Loading... Please wait...
- Home
- John Dewan's Stat of the Week
- Padres hitting .218!
Padres hitting .218!
Posted by John Dewan on Dec 16th 2015
May 06, 2011
But they are not the worst hitting team in the majors. That honor goes to the Minnesota Twins who have the worst OPS (.615) and the fewest runs per game (3.07). The Twins are hitting 12 points higher than the Padres at .230, but their OPS is based on an MLB-low .292 on-base percentage and an MLB-low .323 slugging percentage. The San Diego Padres are the worst in the National League with an OPS of .625 and 3.13 runs per game.
How bad is hitting .218 as of Cinco de Mayo? It's bad, but surprisingly, there was another team even worse in the last 10 years. The 2003 Tigers were hitting .198 on this date, even in the midst of the Steroid Era. The Twins OPS? Three teams worse in the last 10 years. The '03 Tigers again (.545), the '04 Expos (.596) and last year's Astros (.601). These three teams were also the only teams under three runs per game.
Is this a league-wide trend? Yes it is. More than a third of the teams in baseball are currently hitting .240 or less. Here are the number .240-or-worse teams by season, going back the last 10 years.
| Number of teams .240 or less through May 5 |
||
| Year | Teams |
|
| 2002 | 8 |
|
| 2003 | 4 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 3 | |
| 2006 | 5 | |
| 2007 | 5 | |
| 2008 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 4 | |
| 2010 | 7 | |
| 2011 | 12 | |
Seven teams last year and 12 teams this year at .240 or less shows how pitching is on the upswing.
Quick plug: Joe Sheehan turned me on to the Padres anemic batting average in a recent edition of the Joe Sheehan Newsletter. There's a subscription price of $29.95, but it's well worth the price (joesheehan.com).