{"sport":"mlb","slug":"john-balaz","bio":{"fullName":"John Balaz","position":"LF","team":"LAA","heightInches":75,"weightLbs":180,"birthDate":"1950-11-24","rookieSeason":1974,"lastSeason":1975,"status":"RET","externalIds":{"mlbam":"110493","chadwick":"b4b56b29","retro":"balaj101","wikidata":"Q6220407"}},"draft":{"year":1970,"round":null,"pick":null,"team":null,"undrafted":false},"statTables":[{"id":"batting","label":"Batting","columns":[{"key":"g"},{"key":"ab"},{"key":"r"},{"key":"h"},{"key":"doubles"},{"key":"triples"},{"key":"hr"},{"key":"rbi"},{"key":"sb"},{"key":"bb"},{"key":"so"},{"key":"avg"},{"key":"obp"},{"key":"slg"},{"key":"ops"}],"rows":[{"season":1974,"seasonType":"REG","team":"LAA","gamesPlayed":14,"values":{"g":14,"ab":42,"r":4,"h":10,"doubles":0,"triples":0,"hr":1,"rbi":5,"sb":0,"bb":2,"so":10,"avg":0.238,"obp":0.289,"slg":0.31,"ops":0.599},"rowScope":"team"},{"season":1975,"seasonType":"REG","team":"LAA","gamesPlayed":45,"values":{"g":45,"ab":120,"r":10,"h":29,"doubles":8,"triples":1,"hr":1,"rbi":10,"sb":0,"bb":5,"so":25,"avg":0.242,"obp":0.27,"slg":0.35,"ops":0.62},"rowScope":"team"}],"careerTotals":{"REG":{"g":59,"ab":162,"r":14,"h":39,"doubles":8,"triples":1,"hr":2,"rbi":15,"sb":0,"bb":7,"so":35,"avg":0.241,"obp":0.275,"slg":0.34,"ops":0.615}}},{"id":"advanced","label":"Advanced (League-Relative)","columns":[{"key":"ops_plus","label":"OPS+","description":"On-base plus slugging vs the player's own season+league (100 = league average). Park-unadjusted; OBP uses a consistent (H+BB)/(AB+BB) rate. Higher is better.","format":"int","higherIsBetter":true},{"key":"era_plus","label":"ERA+","description":"Earned-run average vs the player's own season+league (100 = league average). Park-unadjusted. Higher is better.","format":"int","higherIsBetter":true}],"rows":[{"season":1974,"seasonType":"REG","team":"LAA","values":{"ops_plus":67,"era_plus":null},"rowScope":"team"},{"season":1975,"seasonType":"REG","team":"LAA","values":{"ops_plus":77,"era_plus":null},"rowScope":"team"}],"careerTotals":{"REG":{"ops_plus":75,"era_plus":null}},"advancedMeta":{"method":"computed in-house from MLB StatsAPI season batting/pitching lines, normalized to each player's own (season, league) baseline","formulas":{"era_plus":"100 * lgERA / playerERA (league ERA = 9 * ΣER / ΣIP over the season+league)","ops_plus":"100 * (OBP/lgOBP + SLG/lgSLG - 1)","career_era_plus":"innings-weighted league ERA / career ERA (B-Ref method)","career_ops_plus":"AB-weighted OBP & SLG against AB-weighted league rates"},"caveats":["PARK-UNADJUSTED: no park-factor data exists in the corpus, so these are league-relative but not park-adjusted (true B-Ref ERA+/OPS+ also divide by a park factor)","OBP baseline uses a consistent (H+BB)/(AB+BB) reached-base rate for BOTH player and league — the source feed carries no HBP or SF, so this is not the full (H+BB+HBP)/(AB+BB+HBP+SF) OBP; SLG is exact from the hit-type columns","league resolved from team code + season (most-recently-founded franchise existing by that season); the same resolver builds the baseline and looks up the player, so ratios stay internally coherent","a (season, league) bucket below the sample floor (3000 AB batting / 1000 IP pitching) yields null — no noisy baselines","regular season only; postseason lines are excluded from league baselines and metrics","AL and NL and each historical/Negro league are normalized separately — never blended across leagues or eras"]}}],"dataSources":["MLB StatsAPI (statsapi.mlb.com — official public league API; facts only, raw payloads not republished)"],"generatedAt":"2026-07-03T03:00:12.318Z"}