Baltimore Orioles’ Offense Still a Work in Progress
By Nate Wardle
The Baltimore Orioles are undefeated at 5-0, the only undefeated team left in Major League Baseball.
With being undefeated, most people would think that the team’s offense is off to a great start. Not so fast.
The team has scored 3, 4, 4, 6 and 5 runs so far. That averages out to 4.4 runs a game.
The Orioles currently sit in the bottom half (18th) of all teams in runs scored, but have also played less games than half of the teams.
However, the two most notable stats so far are both very positive for the Orioles.
After one week, the Orioles are tied for 3rd-best in fewest strikeouts by a team. With 33 strikeouts, this is well below the league leaders of Minnesota and Toronto at 72 and 71 respectively.
Manny Machado has struck out six times, but is also hitting .429 with 3 HRs and 5 runs scored. I’ll take the strikeouts.
Chris Davis has struck out five times, but also has four walks. Pedro Alvarez and Adam Jones both have struck out four times, with Alvarez 1-15 and Jones 2-10 with the 4 Ks.
The Orioles also have the second best batting average in the majors, led by Mark Trumbo batting .474, Joey Rickard at .444 and Manny at .429.
On the flip side, Jones is hitting .200, Davis .176, J.J. Hardy .167 and Alvarez at .067.
So, are the O’s looking good right now. Yes. But, they could be better.
The team has nine doubles and eight home runs, and no triples so far. The only person with more than one double is Jonathan Schoop, who has three.
These numbers may be a result of a more patient approach, which has been very successful so far. But, being patient will provide more opportunities for home runs and doubles as the season moves forward.
Right now, the Orioles offense is doing well and manufacturing runs. The signs of power have been displayed, but I think there is a lot more to come from the O’s hitters.
Let’s see what Week 2 has in store!