@WeeklyJoePod: Let's discuss the numbers behi...

Let's discuss the numbers behind @AlabamaBSB after 30 SEC games and 55 total. Gonna be a lot of really bad and bleak news for some of the ill-informed haters out there who seemingly would be happier with an 8-22 team. 1/

2/ First the offensive stats. Note all are SEC only figures (30 games). The Tide badly trailed the league, but it matched its opponents.

BA: .243; Opp: .248; SEC: .261
Slug: .398; Opp: .406; SEC: .448
OBP: .347; Opp: .338; SEC: .357
OPS: .745; Opp: .744; SEC: .805

3/ SEC OPS #s were skewed by 2 @ the top & 2 @ the bottom. Avg of 12 teams was .805 w/ 5 below & 2 WAY below. We were 8% below the average.

GA .940
A&M .928
MSU .866
TX .853
aub .801
OU .818
KY .808
LSU .815
VAN .819
UF .822
UT .811
ARK .812
OM .774
ALA .745
MIZZ .657
SC .620

4/ "Bad fielding club"...agreed, but to a point.

@AlabamaBSB .971 in SEC play. SEC avg .975, so the Tide was not far off the league's bar and was better than 4 SEC teams. 6 teams fielded over .980 last year. Only 3 were .980 or better in 2026. Bad fielding year overall.

5/ The narrative around the team's fielding was based on 72 total Es, but 21 were b4 SEC play even began. 4 games of 5, 4, 6, and 5 Es (total of 20) piled-up 28% of the season's Es. Good news is the improvement down the stretch...4 Es in the final 9 SEC games (7 games w/o Es).

6/ So how did this team get to 18-12? Pitching (duh). Notably from its starters & the ability to eat up innings and limit exposure to bullpen variability.

Fay: 63.2 SEC IP (#1)
Adams: 55.2 (#9)
Upchurch: 44.6 (#21)

Alabama was the only SEC team with 3 in the top 21 in IP.

7/ @AlabamaBSB 's team ERA in SEC play was 4.52. Opponents' ERA was 5.12. The league ERA was 5.72 w/ 8 teams above that and 8 below. Must have played a lot of close games, right? Absolutely.

8/ The Tide played 13 one-run games across all 55. 8 were in SEC play. Records in those games were 11-2 and 6-2.

SEC games were 3-2 (aub); 3-2 (OU); 2-3 (ARK); 2-1 (TX); 5-4 🇦🇺 (VAN); 7-6 (SC); & 5-4 (OM). Not many shootouts in that lot. Just well-pitched games.

9/ Finally, runs scored vs. runs allowed. Not much difference (+6) considering the team was 6 over .500. @AlabamaBSB averaged 5.4 runs in SEC play. It allowed 5.2 runs. It scored 6 or more 12 times (11-1 in those games). It allowed 6 or more 14 times (5-9 in those games).

10/ So the formula was stellar starting pitching, clutch bullpen performances, enough defense when games were tight, & offense from someone different most nights in just the right amount. I wouldn't recommend this every year, but the starting rotation made it work in '26.

11/ Let us know what else you think keyed this memorable SEC run by @AlabamaBSB . We'll discuss it more on the podcast this week.