Are Double Plays Saving the Oakland A's?

The Oakland A’s have outperformed expectations this year, but one particular piece of the puzzle happens within the infield dirt

May 6, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Abraham Toro (31) fields a / Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

For a team whose Over/Under was set at 57.5 wins this year, the 19-26 Athletics have notched one-third of their anticipated wins in just over 1/6th of the season. You may not see webgems or highlights on a national scale, but the Oakland A’s are currently third in the AL West and performing reasonably well so far in 2024, surprising fans near and far. Despite having a buzzworthy bullpen, no one wins on pitching alone, however impressive that has been. This club has to be stopping runs and producing them someplace else.

With a rotating door of moderately-unknowns, the Athletics have quietly turned the most double-plays this year in all of baseball (up through May 15th). Between injuries and utility-man musical-chairs, repeating an infield lineup has been rare, and yet somehow Oakland has completed 47 of the beneficial defensive plays, while the rest of the league is averaging 33.4.

It's not a consistent cast turning them, so it can’t be attributed to chemistry or practicing as a group. Of the top 4 participants, only one player has been with the major league club for the entirety of the season - Abraham Toro, who has slotted at every infield position save for shortstop. While their total is already the best in baseball as a group, the Athletics could have tallied even more if it wasn’t for some gaffs at short early in the year. Nick Allen had amassed an MLB-high six errors before being demoted to AAA.

Comparatively, elsewhere in the sport, Gold-Glove-laden infields such as the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers have only turned 35 and 33 respectively. The next best team on the list after Oakland is the neighboring San Francisco Giants with 45, and their National League West colleagues the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks tied for third with 44. 

For some perspective, these totals do reflect the success of the aforementioned pitching staff; ground balls don't come out of thin air. The A's have showcased save-earning shutdowns from multiple arms, finishing off some solid starts and forcing opposing clubs to either whiff or knock the ball to the ground, boosting these numbers.

On the other side of the ending-inning coin is productive hitting. The best way to get crooked numbers in the box score is to put the ball in play, and the boys in green have been able to do that without having the same fate returned unto them. Among players who have started the most games for the Oakland club, A's batters on average are simply not hitting into double plays at the same pace as the rest of MLB.

As of May 15th, the Athletics who have most frequently been in the lineup have hit into doubleplays at a fairly low rate per possible DP opportunity so far in 2024 (per MLB’s statistics): 

Abraham Toro: 0 times in 23 opportunities; JJ Bleday: 2 in 27 opportunities; Zack Gelof: 2 in 15; Brent Rooker: 0 in 12. The highest ratio on the team belongs to everyday catcher Shea Langeliers, who has hit into doubleplays 7 times in 26 opportunities, despite having one of the fastest sprint speeds (28.1 ft/sec) on the roster. 

All of this does of course rely on where guys bat in the order, but it's worth noting because it's just a smidge better than how the League’s stars are performing this season. For example, Cleveland Guardian Josh Naylor has grounded into DP 5 times in 21 chances, and Yankees’ superstar Aaron Judge is practically handing out bonus outs, grounding into 11 double plays in 32 opportunities. 

These numbers will be interesting to keep an eye on as the season continues and the young A’s infield acclimates to the big leagues. If they are able to maintain this level of discipline and bring those baserunners home, they could have an impressive summer.