We know that Craig Kimbrel stands atop any reliever leaderboard you can gussy up. Does he stand so far away from second place that he’s a one of a kind guy right now? That’s easy enough to answer.

Using stats from 2011-2014, we can sort each position by WAR and basically “index” the first place player by comparing him to the second place player. In other words, in percentage terms, how much better is the best player at his position than the second-best player? And how does Kimbrel fit into that picture?

Answer: well.

That last one might be messed up by positional adjustments. Because Edwin Encarnacion has played over 200 games in the field since 2011 started, and those games have given him the value to basically catch David Ortiz, maybe we should compare Ortiz the next DH on the list: Victor Martinez. Then he’d be 75% better over the four-year time frame we have here. Maybe it’s not fair, because Martinez missed a year, but since we’re talking about excellence over a four-year span, health has to be counted as part of the picture.

In any case, yes, if you think Clayton Kershaw and Miguel Cabrera are one of a kind, then Craig Kimbrel is one of a kind. At his position. Which is reliever. But still — the very best reliever, from 2011 to 2014, by a good margin.