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1. Even after last night's offensive barrage, Twins batters are hitting a collective 247/306/360. Their 665 OPS ranks second-to-last in the AL, behind only the historically awful Seattle Mariners.
2. What does a 665 OPS look like? Juan Pierre currently has a 668 OPS. Juan. Pierre.
3. The Twins have given 50 or more plate appearances to 18 different players. Only three of those players - Cuddyer, Thome and Kubel - have hit above the league average (as measured by both OPS+ and wRAA).
4. The Twins have combined to post a weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) of .295. That's second worst in the league behind (you guessed it) the Seattle Mariners. But even that doesn't do it justice. Below is a chart of the ten worst team wOBAs in the AL since 2000:
|
Season |
Team |
wOBA |
|
2010 |
Mariners |
0.286 |
|
2011 |
Mariners |
0.287 |
|
2003 |
0.294 |
|
|
2011 |
Twins |
0.295 |
|
2002 |
Tigers |
0.296 |
|
2008 |
0.307 |
|
|
2001 |
Devil Rays |
0.309 |
|
2007 |
0.311 |
|
|
2005 |
Royals |
0.312 |
|
2004 |
Royals |
0.313 |
That's some pretty impressive company. The 2010 Mariners lost 101 games, and the 2002 and 2003 Tigers combined to lose 225 games.
5. Now I have to admit: that last chart is a little unfair to the Twins. Fangraphs' wOBA doesn't adjust for league or park, and the 2011 Twins are playing in a pitchers' park at a time when league-wide offense is on the decline. Luckily, we have a different measure - weighted Runs Created (wRC+) - which does have the appropriate adjustments. Here's where this current Twins team ranks among the worst American League offenses of the 21st Century:
|
Season |
Team |
wRC+ |
|
2010 |
Mariners |
78 |
|
2003 |
Tigers |
78 |
|
2011 |
Mariners |
81 |
|
2002 |
Tigers |
81 |
|
2004 |
Royals |
81 |
|
2000 |
Devil Rays |
83 |
|
2011 |
Twins |
84 |
|
2007 |
Royals |
84 |
|
2007 |
85 |
|
|
2002 |
Royals |
85 |
6. And, no, it's not fair to chalk up our miserable offense to our pitcher-friendly home park. The Twins are just the second-worst offense in the AL at home (.676 OPS, .300 wOBA). On the road, however, they're the worst-hitting team in the AL (.655 OPS, .290 wOBA).
Well, that was fun. On the bright side, Kansas City blew a late lead last night, meaning the Twins still have a half-game lead on the last-place Royals. In fact, if you believe in the predictive power run differential, we should actually feel lucky to be where we are right now. The Astros have won three straight games, and have improved their run differential by 10 runs in the process. That now leaves your Minnesota Twins with the worst run differential in baseball (-149). Gross.