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I don’t think this is breaking news at this point, but the Royals offense is terrible. They have scored just 3.47 runs-per-game, easily the worst in all of baseball, including all 15 National League teams which have pitchers hit on a regular basis. They are last in all of baseball in slugging, second-to-last in on-base percentage, and last in home runs. They have drawn fewer walks than everyone but the White Sox, and are dead last in OPS with men on base.
The offense has been poor all season, but in June, the team took it to a new low. The Royals, as a team, hit .193/.253/.303 in the month of June. Three pitchers with at least 50 plate appearances last year hit better than that.
The Royals as a team had a 50 wRC+ for the month of June. Alcides Escobar has a career 70 wRC+. Chris Getz had a career 66 wRC+.
— Patrick Brennan (@paintingcorner) July 1, 2018
Nine players with 20 plate appearances or more hit under .200 for the month. Drew Butera went 1-for-16. Alcides Escobar hit .115/.163/.184, one of the worst-hitting months by any regular in Royals history.
Worst hitting month by a Royals regular
Player | Split | Year | GS | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Split | Year | GS | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Tony Pena | August | 2007 | 23 | 81 | .128 | .160 | .141 | .302 |
Angel Salazar | June | 1987 | 28 | 93 | .143 | .152 | .154 | .306 |
Jose Lind | May | 1993 | 21 | 75 | .160 | .160 | .173 | .333 |
Alcides Escobar | June | 2018 | 26 | 92 | .115 | .163 | .184 | .347 |
Tony Pena | May | 2008 | 23 | 79 | .156 | .177 | .182 | .359 |
Freddie Patek | May | 1979 | 20 | 72 | .159 | .171 | .188 | .360 |
Freddie Patek | Sept/Oct | 1972 | 27 | 98 | .138 | .216 | .161 | .377 |
Tony Pena | April/March | 2008 | 23 | 81 | .156 | .175 | .208 | .383 |
Tom Goodwin | April/March | 1997 | 22 | 96 | .143 | .209 | .179 | .387 |
Neifi Perez | June | 2002 | 27 | 119 | .184 | .186 | .202 | .388 |
This just in, Tony Pena, Jr. was a lousy hitter.
But let’s not put this all on Escobar, the entire team stunk at hitting last month. Since 1969, only five teams that had 20 games in a month have scored fewer runs per game.
Fewest runs/game in a month since 1969 (min. 20 games)
Team | Month | Year | G | OPS | R | R/G |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Month | Year | G | OPS | R | R/G |
MON | April/March | 2004 | 24 | .552 | 45 | 1.88 |
TEX | Sept/Oct | 1972 | 29 | .473 | 57 | 1.97 |
CAL | May | 1969 | 27 | .566 | 58 | 2.15 |
NYM | July | 1972 | 26 | .528 | 57 | 2.19 |
SDP | June | 2014 | 27 | .492 | 60 | 2.22 |
KCR | June | 2018 | 26 | .556 | 58 | 2.23 |
DET | April/March | 2003 | 24 | .512 | 55 | 2.29 |
SDP | July | 1976 | 30 | .568 | 69 | 2.30 |
CAL | August | 1971 | 27 | .592 | 63 | 2.33 |
SDP | July | 1971 | 29 | .568 | 68 | 2.34 |
And things didn’t get any better in the first game of July - they lost 1-0 to the Mariners, a game in which they managed just two hits.
The Royals set a MLB record today for consecutive games with 5 or fewer runs and 9 or fewer hits:
— Kurtis Seaboldt (@KSeaboldt) July 2, 2018
23 – Royals 2018
22 – A’s 1965
22 – Colt .45’s 1964
Ah well, maybe August is their month?
We knew the offense would struggle to score runs, but they are now on pace to score just 562 runs, by far the fewest in franchise history in a full season, and their 3.47 runs-per-game is lower than the franchise record of 3.60 set in their inaugural season of 1969, a year without a designated hitter.
Is there anyone to blame for this ineptitude? The team has fired the hitting coach before when the offense has struggled, but hitting instructor Terry Bradshaw has been on the job for just a few months, so it seems premature to hold him accountable for this mess. And really, there aren’t too many bats that are hitting worse than expected aside from Salvador Perez. Most of these guys are what they are - lousy hitters.
Unfortunately this pop-gun offense is just part of the rebuild process, as the team tries to flush out aging veterans at the end of their career and sort out young players who may or may not be Major League material. But boy is is hard to watch.