2017 All-MLB Team
I recently read where a fan wondered why baseball doesn’t have All-Pro teams like football or All-NBA teams like basketball. The response was they have the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. True. My problem with those awards can be summed up in a single word: bias. Those awards, like all awards, are voted on by people. There are rules governing the voting process but when people cast ballots they have bias and they can be swayed. Numbers cannot be swayed. Allowing numbers to dictate who had the best offensive season is, in my opinion, the best way to hand out awards.
Some are afraid of allowing numbers to take the lead. We have the ability to decide what is important, set the criteria, and create the math to spit out the results. Some don’t trust the numbers when they don’t tell them what they want to hear or what they think to be true. I believe wRC+ is one of those numbers that should and in some circles has taken the lead in offensive analysis.
Using wRC+, below is the 2017 All-MLB Offensive Team. This team is not league specific. There is a first team and a second team. To be eligible players had to be eligible for the batting title.
| Pos | Player | wRC+ | WAR | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Gary Sanchez | 129 | 4.0 | 525 | 79 | 131 | 20 | 0 | 33 | 90 | 2 | 40 | 120 |
| 1B | Joey Votto | 164 | 7.4 | 703 | 105 | 177 | 32 | 1 | 36 | 100 | 5 | 134 | 83 |
| 2B | Jose Altuve | 160 | 8.4 | 660 | 112 | 204 | 39 | 4 | 24 | 81 | 32 | 58 | 84 |
| 3B | Justin Turner | 150 | 5.7 | 541 | 72 | 146 | 31 | 0 | 21 | 71 | 7 | 59 | 56 |
| SS | Zack Cozart | 143 | 5.0 | 504 | 80 | 130 | 24 | 7 | 24 | 63 | 3 | 62 | 76 |
| OF | Mike Trout | 181 | 6.7 | 505 | 92 | 122 | 25 | 3 | 33 | 72 | 22 | 94 | 90 |
| OF | Aaron Judge | 172 | 8.0 | 678 | 128 | 154 | 24 | 3 | 52 | 114 | 9 | 127 | 208 |
| OF | Giancarlo Stanton | 157 | 7.6 | 687 | 123 | 166 | 32 | 0 | 59 | 131 | 2 | 85 | 161 |
| DH | Nelson Cruz | 147 | 4.1 | 641 | 91 | 160 | 28 | 0 | 39 | 119 | 1 | 70 | 139 |
| Pos | Player | wRC+ | WAR | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Buster Posey | 127 | 3.9 | 566 | 60 | 157 | 33 | 0 | 12 | 67 | 6 | 60 | 66 |
| 1B | Freddie Freeman | 151 | 4.3 | 509 | 83 | 133 | 34 | 1 | 28 | 71 | 8 | 65 | 95 |
| 2B | Daniel Murphy | 136 | 2.8 | 590 | 93 | 170 | 43 | 3 | 23 | 93 | 2 | 52 | 76 |
| 3B | Kris Bryant | 147 | 6.2 | 663 | 111 | 162 | 38 | 4 | 29 | 73 | 7 | 95 | 127 |
| SS | Corey Seager | 125 | 5.4 | 610 | 83 | 156 | 32 | 0 | 22 | 76 | 4 | 67 | 131 |
| OF | Tommy Pham | 148 | 6.3 | 530 | 95 | 136 | 22 | 1 | 23 | 73 | 25 | 71 | 117 |
| OF | Marcell Ozuna | 142 | 5.6 | 674 | 91 | 190 | 30 | 2 | 36 | 122 | 1 | 64 | 144 |
| OF | Charlie Blackmon | 142 | 5.9 | 723 | 137 | 212 | 35 | 14 | 37 | 104 | 14 | 65 | 135 |
| DH | Edwin Encarnacion | 132 | 2.8 | 667 | 96 | 143 | 20 | 1 | 38 | 107 | 2 | 104 | 133 |
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The Baseball Scholar 
Oddly enough, choosing a specific stat as your measuring stick is another form of bias!
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