Baltimore Orioles: Five Things We Want To See In The 2020 Season

Jonathan Villar can’t be the only one to make moves on the base paths.

We knew the 2019 Orioles were going to make a lot of mistakes at the plate, in the field, and especially on the basepaths. From 2014-2017, Baltimore ranked dead last in stolen bases as a team before making a large jump into the upper half of the league in 2018.

The issue with the 2018 numbers was that Jonathan Villar, acquired at the trade deadline, stole 21 bags, while Jace Peterson and Craig Gentry combined for 25. That’s 46 of the 81 stolen bases coming from two players are no longer in the organization and Villar’s two months of play after the deadline.

Jump to 2019 and the Orioles ranked 11th in stolen bases with 84. Jonathan Villar was responsible for 40 of them. Richie Martin (10) was the only other player who reached double-digits.

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The Orioles weren’t necessarily successful when it came to base running, but they were more aggressive, which is a start. They ranked 11th in bases taken with 154 (advancing on passed balls, fly balls, etc.). That number was 141 last season. But they took a slight step back in terms of extra-bases taken (turning singles into doubles, for example). After taking an extra-base 41% of the time in 2018, the percentage dropped to 40% in 2019.

Per Fangraphs’ Baserunning metric (BsR), the Orioles were one of only 14 teams with a positive BsR (2.0). They were worth -9.6 BsR in 2018.

Clearly, there was more aggressiveness on the basepaths, but Villar accounted for much of that aggressiveness and success. More players will have to step up in 2020 to put this team in position to win ball games. Manager Brandon Hyde placed a major emphasis on the fundamentals last season. Let’s hope that continues next year and we see more a more aggressive approach turn into more success.

Other than more wins, what would you like to see in 2020 from this team? Let us know!