In 2015, the M’s hired Jerry Dipoto and entrusted him with the task of remaking a disappointing team that finished 4th in the AL West. They did so despite hitting a bunch of home runs, posting the 5th-highest ISO in the AL, and the 3rd-highest strikeout rate. They worked around those Ks thanks to hitting the ball hard, but they gave away much of that production in sub-par defense and awful baserunning. This was Dipoto’s first impression of the team he’d be taking over, and it led to an abrupt change in philosophy, one that reached its apotheosis in 2018.
The M’s Approach to Hitting Is Changing
