A Closer Look At Just How Dominant Red Sox Offense Has Been
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Through 59 games, the book on the 2016 Boston Red Sox is pretty simple: Historic offense, mediocre pitching.
It's a combination that's largely served them well, as evidenced by their 34-25 record, which is the third-best mark in the American League and has them likely lined up to contend for a postseason spot in October.
And it's really no stretch to say they're doing it almost entirely on offense. They've scored 342 runs thus far, which has them on pace to plate 939 runs this season. Since MLB went to a 162-game schedule in 1962, the Red Sox have scored 939 or more runs exactly twice -- in 2003 (961) and 2004 (949).
(Somehow, in 1950, in just 154 games, the Red Sox scored 1,027 runs. A league ERA of 4.58 might have helped. Regardless, they finished in third place. Sports, eh?)
Given their offensive success, it's no surprise to discover that the Red Sox are featured prominently at or near the top of just about every offensive category in the AL. Here's a closer look at where they stand at the moment.
Hits: Xander Bogaerts, 84
You can break the game down a million different ways, but if you want to get as simple as you can get, you can look at hits. And Xander Bogaerts has a lot of them.
His 84 hits are tops in all of Major League Baseball, with Daniel Murphy in second at 82 and Jose Altuve sitting at second in the AL with 81. Mookie Betts ranks fourth in MLB with 75 hits.
Doubles: David Ortiz, 26
Sit back and get comfortable, because there's going to be a lot of David Ortiz in your near future.
His 26 doubles are four more than anyone else in MLB, with Manny Machado and his 22 doubles sitting at second and Jose Altuve and Gregory Polanco at third with 21 apiece.
It's impossible to properly pace out doubles because of all the factors that go into hitting two-baggers as well as the fact that Ortiz can barely run, but for some perspective the current pace has Ortiz finishing the year with 71 doubles. His career high is 52, set in 2007 when he was 31 years old. He is now 40 years old.
The all-time record for doubles is 67.
RBIs: David Ortiz, 55
Once again, Ortiz is tops not just in the AL but in all of baseball with his 55 RBIs. Nolan Arenado, in the midst of an absurd season at third base for the Rockies, has 49 RBIs, with Robinson Cano and Mark Trumbo tied for runner-up in the AL with 48 apiece.
Pace is, again, not a predictable thing, but for perspective: Ortiz is on pace to drive in 151 runs. His career high is 148, which he did when he was 29 years old in 2005. Once again, he is 40.
On-Base Percentage: David Ortiz, .425
Despite ranking 24th in MLB in walks, Ortiz leads the AL in OBP and ranks third overall in baseball in the category. That means, in technical terms, that he is hitting the hell out of the baseball.
To wit: Ben Zobrist leads the majors with a .436 OBP, and he's been walked 39 times. Paul Goldschmidt is second, and he's been walked an absurd 55 times. Ortiz ranks third, despite just 29 walks.
The .340 BABIP for Ortiz helps here, but hitting rockets all over the field also helps the BABIP.
He's also 40.
Slugging Percentage: David Ortiz, .728
Extra-Base Hits: David Ortiz, 43
Total Bases: David Ortiz, 142
These are all getting bunched together, because David Ortiz is getting redundant.
His .728 slugging percentage is best in MLB by a mile. Mark Trumbo ranks second in the AL at .610. Adam Duvall ranks second in baseball at .611, and Daniel Murphy is also at .610. Nobody else in the entire sport is over .600. Yet David Ortiz, in case the header wasn't large enough, has a .728 slugging percentage.
More than any other stat on this page, the slugging percentage gap created by Ortiz is the most remarkable.
OPS: David Ortiz, 1.153
This one gets separated from the others because the gap is just so wide. Ortiz's 1.153 is best in all of baseball. The closest batter in the AL is Altuve at .970, a full 183 points behind Ortiz. Daniel Murphy ranks second in the majors, and even he is well behind Ortiz at 1.025.
