Importance of O’s steady defense obvious in Texas

As I watched the Orioles’ series against the Texas Rangers this weekend I gained a newfound appreciation for the defense played by the Birds.

Nick Markakis robbing Adrian Beltre of a home run Friday was fantastic and the replay was worth watching a few times. Manny Machado’s barehanded play in the ninth inning Saturday was, well it was Manny Machado doing what he does seemingly once a week – making a play that inevitably leads to you think about a Hall of Fame third baseman who manned the hot corner for the Orioles decades ago.

While those plays were great, they weren’t necessarily what caused me to be thankful for the defense I see the Orioles play on a daily basis. The routine plays, which seemed as such for Baltimore, seemed anything but on a few occasions for Texas. Whether it was a bobbled ball by an infielder, fly ball not tracked well off the bat by an outfielder, or a carom of the wall not cleanly played, the Rangers weren’t at their sharpest with their gloves over the weekend.

That’s not to say the Rangers are a bad defensive team; they just further reinforced how costly miscues in the field can be and how they can change a game.

Including Sunday’s series-sweeping game, the Orioles have played 99 games this season and have had 3,672 chances in the field, fourth in the American League. Their 31 errors (in 7,938 innings) committed are the fewest in Major League Baseball and a fielding percentage of .992 has them sitting at the top of the list. The league average is .985.

Baltimore’s defensive efficiency, which measures the percentage of balls put into play that are converted into outs, of .704 is third in the AL behind Oakland (.716) and Tampa Bay (.710). Of those three teams the Orioles have highest number of defensive runs saved above average (Rdrs) at 17.

When thinking about the Orioles’ defense Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, and Manny Machado immediately come to mind, as they should. The first four each have a Gold Glove Award in their trophy case and Machado will as well in the near future.

In looking at the individual defensive leaders in the American League for 2013 you’ll find Orioles throughout.

Wieters leads AL catchers in throwing out attempted base stealers with a total of 17. Chris Davis is fourth among first basemen in fielding percentage at .995, which probably criminally gets overlooked because of his exploits with a bat in his hands thus far. Machado paces third baseman at .981. Hardy’s .983 is fifth for shortstops. Nate McLouth is one of a few left fielders currently at 1.000. Jones is fifth among center fielders (.995). Markakis is also errorless on the season and is the only right fielder with a 1.000 percentage.

Total Zone Runs measures the number of runs above or below average a player is worth based on their number of plays made. Ranks of Oriole players for their respective positions are: Machado (1^st), Wieters (1^st), and Flaherty (2^nd). Machado’s 20 lead the American League regardless of position.

Oriole pitchers have the third fewest strikeouts in the American League (663), leading to more balls put into play and an increased number of chances for the defense. The staff’s nine hits per nine innings allowed is tied for third-most in the AL, but 102 double plays turned (also third-most) behind them certainly doesn’t hurt.

As with most contending teams down the stretch, pitching is going to be of utmost importance for the Orioles in their charge towards the postseason. Not too far behind that will be the defense continuing to be among the stingiest Major League Baseball has to offer.

All stats via Baseball Reference