Orioles’ 2019 MLB Win Total Drops from 59.5 to 58.5
- Total Baltimore Orioles wins for 2019 have slid from 59.5 to 58.5
- The Orioles were an MLB-worst 47-115 last season
- It was their first 100-loss season since 1988
The last time the Baltimore Orioles were this bad, they rebounded in impressive fashion. No one is betting on such a turnaround happening this time.
The Orioles were baseball’s worst team in 2018, going 47-1115, and sportsbooks don’t anticipate much improvement. The sportsbook has lowered the its total on Orioles wins to 58.5. That’s the lowest figure in all projected MLB Win Totals.
Baltimore Orioles Projected 2019 Win Total
| Baltimore Orioles Projected Wins For 2019 MLB Season | Odds |
|---|---|
| Over 58.5 | EVEN |
| Under 58.5 | -130 |
*Odds taken March 23
As recently as March 15, sportsbooks had Baltimore’s win total at 59.5.
It’s A Sad, Sad Situation
The Orioles, Kansas City Royals (58-104) and Chicago White Sox (62-100) were the only major-league teams to lose 100 games in 2018. The Houston Astros, who endured three straight 100-loss campaigns from 2011-13, were the last big-league club to post successive triple-digit loss seasons.
Are the Orioles bad enough to double down on 100-loss seasons? You bet they are. First baseman Chris Davis hit .168 and struck out 192 times, also fourth overall in the big leagues. Three starting pitchers lost at least 15 games.
Baltimore was second-last in the American League in slugging percentage (.391) and hits (1,317), and last in runs (622) and on-base percentage (.298). Orioles pitchers gave up the most home runs in the majors (234) and posted the worst ERA (5.18).
"During a 115-loss season in 2018, the Baltimore Orioles were far behind other teams in analytics. They are now taking steps to catch up." @JFrankHanrahan @MolaReports @DianesTalking @AtmosFeerick @TomSportsWUSA9 https://t.co/EJMKT1nJ4h via @WSJ
— Chris Laudicina (@ChrisClimate) March 23, 2019
They came within five losses of equaling baseball’s worst-ever team, the 1962 New York Mets, a first-year expansion team who lost 120 times.
In losing a franchise-record 115 games, this team was beyond awful. It took them until May 10 last season to get to 10 wins. They were shutout 16 times and walked off eight times.
Can The Orioles Bounce Back?
The 1988 Orioles set the all-time big-league standard for big-league futility, opening the season 0-21. Despite this dismal beginning, they rallied to finish 54-107.
The following season, the 1989 Orioles led the AL East for much of the season before faltering down the stretch and finishing two games behind the division-winning Toronto Blue Jays.
We don’t see the 2019 Orioles pulling off such a miraculous turnaround.
Can you name all of these Baltimore Orioles players?
LOL.?https://t.co/wlwTrkGZtk pic.twitter.com/ysrKWay5Zi
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) March 13, 2019
They’re basically the Ottawa Senators of baseball, moving out almost all of their high-end talent in the hopes of mortgaging a future. Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, and Kevin Gausman were all dealt away, but in return garnered just one top-50 rated prospect. Adam Jones departed via free agency.
Breaking Bad, Getting Worse
Most baseball analytics organizations believe that the Orioles will again be baseball’s worst team. Fan Graphs is projecting the Orioles to go 62-100 this season. PECOTA predicts the Orioles will be 57-105. The SportsLine Projection module sets the bar on Baltimore wins at 55.9. USA Today put the 2019 Orioles at 56-106.
The Worst Team in PECOTA History? My look at the 2019 Baltimore Orioles, who project to be the worst team PECOTA has laid its virtual eyes on since 2005. And that's the most-likely scenario, not the worst-case scenario. https://t.co/SGuDo0sKjn
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) February 19, 2019
The last time this franchise posted successive 100-loss seasons was in 1953-54. That was the first year the team was located in Baltimore. A second straight 54-100 campaign followed on the heels of their final tour as the St. Louis Browns.
We see history repeating itself. Placer your wager on under 58.5 wins.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
