Despite being snubbed from this year’s All-Star game, Ozzie Albies has been swinging his bat at well above an elite level, significantly improving upon the numbers that allowed the 22-year-old a starting selection in this prestigious game last season. The Curacao native, as expected, spent the majority of his at-bats last year from the left side, totaling 450 of them and only had 189 at-bats from the right side. Ozzie was electric in 2018 but is on pace to shatter his previous career-highs, and his splits from each side of the batter’s box are what I want to focus on.
As a LHB: 450 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 16 | 52 | .231 | .282 | .413 | .695 | .253 | .299 | 84 |
As a RHB: 189 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 8 | 20 | .333 | .359 | .545 | .904 | .357 | .384 | 141 |
TOTAL: 639 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 24 | 72 | .261 | .305 | .452 | .757 | .285 | .324 | 100 |
Being a switch hitter is such an advantage that I would hate to see him stop swinging the bat from the left side, but after last season, the statistics show it would make sense for him to abandon it. However, he has made the necessary adjustments in year three to justify his switch-hitting nature. Here are his numbers from this season:
As a LHB: 284 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 9 | 31 | .261 | .332 | .433 | .795 | .295 | .322 | 95 |
As a RHB: 85 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 5 | 19 | .400 | .416 | .647 | 1.063 | .387 | .439 | 172 |
TOTAL: 369 at-bats
| HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BABIP | wOBA | wRC+ |
| 14 | 50 | .293 | .351 | .482 | .833 | .319 | .348 | 112 |
If you’re a casual baseball fan and stopped reading after the batting averages, your immediate thought after glancing at all this should be: “What the **** does this mean?”
These numbers exemplify the improvements Ozzie has made in every facet of his game. He is getting on base more (OBP), hitting baseballs harder and farther (SLG), contributing more offensively per plate appearance (wOBA), and creating more runs no matter where he is playing (wRC+) – ALL AT A HIGHER RATE THAN LAST SEASON.
Much like Dansby Swanson – Ozzie Albies has benefited from having another switch-hitting superstar as a batting coach (Thanks again Chipper). Ronald Acuna’s best friend has not only improved his overall numbers but been better from both sides of the plate. Albies’ will always be a stronger hitter from the right-handed batter’s box, but the dramatic difference also has to do with the smaller sample size. Those outrageous stats would come down to earth with more at-bats.
His numbers for the season are All-Star worthy, but over the last month-plus, they have been MVP-caliber:
#Braves 2B Ozzie Albies was batting .259 on June 5.
Since then, he's batted .357 over his last 33 games, including three more hits tonight. This marks Albies' 16th multi-hit game in those 33 contests.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) July 16, 2019
The Braves are on an unbelievable run and are the most fun team to watch in baseball. Ozzie Albies’ adjustments are a big reason why this lineup has become so explosive, and he will continue to be a crucial part of the Braves success with or without a much deserved All-Star appearance.
Speaking of off the chain. Check out our store and snag and Ozzie’s chain T-shirt!