Royals Need to Cure their On Base Woes to Succeed in 2015

Last season, the Kansas City Royals offensive philosophy was predicated on putting pressure on opposing defenses, putting the ball in play and causing havoc on the basepaths when on base. As ugly as it may have looked at times, the offense did just enough to get the Royals into the postseason, and then go on to the World Series. It was definitely interesting to see baseball played in the slashing 1980’s style work once again.

Yet, for a team designed to put pressure on the opposition by getting on base, the Royals did not really do that well last year. Overall, as a team, the Royals had a .314 on base percentage, 16th in baseball. This was, in large part, due to the Royals inability to draw walks, as they ranked last with 380 walks on the season. That ability to get on base was almost entirely based on being able to get a base hit or reach via an error.

The funny thing about basing the offense on putting the ball in play and getting hits is that the BABiP Gods are fickle beings. That slow grounder to short could result in an infield single, but two line drives down the lines could get caught by amazing plays. Yes, by putting the ball in play, good things can happen, but there is nothing wrong with taking a few pitches to draw that walk and get on base that way.

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Dayton Moore signed both Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios, theoretically to improve upon the Royals power deficiency. However, they are not likely to help solve the Royals on base woes. Over his four year run between 2009 and 2013, Morales posted an on base percentage of .339 and averaged 46 walks per season, which would have ranked third and second respectively on the 2014 Royals. Yet, those are not exactly stellar marks. Rios, meanwhile, has a career on base percentage of .323, which is a slight improvement over the Royals average last year. However, is that really much of an upgrade?

Considering the departure of Nori Aoki, who, if nothing else, could get on base, The Royals offense could suffer next season if those balls are not dropping in. The walk may not be exciting, and it may not be a reason for fans to come to Kauffman Stadium, but it certainly has it’s place in today’s game. In fact, taking the occasional walk, and more than the approximately two and a half per game they averaged last year, may be a major difference in how well the offense performs in 2015.

This appears to be a philosophical issue. While most teams have embraced the sabermetric approach of working pitch counts and drawing walks, the Royals went in the opposite direction. It certainly worked last season, but will that same philosophy work again in 2015?

The Royals may have solved their power issues with the signings of Morales and Rios. Now, they need to find a way to get people on base in front of them.