	89
Cupid Childs	.463 (.4631)	1893	Cleveland Spiders	NL	90
Jimmie Foxx	.463 (.4630)	1929	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	91
Babe Ruth	.463 (.4630)	1928	New York Yankees	AL
Nap Lajoie	.463 (.4630)	1901	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Jesse Burkett	.463 (.4625)	1899	St. Louis Perfectos	NL	94
Jimmie Foxx	.462 (.4620)	1938	Boston Red Sox	AL	95
Albert Pujols	.462 (.4618)	2008	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	96
Fred Clarke	.462 (.4617)	1897	Louisville Colonels	NL	97
Ty Cobb	.462 (.4615)	1922	Detroit Tigers	AL	98
Denny Lyons	.461 (.4612)	1887	Philadelphia Athletics	AA	99
Billy Hamilton	.461 (.4612)	1897	Boston Beaneaters	NL	100
Name	OBP (Raw)	Year	Team	League	Rank
Current Through 2009 Season

Ted Williams held the Major League single season record for highest on base percentage from 1941 through 2001. Before him the record was held by John McGraw from 1899 through 1940. Will Barry Bonds hold the record for a similar period of time? Share your opinion about this three-person stronghold on Baseball Fever today.

Did you know that almost every eligible player on this top hundred (100) on-base percentage chart is already enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Examine the chart, click the bios, and see for yourself how important on base percentage truly is.

Can you guess who led the league in on base percentage during consecutive seasons? If not, review our year-by-year chart to determine the leader from both the National League and American league.

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