The Baltimore Orioles are bad. Really, really bad. This was already known prior to them dropping Saturday’s home game against the hapless Miami Marlins.
But following the loss, it’s now apparent that this year’s version of the Orioles could be among the worst in Major League Baseball history. Boasting a 19-50 record, Baltimore has lost nine consecutive games. During said nine-game span, the Orioles are being outscored by an average of three runs per. They have also dropped 11 straight home dates
Now boasting a .275 winning percentage on the season, Baltimore finds itself on a pace that will nearly match the 2003 Detroit Tigers for the worst record in baseball over the past 56-plus years.
With “bad luck, we could be looking at an Orioles squad that could match the 1904 Washington Senators — a team that posted a 38-113 mark.
Though, there’s a lot more to this than Baltimore’s record.
Buck Showalter’s squad ranks dead last in MLB with a .224 team batting average. If that stays at this level, it would represent the worst mark in the game in over a half century. Baltimore also ranks 27th in total bases, dead last in on-base percentage and has struck out 621 times compared to just 197 walks.
When we take out of the equation Manny Machado, who is likely to be dealt in the next five weeks, Baltimore’s team batting average drops to .214.
Former All-Star Chris Davis is on pace to have one of the worst seasons for an everyday player in the modern history of the game. He’s hitting just .150 on the season with four homers and 15 RBI. The slugger has also struck out a whopping 86 times in 207 at-bats. That’s a 42 percent strikeout rate.
Not helping matters here, proven starters Alex Cobb and Chris Tillman have combined for a 3-13 record with an ERA of 8.27 and a 1.91 WHIP.
At this point, one really has to wonder how long manager Buck Showalter and front office head Dan Duquette will keep their jobs. Following this weekend’s action against Miami, the Orioles will play a string of 15 consecutive games against teams either in playoff positioning or in contention.
We’re likely to know a lot more about this potentially history-breaking Orioles season once that stretch of action comes to a conclusion. But for now, Baltimore might very well be one of the worst teams in baseball history. That’s quite an accomplishment.