There are only five postseason spots for the fifteen teams in the American League. Although it takes a well-rounded team to reach the MLB playoffs, the ability for teams to take advantage with runners in scoring position is very important for success.
As there are five American League MLB playoffs teams, let’s keep with the theme of five by taking a look back at the previous five AL Championship Series matchups. Specifically, let’s take look back at where the teams within these five ALCS matchups ranked during the regular season with runners in scoring position (RISP).
In the 2013 ALCS, the Detroit Tigers matched up with the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers were first in the AL that season with a .282 batting average (AVG) with RISP. The Red Sox were second with a .278 AVG with RISP. The Tigers (.806) and Red Sox (.794) were also first and second in the AL in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) with RISP.
Following the 2014 AL Division Series matchups, the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles faced off in the ALCS. The Royals were second in the AL that season with a .271 AVG with RISP. The Orioles were third with a .268 AVG with RISP.
In 2015, the Royals returned to the ALCS to face off with the Toronto Blue Jays. During the regular season, the Blue Jays were first in the AL with a .286 AVG with RISP while the Royals were second with a .281 AVG with RISP.
The Blue Jays returned to the ALCS in 2016 to match up with the Cleveland Indians. This is where the well-rounded teams come into play the most as neither of these teams ranked in the top of the league with RISP. The Blue Jays ranked twelfth that season with a .249 AVG with RISP while the Indians ranked eighth with a .260 AVG with RISP.
In 2017, the Houston Astros matched up with the New York Yankees in the ALCS. The Astros ranked first in the AL with a .294 AVG with RISP while the Yankees ranked eighth with a .261 AVG with RISP. The Astros also ranked first with an .841 OPS with RISP while the Yankees ranked third with an .804 OPS with RISP.
Although taking advantage of RISP is not the only factor in reaching the ALCS, it does make a large impact on a teams chances of playing deep into October during the MLB playoffs. Due to this, lets now take a look at where each of the current MLB playoffs bound team ranks in the AL with RISP.