The A's Are the Real Giant Team in the Majors... Pun Intended

The San Francisco Giants have the best record in baseball, and rightfully so. At 42-23, they have tied or won each series since the beginning of May against the Pirates. They have a solid combination of hitting and pitching, including starters Tim Hudson and Madison Bumgarner, who have put up outstanding numbers so far this season. And of course, there’s Sergio Romo, who leads the majors with 20 saves.

Here are some stats that might show how they really are the best. They have a .282/.373/.443 line with runners in scoring position with two outs, and they had the best ERA in the month of May at 2.91. But of course, that still brings up the question, are they still the best team in the Majors?

According to ESPN’s latest Power Rankings Monday, they are, especially since they won 8 of their last 10 before losing their last two games. But there’s one team that has been just as good, and in my opinion, much better, and that’s the Oakland Athletics.

I mentioned Oakland this past offseason on how they are the team to be afraid of, and so far that’s been true. When they win, they win big. It seems like whenever they shut out opponents, they always score about 10 runs to do so. In fact, they have the most 10+ run games in the MLB by a long shot.

Here’s one factor to show it: They have a +124 run differential, which is the highest by a long shot in the Majors. They are the 10^th team since 1941 to have a +124 run differential by this time in the season. The second best run differential? The Giants… but only at +57.

Obviously, they have scored the most runs in the MLB with 329. They only have a team .249 batting average (18^th in the MLB), but they do have a .334 OBP (2^nd), and a .410 slugging % (6^th). That’s the Billy Beane philosophy for you, and it has been working tremendously over the past three years.

You might have never heard of some of their hitters, either. Josh Donaldson is an incredible third baseman who had an 8.0 WAR last season and a 4.4 WAR already now. Brandom Moss already has 16 home runs and 53 RBI’s on the season. And please tell me you saw Yoenis Cespedes’ throw already, it was honestly one of the best throws I have ever seen.

Here’s one name you should know: Coco Crisp! You might be pausing right now and asking how he can still be in the league, but he is! He actually leads all starters with a .269 batting average, too.

So fine, if they have such a high run differential and they score 10 runs constantly, they just have a crazy good offense, right? That’s another great part of this team: they are well-balanced, and their pitching is actually much better. Granted, much of that can be because of how they play in the Coliseum, which is very pitcher-friendly, but also because they have tremendous depth in pitching.

Lately, Billy Beane has found a pitcher out of his prime to try and come get a couple of wins. The past two years, it was Bartolo Colon, and man did he pitch well. Now it’s Scott Kazmir, who, after playing a full year in Cleveland last season (the first full season since 2010, not playing at all in 2012), is doing just as good of a job. He is currently 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA and a 2.3 WAR.

There’s also Sonny Gray, who has become the best young pitcher Oakland has seen since they had Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson (a now Giant!). He is 6-2 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.6 WAR in his age 24 season. This kid will win a Cy Young Award during his career; he has tremendous potential.

Think their team stats in hitting were pretty good? They have the best team ERA in baseball (2.85), best WHIP (1.14), and best BAA (.225). Honestly, right now they are unstoppable.

Think the Giants are still the best team in the Majors? Record wise they are, but Oakland now has a 10 game home stand to try and change that. Unfortunately, it won’t be until July 7^th where we will see these two teams square off.

Over the past 15 years, the Athletics have always been good, but never good enough to make it to the World Series. This year, that drought might just come to an end.