Kansas City Royals: Good Hitting, Bad Results
In Major League Baseball, a lot of emphasis is placed on batting average. Historically, a better batting average has been associated with better play and production. The Kansas City Royals have managed to paradoxically challenge that notion. The Royals currently have League-leading a team average of .281.
The next closest contender, the Texas Rangers, are batting 2 points lower. In fact, Kansas City’s mark is 22 points greater than the major league average of .259. Individually, the Royals have four batters hitting over .300, and David DeJesus [.320] and Billy Butler [.317] are among the top ten hitters in the American League.
This would make it seem as if the Royals were a good team. Unfortunately, the Royals have a meagre 40-52 record and are currently fourth in the AL Central, the league’s worst division.
The Royals’ woes cannot be blamed on bad pitching or defence either. Their high batting average has simply defied the classic notion of being good offence. The ‘best hitters’ in baseball are 10th in the American League in runs scored, a ranking which can only get worse at this point. The Royals are currently in the midst of a series with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays’ average is a glaring 38 points lower than Kansas City’s, yet they have more runs.
The main problems facing the Royals are ones of game management. Although the Royals have a high batting average, they are dead last in walks. So in reality, the Royals aren’t getting on base at a much higher rate than other teams. They may get the most hits, but they are a mid-ranking team in actual on-base percentage.
When they do hit the ball, it is also without power. They have only 62 home runs, which ranks them 12th in the league. So when the Royals hit the ball, they aren’t doing it in a manner which results in immediate scoring. When on base, they are further plagued by poor running.
In accordance to the Bill James base-running system the Royals are the worst base-running team in the league as well. The Bill James base-running system gauges a hitter’s overall contribution on the bases, his base-stealing, avoidance of the double play, and success at taking the extra base while avoiding being thrown out.
The Royals also have a bizarre obsession with trying to steal bases, possibly due to hitting so many singles. The Royals have successfully stolen a base just 33 times in their 88 attempts. This means they are getting caught 10% more than the average baseball team.
What the Royals need to do is alter their philosophy. It seems as if they want to have the highest batting average in baseball, even though it clearly does not translate to overall success. They have phenomenal minor league prospects such as Kila Ka’aihue, and refuse to call them up. Ka’aihue even had a wonderful spring training performance of .347/.448/.673 with four homers and was bizarrely sent back to the minors.
Ka’aihue is just the type of player the Royals need. He has a solid batting average and a great eye for getting on base. He knows when to take a walk and he also knows how to hit for power. Instead, the organization has allowed the 26-year-old to waste away his talents at a subpar level.
The players the Royals do value are just as bizarre a choice as ignoring a clearly talented young first baseman. Left fielder and lead-off hitter Scott Podsednik has been praised for hitting .300, but actually contributes nothing to the team. He has a below average OPS+ measure of 80, which makes him just one of two American League left fielders to be below 100.
If the Royals called up their young prospects, like Ka’aihue and overlooked left fielder Alex Gordon, they could actually improve their team. Instead, they have wasted their season on hitting singles at a high rate while losing games.
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