Runs: Mookie Betts, 55
The Red Sox' unconventional leadoff man is having quite the year, and on the strength of a solid OBP (.341), some serious pop (14 HRs, 14 doubles), savvy baserunning (he's 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts) and batting in front of aforementioned ridiculous David Ortiz, it's led to him scoring more runs than anyone else in the majors. Ian Kinsler's second at 50, and teammate Xander Bogaerts is tied for third with 46.
Strikeouts: David Price, 91
Hey, look! A pitcher!
Granted, David Price hasn't lit up the American League this year, as evidenced by his 4.63 ERA, and his "stuff" hasn't looked as electric as it has in years past. Yet he's still managed to strike out 91 batters, which is three more than Chris Archer, who ranks second in the AL.
Price's 91 K's are nowhere close to the MLB lead, because NL pitchers get to prey on fellow NL pitchers at least twice every game before facing some meek pinch hitter in later innings. But as far as AL pitchers go, nobody's sending more frustrated batters back to the dugout than Price.
Close, But No Cigar
Look, leading in certain categories is wonderful, but there's no shame in being a few ticks off from the best.
Triples: Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, Tied-3rd
The dynamic outfielders have four triples apiece, one shy of the league lead.
Home Runs: David Ortiz, Tied-3rd
Ortiz's 16 homers are four shy of Mark Trumbo's 20 and three shy of Todd Frazier's 19.
RBIs: Mookie Betts, 5th
On the one hand, it's rare for a leadoff man to accumulate 45 RBIs in 59 games. But when the red-hot Jackie Bradley Jr. was batting at the bottom of the lineup for so long, it makes more sense.
WAR: Betts 6th, Bogaerts 7th, Ortiz 8th
The Red Sox may not have anyone in the top five in the AL in WAR, but they make up for it with this trio. Betts and Bogaerts are at 3.0, with David Ortiz just behind at 2.9. We shall not dig into the mathematics involved.
Intentional Walks: Ortiz, 2nd
The ultimate sign of respect, Ortiz ranks second in the AL with six intentional walks. Joe Mauer leads the league with seven, which speaks more to having no real protection in the lineup than anything else.
Total Bases: Mookie Betts, Tied-2nd
Betts is truly having a phenomenal season that might be slightly overshadowed by what Ortiz is doing or Bradley's and Bogaerts' hit streaks. His spot on this list, just behind Ortiz, should stand out.
Earned Runs Allowed: Steven Wright, 3rd
The knuckleballer has surprised just about everybody by allowing just 19 earned runs over 74.2 innings. He ranks behind Rich Hill (16 ER, though in 10.2 fewer innings than Wright) and Danny Salazar (17 ER in 5.1 fewer IP). Wright, naturally, ranks third in the AL in ERA behind those two pitchers.
Of Note
This jumps out in a big way: The Red Sox don't have any hitters in the top 10 of the American League in walks. David Ortiz ranks 12th, Bradley is tied for 24th, Dustin Pedroia is tied for 27th, Bogaerts is tied for 41st, and Betts is 42nd.
The days of taking pitches, drawing walks, and grinding out at-bats seem to be a thing of the past. Right? Well, no. They rank third in the AL in walks. So the team-wide approach is still there, and it's employed by very good hitters who take varied approaches and have thus far found success.
And the flip side of that: The Red Sox don't have any hitters in the top of the AL in strikeouts. Travis Shaw ranks 12th, Hanley Ramirez is tied for 34th, and Bogaerts is tied for 50th. As a team, they have the sixth-fewest strikeouts in the AL.
It's a fascinating dynamic, when examined that way. They've got a ton of walks, but they're spread out up and down the lineup. They don't strike out too much, and when they're making contact, they tend to be pulverizing the baseball, as seen in their 242 extra-base hits, which is 45 more than any other AL team.
The bottom line, when all of these numbers are taken in totality, is that this is a lineup that's built to last, one that's seemingly bulletproof from a prolonged slump or two along the way, and one that should only continue to produce through the summer months. Provided the pitching can get injected with at least a little bit of improvement, the end result should be a baseball team that remains enjoyable to watch until at least the end of September.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
