The Orioles entered D.C. yesterday leading the majors with a .357 on-base percentage, and their .807 OPS ranked third. They scraped and clawed their way to a 1-0 win over the Nationals, finally able to lean more on their pitching, with starter Dean Kremer offering 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
The club's .305 on-base percentage last year ranked 22nd, which felt like a substantial gain. A .304 OBP in 2021 was 26th, and the Orioles were 24th in 2019 at .310.
Dare we check 2018? Yes, and they ranked 29th at .298.
They haven’t finished in the top 20 in a full season since winning the division in 2014, when their .311 OBP was 17th. The 2006 team ranked 11th at .339, led by Miguel Tejada’s .379.
This year’s club registered its sixth highest OBP through 16 games, according to STATS. The record is .377 in 1969, followed by .374 in 2000, .367 in 1997, .366 in 2004 and .3573 in .2009 that barely edges out the 2023 Orioles.