One Unlucky Area Has Held Baltimore Orioles Back From Dominating on Offense

While it's been a great year for the Baltimore Orioles on offense, one unlucky category has held them back from completely dominating opposing pitching staffs.

Sep 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) talks with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

With under a month until the regular season ends, the Baltimore Orioles have remained in the fight for the AL East title and top record in the American League.

They have impressed throughout he campaign, overcoming a litany of injuries by relying on their young, emerging stars to carry the load on offense, and having their high-profile addition Corbin Burnes anchor their rotation.

Having a half-game lead in their division and for the top seed in the AL is a testament to the roster construction that Mike Elias and his front office have accomplished, while also tipping the cap to what Brandon Hyde and his coaching staff have done from a developmental standpoint.

That's evident by their league-leading dominance in one statistical category that has allowed their offense to carry this team while dealing with devastating injuries to their pitching staff.

But, there's a chance this lineup could have produced even more if it wasn't for one unlucky stat.

"The Orioles offense doesn't need a ton of help, but it’s gotten less than most. The O's have reached base on an error less than half as many times as the Pirates, who lead the league with 51 such baserunners," writes Chad Jennings of The Athletic.

While that is a niche category when it comes to offense, it does point out that some negative variance has been at play for the Orioles outside of the multiple injuries to their impact players.

One could only imagine how many more runs Baltimore might have scored if they had extra men on base because the other team was booting the ball around the yard.

They current rank third in Major League Baseball with a total of 709 runs scored, trailing only the Arizona Diamondbacks (765) and their division rival New York Yankees (717).

Jennings does point out the lack of opposing team's errors may be a result of them not hitting a lot of ground balls, something that is a positive thing in and of itself.

Still, these are the things that go into the game of baseball.

Maybe if they had some positive variance going their way, they might have a commanding lead in the AL East and would be holding a multiple game advantage in the race for the American League's top seed.