Baltimore Orioles Offensive Woes Run Deep in 2018
By Nate Wardle
The Baltimore Orioles are the worst team offensively in baseball, and there are more than one or two players to blame.
If I said the Baltimore Orioles’ offense is offensive, you would agree wholeheartedly. But, I want to look at why it is so bad, not just that it is bad.
The Baltimore Orioles have scored the fewest runs in baseball at 233. Boston, on the other hand, has scored 349, to lead MLB. The Baltimore Orioles have 511 hits, which is the fewest in the American League, and 26th in baseball. All teams below are National League teams who have to send their pitchers to the plate.
The Orioles are 23rd in doubles, with only Tampa Bay below them from the American League. A typical Orioles’ strong point, the team is 17th in home runs with 74, below the average of 79 in the American League.
Their batting average is second-worst, with only the Arizona Diamondbacks below them. Their on-base percentage is the worst in the game. It has been a really bad season.
Let’s look a little deeper though. First, let’s look at positions where the performance is actually better in 2018.
Let’s start off with a note, and that is that we will compare the Baltimore Orioles’ 2017 third base play to their 2018 shortstop play, to account for the player that is Manny Machado.
In 2017, Manny Machado and the Orioles’ third basemen hit .258/.308/.471 with 34 home runs, 169 hits, 84 runs and 98 RBIs. Those statistics ranked 13th, 24th, 11th, seventh, eighth, 12th and seventh. The only real outlier here is, of course, on-base percentage.
In 2018, Machado and the team’s shortstops are hitting .309/.381/.578 with 18 home runs, 79 hits, 50 runs and 50 RBIs. Those numbers are third, first, first, first, fourth, first, first. Yes, Machado and the O’s SS are first in on-base percentage!
Where else are the Orioles having a better year offensively than 2017? How about another player who quite possibly could be traded soon.
Adam Jones has seen most of the starts both years in center field. In 2017, the Baltimore Orioles’ center fielders hit .279/.316/.450 with 27 home runs, 186 hits, 89 runs and 80 RBIs. Those numbers ranked the O’s in eighth, 24th, seventh, sixth, fourth, 18th, and tenth. The outliers here being, of course, on-base percentage and then also runs scored.
As for 2018, Orioles’ center fielders are hitting .307/.329/.471 with 10 home runs, 84 hits, 31 runs and 30 RBIs. Those numbers are first, 14th, fourth, sixth, first, ninth, and ninth. Just goes to show how good of a season Jones is having, and also the fact that Joey Rickard and Craig Gentry have done well filling in offensively for Jones.
That’s it. Not that it should be a surprise, but every other position is having a worse year in 2018 than they did in 2017.