The offensive woes for the Blue Jays have been very pronounced this season.
Entering play on Sunday, the Toronto Blue Jays offense has scored 622 runs, which is the fewest in baseball. It is more than 200 runs behind the Chicago Cubs, who lead baseball with 826 runs scored.
According to Sportsnet Stats, if the Blue Jays finish last in runs scored, it will be the first time they've done that 1981. The franchise began in 1977 and was still in its infancy then.
While the Jays still have mathematical playoff hopes alive, this has been a massively disappointing season for the organization. On the heels of last year's run to the World Series, the Blue Jays were expected to be true contenders for the title this season, especially after signing Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers and Kazuma Okamoto.
Unfortunately, injuries and regression have taken their tolls.
About the Blue Jays offensive woes
What's crazy is this: The Blue Jays are hitting .248 as a team, which is actually ninth-BEST in baseball. They have struck out 1,106 times, which is the second-FEWEST times in baseball.
You would think that a good batting average and a low strikeout rate would lead to a good offensive team, but the Blue Jays have struggled in just about every other metric, which has caused them to become a station-to-station team. It's hard to put together three singles in an inning, and it's hard to score multiple runs in a frame when singles are such a big part of your game.
--The Blue Jays are 29th in walks drawn this season, lending further credence that they are reliant on multiple hits in an inning score.
Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement (22) hits a broken bat single against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images--They are 27th in stolen bases, which hammers that point home even further.
--They are 28th in OPS, which proves that slugging is not something they really do, which again, means they are relying on multiple singles per inning too often.
--They are 28th in home runs. They are last in triples, with just eight all season.
--In fairness, they are 12th in doubles, but again, given how low they are in triples and homers, they are often times only able to score one run at a time, and that isn't enough in today's game.
What does all this mean?
It means that fans perception of what makes good offense isn't really the case. For instance, fans of every team are often yearning for their team to play "small ball," and "make contact." They want a team that is less reliant on the home run and more capable of creating runs.
In theory, that sounds great, but the Blue Jays are proof that it doesn't always work. No matter how much contact you make, you need some thump in your lineup. Hopefully, Anthony Santander and Addison Barger return healthy next season, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returns to his prior form, to provide it.
The Blue Jays will take on the Texas Rangers on Sunday at 2:35 p.m. ET.
