A’s Offense is no longer Offensive
If you’ll pardon the terrible pun in the title, I actually have a point to make.
For most of the season, the A’s were known as the worst hitting club in the majors. They shared company with the Royals and Devil Rays. Usually, any time you’re in that company, you’re not exactly looking at a playoff contending team.
Of course, that was before the A’s patented Second-Half-Surge©
Since then, the A’s have the 4th highest batting average in baseball.
If you narrow your range of data to just games played since August 1st, a month and a half ago, the A’s have a surprisingly good offense.
We are all familiar with the Yankees offense. It’s a multi-million dollar free agent juggernaut, scoring runs at will.
The closest team to the Yankees over the past 30 days? Oakland.
For comparison, here are the AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS/HR lines for the teams:
OAK .299/.382/.490/35NYY .300/.384/.490/38
Look alike, don’t they? The A’s are not only putting up a pretty line, though, they’re scoring runs. Over that same time span, here’s where else the offense ranks in the AL:
-2nd in runs scored
-2nd in walks taken
-2nd in RBI
-2nd in doubles
-3rd in total bases
-2nd in fewest strikeouts
-1st in slugging
-2nd in batting average
-2nd in on base percentage
-2nd in OPS
-2nd in number of pitches seen
-2nd in extra base hits