The Arizona Diamondbacks were woeful in 2021 and, well, they remain a bad baseball club in 2022.
It’s definitely not surprising to see them in last place of the NL West division with a 3-6 record.
However, their offensive performance has been odd, to say the least.
“Through 9 games, Diamondbacks hitters have 46 walks and 42 hits this season. It’s the furthest a team has ever gotten into the season with more walks than hits,” statistician Jeremy Frank tweeted on Monday.
Through 9 games, Diamondbacks hitters have 46 walks and 42 hits this season.
It’s the furthest a team has ever gotten into the season with more walks than hits.
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) April 18, 2022
Now, walks are usually a good things for offensive players: they mean a hitter will reach base without risking an out by making contact.
That’s good!
However, truly good teams are also productive on contact: they show power and patience.
In the specific case of the 2022 D-Backs, they have lacked the power part.
Arizona Hitters Are Walking, But That’s About It
They lead the league with a 13.9 percent walk rate, but their hitters have slashed a mediocre .152/.284/.264 for the year.
Of course, the sample size (nine games) is tiny, but those aren’t the numbers you want to see.
The walks are nice, but Arizona won’t go anywhere if it doesn’t show it can also hit.
So far, they are far from a contending team.
Only Seth Beer and Ketel Marte are hitting over the so-called Mendoza line, or .200 points of average.
The rest is under that figure, which is comically bad.
The hitters, coaches, and player development staff workers in Arizona will need to step up if the franchise is going to embark on an offensive turnaround.
Don’t count on that happening this year, though.
NEXT: Diamondbacks Pitcher Zac Gallen Having His 2022 Debut Delayed
