Toronto pitcher Roy Halladay was the top player in baseball this year, according to the annual statistical rankings released Wednesday by the Elias Sports Bureau.
Halladay, 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA, received a 98.476 rating on a scale of 100. Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez was second at 98.293, down from last year, when he became just the fifth player with a perfect score. Los Angeles reliever Eric Gagne was third at 97.347.
Halladay took over as the top AL starting pitcher from Oakland's Barry Zito, who dropped to second at 95.020. Zito was followed by Athletics teammates Mark Mulder (94.309) and Tim Hudson (91.565).
Ramirez was among the top three AL outfielders for the seventh time in eight seasons -- he led designated hitters last year. Chicago's Magglio Ordonez (95.122) was among the top three for the third consecutive year and New York's Bernie Williams (90.976) was in the top three for the seventh straight season.
The flaws in the system, created as part of the settlement of the 1981 strike, are evident in the rankings of AL relievers. Oakland's Keith Foulke (91.464) was first, with Boston's Kim Byung-Hyun (89.828) second and the Yankees' Mariano Rivera (88.871) third.
Following the departure of Ivan Rodriguez from Texas, the Yankees' Jorge Posada (88.940) led AL catchers for the first time. Toronto's Carlos Delgado (94.737) was the top AL first baseman for the second time, the first since 2000, taking over from the Yankees' Jason Giambi.
Seattle's Bret Boone (94.180) led second basemen for the second straight season, and Texas' Alex Rodriguez (96.273) led AL shortstops for the fifth consecutive year.
Seattle's Edgar Martinez (87.500) was the top designated hitter, the seventh time in nine seasons he held or shared the top spot.
The rankings, which are based on statistics over two years, are used to decide whether players are Type A, B or C free agents, and what draft picks their former teams get as compensation if they sign elsewhere. The top 30 percent in each group get an A ranking, the next 20 percent a B ranking and the group between 50 and 60 percent a C ranking.
RSS