Is Center Field Becoming Baseball’s Ultimate Defensive Fortress?
A survey of leaguewide data won’t help: Center fielders collectively logged a .697 OPS in 2024, the third-worst mark over the past 50 years, even as shortstops posted a banner year. The median OPS+ of the (alleged) hitters who roamed center field for at least 500 innings was 88, 12% worse than the MLB average.
Before we accept that underwhelming feeling and allow it to shade our thinking, though, let’s take a step back and consider whether something bigger might be shifting our perspective.
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