Blue Jays ranked amongst the worst in the game in important new Statcast metrics 

Without question, the Toronto Blue Jays had a disappointing 2024 MLB season. But what led to their eventual downfall involved various factors. Many believed that their inept offense was the main culprit, whereas others would turn to their ptiching, especially the bullpen, as the root of the cause.

However, with the recent introduction of a couple of important new Statcast advanced metrics, there may now be another contributing factor to their failed season. Statcast has created the new measuring metric Extra Bases Taken and has also incorporated it into the metric Baserunning Run Value. And you likely have guessed it, the 2024 Blue Jays ranked near the bottom of the league in both statistical categories. For Extra Bases Taken, the Jays sat in the 27th spot at -9 and for the Baserunning Run Value, they were even worse in 29th with a value of -14.

Blue Jays ranked amongst the worst in the game in important new Statcast metrics 

So what are these new metrics and what do they measure?

According to Baseball Savant, for Extra Bases Taken, it evaluates the performance of baserunners in taking extra bases and outfielders in preventing extra bases from being taken. The criteria for the metric is determined by factoring in a runner’s speed and position on the basepaths, along with an outfielder’s throwing arm and distance from both the ball and the base. As a result, an estimated success probability value would be generated for each opportunity. For a more extensive explanation, see here.

As for Baserunning Run Value, it determines the overall value of a baserunner by looking at their runs generated or lost by stealing or taking extra bases on the basepaths. In terms of calculating the value, it combines both stealing and non-stealing baserunning plays. On a stealing play, it is assigned a success probability based on the pitcher and catcher the runner is stealing against. A stolen base or advancement on a balk is assigned +0.2 runs, whereas a caught stealing or pickoff is assigned -0.45 runs. On a non-stealing running play, an estimated success probability is determined for each opportunity that factors in the same four criteria as explained above for Extra Bases Taken. A run value is generated based on whether the runner is successful in taking an extra base, thrown out, or holds their position, according to Baseball Savant.

So the fact that the Jays had huge negative values for both metrics indicated that they failed miserably in using their baserunning to help generate runs, and at the same time, struggled to prevent the opposition from using it to produce runs of their own. As a result, it made more sense now on why the Jays sometimes still struggled to find wins throughout the 2024 season even when their offense and pitching had shown signs of life. 

If there was any positives to take out of it, the New York Yankees happened to be even worse than the Jays, ranking last in the league in both categories. But then again, with the profilic hitting and pitching that they have, it more than made up for that main flaw in their game. After all, they ended up making it all the way to the World Series. With the Jays not having that kind of luxury though, they will need to seriously improve on their baserunning if they wish to have more sustained success and a better chance at winning going forward.