How to read Baseball Lens

New here? No baseball PhD required. This page explains everything you see in the app — the colors, the stats, and the little badges.

Anatomy of a player

Every player appears as a colored circle. Tap any one for full season stats. Here's what each part is telling you:

The circle's color = how well the player is doing right now. Green is great, red is cold — see the full scale below.
CF
The label = field position for hitters (CF, SS, 1B…), or throwing hand for pitchers (L / R).
Corner pips = career awards (MVP, All-Star, Gold Glove…). Full key below.
A. Player
The name tag = the player. Tap it to open full season stats.

The color code

Color is the heart of the app: it turns a player's season into a single glance. Same scale everywhere — the diamond, top games, MVP race and team stats.

POORBELOW AVGAVERAGEABOVE AVGELITE

★
Shimmer — a bright animated shine marking a genuinely historic season in progress. Reserved for the rare few (qualified OPS ≥ 1.000 hitters; ERA ≤ 2.00 & WHIP ≤ 1.00 pitchers).
?
Gray — not enough data yet (hasn't played, or no season stats).

Stats glossary

Hitters

OPS: The headline hitting number (on-base % + slugging). ~.750 is average, .900+ is elite. Drives a hitter's color.
AVG: Batting average — hits per at-bat.
OBP: On-base % — how often they reach base.
SLG: Slugging — total bases per at-bat (a power measure).
HR · RBI · SB: Home runs · runs batted in · stolen bases.
R · H · BB · SO: Runs · hits · walks · strikeouts.

Pitchers

FORM: Baseball Lens's 0–100 pitcher score, built from ERA & WHIP. ~50 is average, 75+ is elite. Drives a pitcher's color.
ERA: Earned runs allowed per 9 innings. Lower is better — ~4.00 average, under 3.00 excellent.
WHIP: Walks + hits per inning — baserunners allowed. Under 1.00 is elite.
IP: Innings pitched.
GS · QS: Games started · quality starts (6+ IP, 3 earned runs or fewer).
HLD: Holds — a reliever protecting a lead without finishing the game.

Badges & markers

All-Star — selected to an All-Star Game.
Gold Glove — elite defender at their position.
Silver Slugger — best hitter at their position.
MVP — a past Most Valuable Player.
Cy Young — a past best-pitcher award winner.
R Rookie — in their first MLB season.
Traded — acquired via a trade during this season (resets each year).

On pitchers you'll also see a rest marker — how many days since they last pitched:

Pitched today 1d rest 2d rest 3d+ rest

A TOP MATCH tag flags a game worth watching — a matchup with top pitchers and/or multiple candidates to win MVP, Cy Young or Rookie of the Year.

The MVP Race

The MVP Race tab tracks the season's individual award races — MVP, Cy Young (best pitcher) and Rookie of the Year — for both the American and National League.

Each race ranks the leading candidates by their season, using a custom formula that measures their value from 0 to 100. Use the chips at the top to focus on a single award, and tap any player to open their full stats.

FAQ

What is Baseball Lens?

A clean dashboard for MLB: the playoff race, the day's top games, team rosters and the award races. It turns raw stats into color so you can see who's hot at a glance.

Where does the data come from?

The official MLB Stats API. Standings and scores refresh through the day; player season stats update daily.

Why is a player gray?

There isn't enough data yet — they haven't played, or have no season stats to color.

Is this affiliated with MLB?

No. It's an independent project that reads the public MLB Stats API.

Is it free?

Yes, completely free.