The Orioles’ ten highest leverage hits of 2023, by WPA

[Frobby]

In today’s O’Hearn thread, I listed how many hits over .200 WPA were made by each of our players.  There were 67 in total.  Thought it would be fun to review the top 10, all of which had a WPA over .400:

.657 - Cedric Mullins’ 3-run homer with 1 out in the top of the 9th vs. Houston on 9/18, converting a 2-run deficit to a 1-run lead.  The O’s hung on for the 8-7 win.

.629 - Aaron Hicks’ two-run double with two outs in the top of the 9th at Cleveland on 9/22, converting a 7-6 deficit to an 8-7 lead.  But the O’s blew the game in the bottom of the 9th.  

.550 - Gunnar Henderson’s 2-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 8th on 8/25, turning a 4-3 deficit to the Rockies into a 5-4 lead.  O’s won 5-4.

.510 - Adam Frazier’s ground double scoring Jorge Mateo with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on 9/17, tying the game against the Rays.   The O’s eventually won in extra innings, 5-4.   

.482 - Gunnar Henderson’s 2-run homer with 2 outs in the top of the 8th on 6/8, changing a 3-2 deficit to the Brewers to a 4-3 lead.  The O’s went on to win 6-3.

.439 - Adley Rutschman’s 3-run double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th on April 14 against the White Sox, converting a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead.   The O’s went on to win 6-3.  

.422 - Adley Rutschman’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th against Tampa, tying the game 5-4.   Same game as the Adam Frazier double listed above.  

.421 - Anthony Santander’s walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the 9th on 6/28 against the Yankees, as the O’s won 1-0.

.412 - Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 7th on May 18 against the Angels, converting a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.  However, the O’s eventually lost 6-5.  

.402 - Adam Frazier’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 8th on 6/28 against the Reds, erasing a 7-5 deficit.  The O’s eventually lost 11-7 in extra innings.  

It’s funny that some of those huge clutch hits have kind of faded from memory.  Only 3 of these hits came in games that were listed in my ten favorite games of 2023, and only one came in my ten runner-up games.

 

Edited January 10 by Frobby

[elextrano8]

Good thread! Here's video links:

1. .657 - Cedric Mullins’ 3-run homer with 1 out in the top of the 9th vs. Houston on 9/18, converting a 2-run deficit to a 1-run lead.  The O’s hung on for the 8-7 win. https://www.mlb.com/video/cedric-mullins-homers-15-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-ryan-o-hearn?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
2. .629 - Aaron Hicks’ two-run double with two outs in the top of the 9th at Cleveland on 9/22, converting a 7-6 deficit to an 8-7 lead.  But the O’s blew the game in the bottom of the 9th. https://www.mlb.com/video/aaron-hicks-doubles-9-on-a-ground-ball-to-left-fielder-steven-kwan-ryan-m?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share  
3. .550 - Gunnar Henderson’s 2-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 8th on 8/25, turning a 4-3 deficit to the Yankees into a 5-4 lead.  O’s won 5-4. https://www.mlb.com/video/gunnar-henderson-homers-22-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field-austin-hays-score?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
4. .510 - Adam Frazier’s ground double scoring Jorge Mateo with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on 9/17, tying the game against the Rays.   The O’s eventually won in extra innings, 5-4. https://www.mlb.com/video/tb-bal-58dc63?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share  
5. .482 - Gunnar Henderson’s 2-run homer with 2 outs in the top of the 8th on 6/8, changing a 3-2 deficit to the Brewers to a 4-3 lead.  The O’s went on to win 6-3. https://www.mlb.com/video/peter-strzelecki-in-play-run-s-to-gunnar-henderson?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
6. .439 - Adley Rutschman’s 3-run double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th on April 14 against the White Sox, converting a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead.   The O’s went on to win 6-3. https://www.mlb.com/video/reynaldo-lopez-in-play-run-s-to-adley-rutschman-ckvugv?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
7. .422 - Adley Rutschman’s RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th against Tampa, tying the game 5-4.   Same game as the Adam Frazier double listed above. https://www.mlb.com/video/adley-rutschman-s-rbi-single-x2053?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
8. .421 - Anthony Santander’s walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the 9th on 6/28 against the Yankees, as the O’s won 1-0. https://www.mlb.com/video/anthony-santander-homers-18-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share
9. .412 - Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 7th on May 18 against the Angels, converting a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead.  However, the O’s eventually lost 6-5. https://www.mlb.com/video/adley-rutschman-homers-7-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field-austin-hays-scores?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share 
10. .402 - Adam Frazier’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 8th on 6/28 against the Reds, erasing a 7-5 deficit.  The O’s eventually lost 11-7 in extra innings. https://www.mlb.com/video/adam-frazier-homers-9-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field-jordan-westburg-scores?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share

[Frobby]

13 minutes ago, elextrano8 said:

Good thread! Here's video links

That’s awesome and makes this thread so much better!   Thanks for taking the time to find and add those!   How were you able to do it so fast?

[elextrano8]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

That’s awesome and makes this thread so much better!   Thanks for taking the time to find and add those!   How were you able to do it so fast?

Mostly just searching Last Name + Date. A few didn't work for whatever reason, but none of them took more a second search, in the vein of "Santander walk off."