Oregon baseball reached as high as No. 5 in the rankings by putting a 13-2 record together to kick off the season. Since March 10, however, the Ducks have crumbled on offense and gone just 2-7 in conference.
Here’s where they stand now:
The Good
◦ Every plate appearance represents an opportunity to create a run, and Oregon (1330) gets more opportunities than any other Pac-12 team.
◦ The Ducks approach their at bats with patience and work pitchers deep into counts. Oregon’s 155 walks represent the most of any Pac-12 team and 30 percent more than the league average.
◦ Hits have been hard to come by, Oregon makes its hits count. Nearly 30 percent of Oregon’s hits go for extra bases. Its 1.47 bases per hit is fourth-best in the Pac-12.
◦ The Ducks are selfless — 4.296 percent of their at bats result in sacrifice bunts or flies. Sac bunts and sac flies aren’t sexy stats, but they get the job done. The only team with a higher ratio is Arizona (4.297) — the top offensive team in the Pac-12.
◦ Oregon’s upcoming competition should be somewhat less daunting. The Ducks have already played Arizona, Arizona State and Cal, who boast three of the top five team batting averages in conference.
The Bad
◦ Oregon’s .249 batting average ranks ninth in the Pac-12. Through their first 15 games, the Ducks collectively hit .266 and .395 on balls in play (excludes strikeouts and home runs). Eighteen games later, their team batting average has sunken to .235 and .290 on balls in play.
◦ Through its first 15 games, Oregon averaged 6.93 runs per game on 8.47 hits. Since then, it has averaged almost as many hits (7.83) but scored 40 percent less runs per game (4.11).
◦ Based on the ‘runs created’ metric, which estimates the comprehensive number of runs a hitter contributes to his team, Oregon hitters have contributed 157.08 total runs to their cause on offense. In reality, the Ducks have produced the league median 178 runs. 20.92, or 11.75 percent, of Oregon’s runs were therefore created by its opponent — the third highest ratio in the Pac-12.
The Ugly
◦ Oregon’s 250 strikeouts exceed the league average by 30 percent and lead the Pac-12 by a long shot. Although Oregon’s 11.65 percent walk ratio is best in conference, its strikeout ratio of 18.80 percent is second worst behind Washington State (20.43 percent). Because it walks and strikes out so frequently, Oregon forces the defense to make a play on only 65.11 percent of its plate appearances—the lowest ratio in the Pac-12. On average, the league puts the ball in play five percent more often, indicating Oregon should be more aggressive when it comes to swinging the sticks.
◦ Oregon’s .965 fielding percentage is second-worst in the league behind Utah (.963). The Ducks suffered 15 errors through their first 15 games and 30 over their next 18.
◦ Whereas Pac-12 base runners have been caught stealing on 33.65 of attempts, Oregon has been gunned down on 42.22 percent of attempts, the worst ratio in the Pac-12.
Follow Kenny Jacoby on Twitter @kennyjacoby