Ultimate Value Index

Ultimate Value Index, often abbreviated as UVI, is a baseball statistic developed by Scout.com columnist Nathaniel Stoltz that condenses a player's value into one statistic, whether the player is a hitter or a pitcher. The hitting statistic is often compared to Thomas Boswell's total average or the more commonly used slugging percentage, but is slightly more advanced, accounting for bunts and sacrifice flies, and the denominator of UVI is plate appearances instead of outs made. The hitting formula looks like this:

(Total Bases + Walks + Times Hit By Pitch + Stolen Bases - Times Caught Stealing + .25(Bunts + Sac Flies) - Times Grounded Into Double Play - .1(Strikeouts))/Plate Appearances

The pitching formula draws on Voros McCracken's DIPS theory and attempts to take the elements of luck out of pitching. It looks like this:

(.275(Ground Balls Allowed) + 4*(Homers Allowed) + 1.394*(.3606*Fly Balls Allowed) - Homers Allowed) + Walks Allowed + Batters Hit By Pitch)/Plate Appearances Against

UVI is one of the few baseball statistics that is comparable for a hitter and a pitcher, and it is the only known rate statistic that has this functionality.

UVI does not account for defense for either a hitter or a pitcher, which slightly limits its functionality.

UVI has three "orders;" the first is based on raw statistics, the second adjusts the data for a player's home park, and the third translates minor league statistics to the majors, although the translation system is largely unrefined. UVI currently is not a "projection" system, only translating statistics from past or present seasons, although Stoltz claims that a projection system is currently being tested as of April 2008.

Average UVIs typically lie slightly above average slugging percentages, typically in the .460-.470 range. For hitters, higher is better, and the inverse is true for pitchers.

The highest known single-season batter UVI is Barry Bonds' .897 mark in 2001.