Believe it or not, Tampa Bay Rays utilityman Ben Zobrist is considered by some to be the most valuable player in baseball.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Zobrist the major-league leader in Wins Above Replacement since 2009.

He is second to Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in Fangraphs.com’s version of WAR.

Zobrist has never batted .300 in a season, never hit 30 homers, never driven in 100 runs.

"It goes well beyond WAR," Rays manager Joe Maddon says. "It's the entire person and player that makes him as good as he is."

WAR estimates the number of wins that a player provides over a minor-league or waiver-wire "replacement," taking into account offense, defense and base-running.