Wednesday, October 1, 2014
How Good Was The Bucs Offense In 2014?
The Pirates offense made some major advancements as the year progressed, especially considering they were one of the worst in baseball through April. Here is where they ranked in the National League in most major categories (and keep in mind they play in one of the most pitcher friendly parks in baseball, Colorado is 1st in almost every category):
Runs - 4th
Hits - 3rd
Doubles - 5th
Triples - 7th
Home Runs - 3rd
Total Bases - 3rd
RBI - 3rd
Batting Average - 3rd
OBP - 2nd
OPS - 3rd
Strikeouts - 12th
Walks - 1st
HBP - 2nd
SB - 4th
Total Groundballs - 10th
Total Flyballs - 3rd
Extra Base hits - 4th
Now for a few of the more in depth metrics:
wOBA - 3rd
wRC+ - 2nd
Looking through more metrics like wRC+ which adjust for the baseball parks the Pirates and Dodgers rate a good bit above the rest of the league. Not a lot separates those two but once you get passed them the difference is more noticeable.
Ultimately looking at these stats you really see a lot of what you'd expect. If you're scoring a lot of runs you're probably getting on base a lot and walking a lot. You're most likely not hitting a lot of groundballs and not striking out much. It would be difficult to deny that the Pirates finished 2014 with one of the best offenses in baseball.
Pitchers
John Holdzkom
Jared Hughes
Bobby LaFromboise (L)
Jeff Locke (L)
Mark Melancon
Edinson Volquez (starter)
Tony Watson (L)
Justin Wilson (L)
Vance Worley
Catchers
Russell Martin
Tony Sanchez
Chris Stewart
Infielders
Clint Barmes
Ike Davis (L)
Josh Harrison
Jordy Mercer SS
Brent Morel
Gaby Sanchez
Neil Walker (S)
Outfielders
Andrew Lambo (L)
Starling Marte
Andrew McCutchen
Gregory Polanco (L)
Travis Snider (L)
Jose Tabata
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