Cleveland Guardians Are Worst Team In Baseball In Several Key Areas

It's a miracle that the Cleveland Guardians are in first place given all of these very concerning statistics.

Aug 31, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) reacts after striking out during the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have managed to stamp their name among the best teams in baseball in spite of a very strange season overall.

Their starting pitching has been abysmal and their offensive has been maddeningly inconsistent, but thanks to a dynamic bullpen, the Guardians are on track to win the AL Central.

But there is one very unique area in which Cleveland is the worst club in the league: batting average on balls in play, more commonly known as BABIP.

The Guardians lay claim to a BABIP of .271, which is well below the approximate league average of .290.

While a low BABIP may sometimes suggest bad luck, there are other factors at play here, which Chad Jennings and Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic note.

Cleveland is at the bottom of the league in hard-hit percentage, home run distance and exit velocity. The Guardians also have the second-lowest barrel rate and the third-fewest balls hit at least 95 mph.

Quite simply, Cleveland is not making great contact, which is the primary reason why the club's offense has largely sputtered over the last couple of months.

Given those concerning numbers, it's no wonder that the Guardians rank 22nd in the MLB in batting average and 17th in OPS.

Taking all of that into consideration, it's truly astonishing that Cleveland is 80-60 going into Friday's action, although the Guardians have gone just 44-43 since their 36-17 start. They have also gone a mere 29-34 since peaking at 51-26 in June.

As of right now, Cleveland is doing just enough to keep separation between itself and the rest of the squads within its division, but we'll see if all of these issues come back to bite the Guardians in the playoffs.