Leaders in GPA

In 2003, former THT writer Aaron Gleeman, invented a statistic called Gross Productive Average. The statistic was meant to be a better version of OPS, by using:
{exp:list_maker}A simple acronym (GPA)
A scale close to batting average, which is easier for the casual fan to interpret than OPS
Weighting on-base percentage onto the same scale as slugging percentage {/exp:list_maker}
Ive always been a big fan of GPA because it’s easy to calculate by hand (OBP*1.8+SLG)/4)), and it is actually does a better job than the widely accepted OPS. There are better metrics out there for evaluating offensive performance, like wOBA, TAv and wRC+. But I think a “transitionary” older statistic like GPA still could be relevant.

Colin Wyers, another former THT writer, told me on Twitter that he still thinks there’s a place for the older statistics (like GPA), because they are easy to work with and can teach a lot when played around with. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure that they should appear on leader boards (GPA is not currently displayed on any internet leaderboard).

Colin’s probably right. If wOBA, TAv and wRC+ are better than GPA and are already on leader boards, then there’s probably not a place for it. But I decided it would be fun, and could also demonstrate some differences between OPS and actual run creation, if I created a GPA leader board, for this season.

Mike Fast did this before with kwERA, another simple and underrated statistic.

When calculating GPA I didn’t adjust for park, which the original GPA does, because I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. Also, I’m not a huge fan of park factors at the moment.

I listed the top 20 hitters and bottom-five hitters through Saturday (minimum 400 plate appearances, below:

Bottom Five: