The Tampa Bay Rays posted the best record over the first two months of the 2023 season — 40 wins against 18 losses — and offensive firepower was a big reason why.
The Rays were in a class by themselves at the plate in April and May. The team’s base value (BV) as of the morning of June 1 was plus-229, indicating that Tampa Bay’s batters had piled up 229 bases more than a squad of typical hitters would have reached under the same circumstances.
The Rays accumulated 1,278 bases through singles, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, hit batters, stolen bases, sacrifice hits, and sacrifice bunts. That total easily topped the majors, as did Tampa Bay’s ratio of .850 bases per out (BPO).
The collective BPO for all big-league hitters over the first two months of 2023 was .698. If we apply that rate to Tampa Bay’s total of 1,503 outs, we discover that a club of typical hitters would have reached only 1,049 bases under the same circumstances. The Rays’ total was 229 above that norm, yielding their base value of plus-229. (If you want to know more about BPO and BV, click here.)
I’ve divided the 30 big-league clubs into five groups of offensive skill, according to their two-month base values. Scroll below to see your team’s position (along with its win-loss record in parentheses). And yes, we’ll look at base values for pitchers tomorrow.
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Five stars
1. Tampa Bay Rays (40-18), BV 229
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (34-23), BV 152
3. Texas Rangers (35-20), BV 109
4. Atlanta Braves (33-23), BV 93
Notes: Only seven teams notched at least 33 victories by the end of May, and four of them qualified for this group. The collective BPO for these five-star powerhouses was .796, nearly 100 points above the major-league average.
Four stars
5. Arizona Diamondbacks (33-23), BV 59
6. Boston Red Sox (28-27), BV 52
7. St. Louis Cardinals (25-32), BV 48
8. Chicago Cubs (24-31), BV 43
9. Baltimore Orioles (35-21), BV 40
9. Los Angeles Angels (30-27), BV 40
11. Pittsburgh Pirates (28-27), BV 27
11. Toronto Blue Jays (29-27), BV 27
Notes: Most of the four-star clubs had winning records, though two exceptions stick out. Note the anomalous inclusion of the Cardinals and Cubs, who wallowed far below .500 despite their relative skill at the plate.
Three stars
13. San Francisco Giants (28-28), BV 16
14. New York Mets (29-27), BV 6
15. New York Yankees (34-24), BV 2
16. Cincinnati Reds (26-29), BV 1
17. Philadelphia Phillies (25-30), BV -12
18. Minnesota Twins (29-27), BV -15
Notes: The three-star category essentially consists of clubs that played at a .500 level (or in the close vicinity). Their average record was 28.5 wins and 27.5 losses. The Yankees deviated from the norm by staying 10 games above .500 despite a mediocre BV.
Two stars
19. San Diego Padres (25-30), BV -28
20. Colorado Rockies (24-33), BV -40
21. Washington Nationals (24-32), BV -46
22. Houston Astros (32-23), BV -57
22. Miami Marlins (29-27), BV -57
24. Seattle Mariners (29-27), BV -68
25. Milwaukee Brewers (29-26), BV -71
Notes: The Astros earned five stars for offensive production last year, yet they dropped to two stars in April and May this year. Their record was still a solid nine games above .500. The other clubs in this group did not fare nearly as well.
One star
26. Kansas City Royals (17-39), BV -84
27. Chicago White Sox (23-35), BV -98
28. Detroit Tigers (26-28), BV -119
29. Oakland Athletics (12-46), BV -123
30. Cleveland Guardians (25-30), BV -128
Notes: Welcome to the basement. The average record for these one-star teams was 20.6 wins against 35.6 losses, and their collective BPO was just .625. The latter stat was 73 points below the major-league norm.