The Washington Nationals hit way too many ground balls

Under Darnell Coles leadership, the Washington Nationals have been at the top of the ground ball leaderboard every year

One thing many Nationals fans have complained about for years is that the team hits too many ground balls. When watching the games, it feels like the Nats are putting the ball on the ground constantly. Well, when you look at the evidence, it supports the eye test.

The Nationals hit more ground balls than any other team in baseball, and it really is not close. With 1,010 ground outs, the Nationals have the most in all of baseball. The next closest team has 929 ground ball outs. Interestingly, the gap between the Nats and second place is much larger than the gap between second and fifth place.

At this point, it is clear to see that ground balls are a feature of Darnell Coles’ offense. In Coles’ four seasons as hitting coach, the Nationals have ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 2nd in ground ball percentage. From 2022-2025, the Nationals have the highest ground ball percentage in all of baseball.

Of course, this is not a good thing. More ground balls means less homers and less extra base hits in general. Most of the time, you have to hit a line drive or fly ball to get an extra base hit. The Nationals rank a middle of the pack 13th in line drive percentage and hit the fewest amount of fly balls of any team between 2022-2025.

With how many players have come and gone in that time, it is hard to argue that this is not an organizational philosophy. The Nationals are either encouraging guys to hit the ball on the ground, or at the very least are okay with ground ball heavy hitters.

It is worth noting that you can be a good hitter while hitting a lot of ground balls. Guys like Christian Yelich, Elly De La Cruz, Jacob Wilson and James Wood all have a GB% over 50% but are still great offensive players. However, the data will tell you putting the ball in the air is the most consistent way of doing damage.

Do you know who has the lowest ground ball percentage in all of baseball? That would be Cal Raleigh, Major League Baseballs home run leader. He just hits ground balls 25% of the time. Raleigh is trying to lift the ball and do damage at all times.

Of course, there is no one size fits all approach to hitting. We saw Josh Bell try an approach similar to this at the beginning of the season and it failed miserably. However, to be at the top of the league in ground ball rate each and every season is a big red flag. It is an indictment on hitting coach Darnell Coles, but also on Mike Rizzo for targeting all these ground ball heavy guys.

It is fine having a couple really talented guys who hit the ball on the ground more than you would like. However, when the whole team is hitting too many ground balls, we have a problem here.

The Nationals offense has actually not been their biggest problem. However, if these guys managed to get the ball off the ground consistently, it could be so much better. While the offense is not a huge weakness, it is not a strength either. They are so inconsistent, partially because they are at the mercy of the baseball gods who determine whether or not a ground ball finds a hole.

Presumably, Darnell Coles will be gone at the end of the season. When looking for a new hitting coach, the Nats need to find someone who will modernize the offense. In so many areas of the game, the Washington Nationals are behind the curve. That is a big reason why Mike Rizzo got let go despite having so much success in the past and still being able to pull of a great trade.

This is a franchise in desperate need to catch up with the times. In the past five years or so, baseball has gained so much new knowledge with the statcast revolution and the integration of physics into the game. It is the new Moneyball in many ways. However, the Nationals have not been involved in that innovation.

I want the next GM to be an innovator who hires people with modern philosophies across the board. With the Lerner’s not opening their wallets, the Nationals need to win on the margins. Hitting the most ground balls in all of baseball is the opposite of winning on the margins.