The MLB regular season is right around corner making this an ideal time to talk about all the advanced statistics that fans and front offices use to help determine how good a player really is.
wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created+) is an all-encompassing hitting stat. The + simply means that the stat is adjusting for ballparks and era.
A player that plays for the Colorado Rockies or Cincinnati Reds where they play half their games in a hitter-friendly stadium would have a worse wRC+ than someone who plays for the Seattle Mariners or Kansas City Royals (pitcher-friendly parks) if their stats are identical.
The metric is heavily used and might be considered as the most comprehensive single statistic to sum up a hitter's overall offensive value.
wRC+ produces a number where 100 signifies the average hitter for a specific season. If a player's wRC+ was 112, that means they played at 12% above average level compared to the rest of the league that season.
A wRC+ of 80 would mean the player played at a 20% below league average level.
The formula is a complicated one and can be found on Fangraphs.com.
Origins of wRC+ in baseball
Baseball sabermetrics statistician Tom Tango created wRC which was based on the Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) stat. The "+" was added to add more context surrounding the player's hitting conditions at their respective home ballpark.
What is considered a "good" wRC+?
a wRC+ at 150 or above is considered as an excellent number, while 115 is above average, and 80 or under is below average to poor.
MLB Career wRC+ Leaders
Player | wRC+ | Career Plate Appearances |
Babe Ruth | 197 | 10,617 |
Ted Williams | 188 | 7,706 |
178 | 4,995 | |
Lou Gehrig | 173 | 9,660 |
Rogers Hornsby | 173 | 2,259 |
MLB Single-Season wRC+ Leaders
Player | wRC+ | Season |
Barry Bonds | 244 | 2002 |
Babe Ruth | 237 | 1920 |
Barry Bonds | 234 | 2001 |
Barry Bonds | 233 | 2004 |
Babe Ruth | 230 | 1923 |
MLB 2025 wRC+ Leaders
Player | wRC+ |
Aaron Judge | 204 |
172 | |
George Springer | 166 |
Cal Raleigh | 161 |
Juan Soto | 156 |
