When the Orioles’ 60th anniversary season got underway, there were a few uncertainties surrounding the ball club.
How would Tommy Hunter respond to the closer role? Would Chris Tillman build on an impressive 2013 season that saw him earn a spot on the All-Star team? What would Chris Davis do for an encore? Would we get the Ubaldo Jimenez from the second half of last season or the inconsistent one?
If there’s one thing there was little doubt about, it was the power throughout the Orioles lineup. The nucleus of a team that hit a major league leading 212 home runs a year ago was returning and gained strength with the signing of Nelson Cruz.
As the season winds down, the Orioles once again find themselves atop the MLB leader board with 188 home runs through 142 games. The Colorado Rockies are second with 166 and the Blue Jays are third with 162.
Baltimore boasts seven players with double-digit home runs, led by Nelson Cruz’s major league-leading 39. He’s followed by Chris Davis (26), Adam Jones (24), Steve Pearce (16), Jonathan Schoop (15), Manny Machado (12), and Nick Markakis (12).
The team’s reliance on the home run in 2014 has been well documented. When they don’t hit one, it’s like pulling teeth trying to score.
As MASN showed during Sunday’s broadcast of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays, this year’s Birds are etching themselves a place in history when it comes to the number of runs scored via home runs.
The 2010 Blue Jays are comfortably in first, but the 2014 Orioles have a more than realistic chance of holding on to the second spot.
Of the 620 runs the Orioles scored entering play on Monday, 303 came courtesy of a home run.
On an individual basis, here is the percentage of RBIs via home runs for the seven players mentioned above:
- Nelson Cruz – 62.4
- Chris Davis – 59.7
- Adam Jones – 44.4
- Steve Pearce – 62.2
- Jonathan Schoop – 51.2
- Manny Machado – 65.6
- Nick Markakis – 40.9
Obviously, an offense based around home runs is prone to power outages from time to time, but it’s also what makes the Orioles the most explosive team in baseball and a potential headache in the postseason.
We didn’t expect the Orioles to be a high on-base percentage team and they haven’t been, sitting below the .317 AL average at .312 (10th). However, when it comes to mashing, they haven’t disappointed in the least, posting the AL’s second best slugging percentage (.422).
It’s shaping up to be a season to remember for various reasons in Birdland, one of which is the propensity for the O’s to score by way of the long ball.
