As gifted as the major league talent pool is, there aren’t enough legitimate leadoff hitters in the game. In 2008, the major league-wide on-base percentage was .345, and a dozen teams didn’t get an OBP as high as that from their leadoff man.

The lowest leadoff OBP by a team last season was .285, courtesy of the Oakland Athletics, a club for which plate patience and getting on base are mantras of the development process. The worst in the National League was the .290 mark by the Houston Astros.

The highest OBP from the top of the order belonged to the Florida Marlins, at .391. One of the Marlins’ brightest stars, Hanley Ramirez, posted a .400 mark in 135 games batting No. 1. What’s even more remarkable about Ramirez is that he’s the complete package as a leadoff man.

Among major leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances as a leadoff hitter last season, no one posted a higher OBP or slugging percentage in the No. 1 spot than Ramirez. He slugged .559 leading off, good for a .959 on-base-plus-slugging. That’s easily the highest mark among players with 300 or more plate appearances as a No. 1 hitter.

Highest On-Base-Plus-Slugging (OPS) as No. 1 Hitter
(min 300 PA at leadoff)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OBP. . . . . SLG. . . . . OPS
Hanley Ramirez, Fla . . . . . . . . . . .400. . . . . .559. . . . . .959
Ian Kinsler, Tex. . . . . . . . . . . . . .377. . . . . .521. . . . . .898
Nate McLouth, Pit . . . . . . . . . . .362. . . . . .534. . . . . .895
Alfonso Soriano, ChC. . . . . . . . . .350. . . . . .544. . . . . .894
Stephen Drew, Ari . . . . . . . . . . .361. . . . . .528. . . . . .889

The Marlins were one of only two teams to have a slugging percentage of .500 or higher out of the No. 1 spot. The Marlins led the majors at .524, and the Cleveland Indians were next with a .501 mark. Grady Sizemore led off all 157 games he played last season, and he slugged .502.