Numbers Good and Bad

As the Orioles head toward Boston and as the team now looks back on the first 25 games of the season, there are some statistical numbers about

which to be REALLY excited. Yet, at the same time, there are some very scary numbers hanging around that put some dark clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky.

Really Exciting Good Numbers

–          The Orioles are 3^rd in the AL in doubles with 45

–          The Orioles are 3^rd in the AL in homers with 34

–          The Orioles are #1 in the AL with the least runs per game scored against them – 3.40

–          The Orioles have the best ERA in the AL at 2.83!!

–          Orioles pitchers have the fewest wild pitches in the AL – only 3

–          The Orioles pitchers have a WHIP of 1.195 – 2^nd best in the AL

–          Orioles pitchers have given up the 2^nd least number of total hits – 193

–          Robert Andino’s .342 average is 6^th in the AL

–          From the 7^th inning and following, the Orioles are 4^th best in the AL in average (.259) and the best by far in ERA – 1.54!!!

Really Scary Bad Numbers

–          The Orioles are dead last in the AL with 6 stolen bases

–          The Orioles are one walk short of being dead last in the AL with walks – 62

–          The Orioles are 2^nd in the AL in most double plays grounded into

–          The Orioles are dead last in fielding percentage in the AL at .977, along with the most errors at 22 … although they are 2^nd in turning the most double plays – 29

–          The Orioles are 12^th in the AL with average with RISP at .232

–          Reynolds, Chavez, and Johnson are a combined .116 (17 for  147) with 7 RBIs and 0 homers

–          Kevin Gregg has only pitched in 5 games (maybe that should be in the section above!) and has a 7.94 ERA and cannot be trusted in any critical situation

Summary Numbers and the Bottom Line

The most important number is this: 16-9.  And that is an awesome record for this time of the year. Extended out to 162 games, it projects to 103-104 wins. There is no way to see the start of this season as anything but very good. There will always be room for improvement in some aspect of the team’s performance. It is unlikely the pitchers can sustain the current numbers for an entire season, nor will Hardy, Markakis, or Reynolds hit at their current average.