The Cleveland Guardians have been one of the more improved offensive teams in the American League over the last several weeks, and Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com identified the single most important reason why.
It is not the home runs, though those have come in bunches recently. It is not the batting average, which remains a work in progress for several key contributors. It is the walks, and the numbers behind them are genuinely staggering.
“The Guardians went into Wednesday night’s game ranked second in the American League with 220 walks through 50 games. At this time last year, they had 162 walks. In May, the Guardians lead the AL with 98 walks, 10 more than the second-place Yankees,” Hoynes wrote.
That jump from 162 walks at this point last season to 220 this year represents a 36 percent increase in free passes drawn, and it is not a coincidence. It is a reflection of an organizational approach that has been preached from the top down.
Leading the entire American League in walks during the month of May by ten over the second-place Yankees is a statement about how this lineup has been operating during its current hot stretch. The Guardians have won five straight games heading into Thursday’s series finale against Detroit, and the walk rate is a foundational reason why. You cannot score runs without getting on base, and Cleveland has been getting on base at an elite rate by drawing balls rather than chasing pitches.
Steven Kwan drew three walks on Monday night alone despite going hitless. Travis Bazzana has drawn seven walks in his first month of big league baseball while posting a .427 on-base percentage. Jose Ramirez is averaging 1.2 walks per strikeout.
The offensive struggles earlier this season were real, and the batting averages across portions of the lineup are still not where they need to be. But the walk rate tells you that the process has been right even when the results were not. Now that the hits are starting to come more consistently, the combination of contact and patience is producing one of the better offensive stretches Cleveland has had all season.
220 walks through 50 games. The number is the story, and the story is that the Guardians have built something sustainable at the plate.
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