Endless depth to how the Orioles are completely inept
By almost any statistic one can name, Baltimore is a historically awful team
The Baltimore Orioles are bad. Very bad. Historically bad. Here’s just how bad they are.
They are 59 games back
So the good news is, if the season is mysteriously extended, and the Orioles rip off a 59-win streak and the Red Sox lose 59 in a row, the O’s could get into first place. Assuming the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays lose a lot, too.
In the modern era, only six teams have finished 60 games back or more, most recently the 1962 Mets at 62½ games. Yeah, those Mets. The record is 65½ games, set by the 1909 Boston Doves (predecessor of the Braves).
The overall record is secure. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134!) finished 84 back.
The Orioles are 44-108
That’s a .289 winning percentage going into Thursday’s games, which would be the worst since the 2003 Detroit Tigers (.265) and the second worst since the
’62 Mets.
“Every single locker in here should be thinking: You know, I should be fired because I sucked, period,” catcher Caleb Joseph told The Athletic.
They have lost all season
Their best month was March, when they were 1-1. Their second best month was July. They were 9-16.
They have a nine-game losing streak, an eight-game losing streak and three seven-game losing streaks. Their longest winning streak, achieved once, is four. They lose all kinds of games to everyone They are 13-34 in games decided by five or more runs. In one-run games, they are 12-26.
They have a losing record against every other American League team. They are 2-14 against the top-flight Red Sox, but also 5-14 against the Toronto Blue Jays (who themselves are 34 games out of first).
They are somehow underachieving Based on their runs scored and runs surrendered, they should be 52-100. Instead they are eight games back of that mark.
They can’t hit
They rank last in the American League in runs, hits, doubles and triples.
They are last in the majors in walks and on-base average, even though they have the advantage of the designated hitter.
Despite having the fewest base runners in baseball, they somehow rank second in grounding into double plays.
Only two Orioles rank in the top 10 of any statistical category. Chris Davis ranks fourth. In strikeouts. Adam Jones ranks seventh. In grounding into double plays. They can’t pitch
Their team ERA is a majors-worst 5.16. That’s the staff’s average ERA. That means that many of their pitchers, including the regular starters Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner and David Hess and relievers Mike Wright and Tanner Scott, actually have ERAs higher than 5.16.
The average batter, when facing Baltimore pitching, is hitting .278, with a .351 on-base and a .472 slugging, for an on-base plus slugging percentage of .823, close to all-star productivity.
Bundy has given up 38 home runs, first in the majors. Cashner, Bundy and Alex Cobb are battling for the loss title with 15 each.
They can’t field
Defensive efficiency measures the percentage of balls put into play that are converted into outs. The Orioles are at 67 per cent, last in baseball. Advanced fielding stats? The Total Zone rating calculated by Baseballprojection.com says they have given up 55 runs more than average because of their fielding, last in the majors again.
So is there hope?
The 2003 Tigers, the team whose record was even worse, won 29 more games the next year and made the World Series two years after that. The ’62 Mets won it all seven years later.
“The path between the good and the bad isn’t nearly as wide as some people might think,” manager Buck Showalter told BaltimoreBaseball.com this week.
Orioles fans had better hope he’s right.