Oakland Athletics could use new offensive approach after departure of Chili Davis

Yesterday, the Oakland Athletics had to say goodbye to former hitting coach Chili Davis after he took the same job with the Boston Red Sox. You can read all about that here, and also about how the Angels assistant hitting coach Dave Hansen could be on the A’s radar. That being said, what will happen to the A’s offense that has been taking walks and focused on hitting the ball out of the ballpark for the past three seasons? The Angels could be facing a different Oakland A’s offense in 2015 writes Jason Burke at Swingin’ A’s.

More from Halo Hangout

• LA Angels: 3 offseason moves the Halos desperately need to make
• LA Angels: AL West rival Astros proving that they’re not giving up yet
• 6 important offseason award dates and times for LA Angels fans
• This LA Angels move proves the Halos are trying to spend big on pitching
• No, the LA Angels should not blow their payroll on Freddie Freeman

Different coaches have different offensive approaches and the A’s approach was well known by everyone. The A’s liked to take walks, as they led the majors in that category, but when they didn’t walk they had trouble getting on base. The A’s were 21st in the majors in batting average, at .244 dragging their on-base percentage down to .320 which was good for 10th in the majors. The good thing about their offense was that they hit home runs with the best of them, 146, good for 13th in baseball.

So in 2015 do the A’s try something different after not making it out of the wild card round in 2014 and haven’t made it past the divisional round since 2006? I believe they do. I believe they try to focus on their talented pitching staff to win games and try to hit the ball in the gap and run more. The A’s were right ahead of the Angels in stolen bases with just 83. In order for them to score more runs they will have to not clog the bases as much with slow base runners and try to keep the line moving and take extra bases.

Now you are asking, how does this article apply to the Angels. Well, I’ll tell ya. The Angels have to be ready to defend them if they do change their approach. The last few seasons, the Angels were able to strike out a lot of hitters and hope that their home runs came with no one on base. In 2015 that could all change and they may have to defend the gaps and also the running game. As I wrote in the Chris Iannetta review he had one of his best seasons catching base runners in 2014, and in order for the Angels to defeat the A’s, he may have to catch more base runners.

More from LA Angels News

• LA Angels: 3 offseason moves the Halos desperately need to make
• LA Angels: AL West rival Astros proving that they’re not giving up yet
• 6 important offseason award dates and times for LA Angels fans
• This LA Angels move proves the Halos are trying to spend big on pitching
• No, the LA Angels should not blow their payroll on Freddie Freeman

The Angels don’t play the A’s until April 20-23 so they will have time to scout and see if things are changing in the slightest. It will be a small sample size, but any advantage you can get helps. It all depends on who the A’s hire as their new hitting coach, but keeping an eye on their philosophy going forward will be huge for the Angels to take advantage of.

Stay Connected to Halo Hangout