The Best and Worst So Far in 2024
Which team is hitting the ball the hardest? Which team has the highest sprint speed on defense? Who has clocked the slowest home run trot? Let's go inside the numbers!
Hi friends-
Some housekeeping!
If you’re planning on coming to our in-person meet-up on Memorial Day (May 27) at Citi Field for Mets vs. Dodgers, please email bestteambook@gmail.com with how many tickets you would like, so I can start to get a headcount. I’m working with the Mets’ group sales, and the ticket price will probably be $50-$70 (the least expensive they have for that day, at press time).
Don’t forget we’re having our book club Zoom for The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood, by Jane Leavy, on Monday May 6 at 5:30 PM PT. I can’t recommend this book enough, so get going if you haven’t started it yet! You will not be able to put it down.
This MLB season is so young that it’s probably foolish to draw any big conclusions. The Astros are probably not going to finish the year with a .316 winning percentage, though I do believe the org’s general shift away from analytics to just vibes, man, all but guarantees its eventual slide back into mediocrity. The Pirates will not be a playoff team, as much as we want that to happen, because their owner is too cheap. Tyler O’Neil will not win the AL MVP—as much as he wants to stick it to the Cardinals, and specifically Oli Marmol, for their weird feud going public last season.
But it’s fair to say the Rockies, Marlins and White Sox are playing the kind of unwatchable ball we expected, and it’s not surprising the Braves and Dodgers have the most wins so far in the National League.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised watching the Royals, and think Bobby Witt Jr. is currently the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Maikel Garcia, Vinny Pasquantino and MJ Melendez are also banging that ball around, and Cole Ragans looks like an ace.
This piece initially started as an exercise digging into the Royals’ advanced statistics, to see why they’re so good, and if it’s sustainable, but then it expanded when I played around with a new MLB research tool that gives me more information than I’ve ever had before. I think the same info is available on Statcast, if you’d like to follow along. So, here we go!
The Royals hit the ball, on average, at 89.9 miles per hour—which is fourth-best in MLB. The hardest-hitting team is the Orioles, at 90.3 mph. The weakest-hitting team is the Pirates, at 87.5 mph
The Dodgers hit the ball the farthest on average, at 185 feet per ball in play. Pittsburgh, Washington and Miami are the bottom three, at 155, 155 and 147 feet, respectively.
The longest homer of the season so far was hit by the Angels’ Mike Trout on April 1, off the Marlins’ George Soriano, who hung a slider that Trout hit 473 feet. Diamondback Ketel Marte hit the next-longest homer, off a Max Fried four-seam fastball on April 6. It traveled 461 feet.
Padre Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yankee Giancarlo Stanton are tied for hardest-hit ball of the season, at 116.7 mph. Both hits went for singles. Tatis whacked a sinker off Dodger Michael Grove, while Stanton crushed a four-seamer from Blue Jay Mitch White.
Bobby Witt Jr. is hitting the ball the hardest among regular players, and Oriole Gunnar Henderson is second. Witt’s average exit velocity is 97.6 mph, Henderson’s is 96.6.
The Reds’ Elly De La Cruz clocked the fastest sprint from home to first (3.67 seconds) to beat out a bunt single against Washington on March 30. Witt Jr. clocked the fastest time from home to second (7.60) and home to third (11.06) on the same play, a triple against the Mets on April 13.
The Nationals have stolen 30 bases and been caught four times. The Cubs have stolen two bases and been caught five times.
The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took the longest to round the bases after a homer this year, at 31.33 seconds. He was especially hyped because Toronto was down 1-0 against the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert in the seventh, and the dinger tied the game. Manny Machado is averaging the slowest home run trot in the bigs this year, at 29.36 seconds.
The fastest home run “trot” this season so far was from De La Cruz, who made it all the way around the bases in 14.96 seconds on an inside-the-park home run on April 8. He also hit a normal home run that day. Please, God, let him stay healthy and motivated forever, because we need this.
The fastest team while running the bases is the Phillies, who average a sprint speed of 30 feet per second. The slowest team on the bases is the Dodgers, who clock in with a sprint speed of 28.1 feet per second.
The Yankees have the slowest sprint speed per second on defense at 27.1, while the Rays have the fastest defense, and cover 29.4 feet per second.
Rockies’ fielders throw the ball the hardest, at an average of 89.9 miles per hour. Dodger fielders have the weakest arms, averaging 79.9 mph per throw.
We’ve had one (1) throw from a fielder top 100 miles per hour this year, and that was from Bryan Reynolds on March 30, when he attempted to throw out a Marlins runner at home. The 100.4-mph seed did not arrive in time.
The Oakland A’s pitching staff gives up the softest contact in the league, at 87-mph average exit velocity. Tampa Bay and Atlanta are tied for second at 87.5 mph. Padres’ pitchers give up the loudest contact, at 89.8 mph on average.
And finally, I had to triple-check this stat and go to the video to confirm. The batted ball with the longest hang time was hit by Aaron Judge on April 13, vs. the Guardians. It hung in the air for 7.53 seconds. For reference, the balls with the next 15 longest hang times all went for flyouts, as one would expect. But Judge’s flyout went for a double play. I first thought it might have been because a runner tagged and tried to score and was thrown out, but no. Juan Soto was somehow caught napping at first base, got doubled off trying to get back to the bag, then tried to run over Guardians’ first baseman Josh Naylor. Luckily for Naylor, he tagged first base as he hurtled toward the ground.
What do all these stats mean? I don’t know! The Orioles hitting the tar off the ball is probably why they’re good. The Dodgers hitting the ball off the wall and over it is probably why they’re also good. The Phillies have\ attempted only 24 steals, despite being the fastest team in the league, while the Reds have attempted 42. Philly should run more.
The Dodgers’ outfield defense is slow and kinda old, and they should fix that. Maybe they are trying to do just that, by promoting 23-year-old prospect Andy Pages.
And finally, the Rockies may want to convert some of their big-armed fielders to pitchers, starting with Gold Glover Brenton Doyle, who leads the majors with an average throw of 97.5 mph, and broke every Statcast record last year with a throw that clocked in at 105.7 mph.
Since this team is going nowhere, they should put Doyle on the mound and teach him a slider. What’s the worst that could happen?
By default, I always assume the Pirates will not sustain a strong start, but seeing their batted ball data is softest in terms of speed off the bat and second-shortest by distance ... I don't think even Paul Skenes will be able to save that!
I am wondering if the Rockies have the highest throw velocity because of that big outfield they have, and also their pitchers who give up lots of hits to the outfield wall.
(Sending this from an $8 seat at Citi Field; I guess Memorial Day is a bigger draw than a random Wednesday day game in April.)