Baltimore Orioles: The Left Field Fiasco of 2015

Jun 15, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder David Lough (9), center fielder Adam Jones (10) and right fielder Nolan Reimold (14) run off the field after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

It is generally believed that the Baltimore Orioles had a terrible season in 2015 at the corner outfield positions. Just how bad was it?

This is the second of two articles examining that claim more closely, beginning previously with right field.

In the prior article, certainly most Orioles fans were a bit surprised to see that the actual numbers from right field were not that bad, including a .275 batting average. But the statistics today will likely prove to be every bit as terrible as expected, and likely even beyond the imagination of most readers.

So this is your warning to jump out if you do not want to see some ugly statistics.

The revolving door of players through left field was as bad as in the other corner outfield position. Baltimore played 11 different people out there behind Machado and Hardy.

When all is totaled, Orioles left fielders were rather definitively near the bottom of the American League in every offensive category except home runs, and even there they were only ranked eighth.

The following chart lists seven offensive statistics, followed by the average stat for that category among AL teams, followed by the total number produced by Orioles left fielders, and finally listing how the O’s ranked in the entire league.

Statistic	AL avg.	O’s	AL Rank
Batting Avg.	.251	.210	14^th
On Base Pct.	.313	.287	13^th
Home Runs	19	18	8^th
Hits	151	121	13^th
Runs	77	71	11^th
RBIs	71	53	14^th
Xtra Base Hits	53	42	14^th

That is a pretty ugly graph. When preparing this chart and placing today’s numbers in it to replace the previous right field stats, it was interesting to see that left field is definitely less offensively productive throughout the American League. In most categories it was about 85-90% of what right fielders produced.

Even so, the sort of numbers we are seeing here are really quite horrific. There is no way that Hyun Soo Kim can be anything but a very massive upgrade, even if he does have some adjustment struggles with American MLB pitching.

Here is a chart of what individual Orioles produced when playing left field in 2015 …

NAME	GP	AB	H	HR	RBI	BA	OBP
David Lough	49	78	17	1	2	.218	.256
Steve Pearce	40	117	25	6	14	.214	.301
Travis Snider	38	119	26	2	9	.218	.321
Nolan Reimold	36	104	23	5	16	.221	.319
Alejandro De Aza	19	72	12	3	6	.167	.211
Henry Urrutia	8	30	9	1	6	.300	.344
Gerardo Parra	7	28	4	0	0	.143	.226
Junior Lake	4	14	2	0	0	.143	.143
Delmon Young	2	8	2	0	0	.250	.333
Ryan Flaherty	1	4	1	0	0	.250	.250
Jimmy Paredes	1	1	0	0	0	.000	.000
Totals	162	575	121	18	53	.210	.287

That is simply brutal to look at. It is almost as if there was a curse upon anyone who stepped into left field for the Orioles. The only one who seemed to avoid it was Urrutia, though it only amounted to 30 at-bats. Actually, Urrutia probably deserved a longer look and greater opportunities. One has to wonder if it is ever going to happen for him.