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Poor fundamentals are a pet peeve of mine simply because they are among the few skills all players can master whether they are the single most or least talented athlete on the roster. Nonetheless so many players and so many teams struggle to execute correctly basics they have been taught and have been working on since high school if not Little League.
Here I’m not talking about basics such as “throw strikes” or “plant your feet properly before you throw”. These may be key skills but not every body easily repeats the necessary motions and coordination. As much as I think Max Muncy needs to figure out how throw more accurately more often, and as much as I believe hard work and repetition can improve the odds, his body just may or may not have that skill.
The fundamentals I am referring to are the skills everyone possesses but not everyone has the discipline to execute time and time again. An outfielder throwing to the cut off man, an infielder running a trapped runner back to the previous base, taking the time to make sure you get one out before trying to get two — these are more fundamental aspects of the game that are within every big league player’s bandwidth.
The A’s don’t have the market cornered on sloppy fundamentals, but at the same time they have hardly run a clinic. So far in spring training some glitches have already reared their ugly heads — though arguably spring training is precisely the time to make, and correct, these mistakes.
Muncy took such a conservative lead off of 2B, perhaps even thinking about tagging up with one out if the ball was caught, and found himself with egg on his face when he couldn’t score from 2B on a ball that banged off the RF wall. That shouldn’t happen — your position waiting to see if a ball at the wall is caught or not needs to be far enough along to the next base that you can negotiate two bases should it crash off the barrier 330 feet from home plate.
Once again A’s pitchers have proven to be shaky at holding base runners close enough to 1B for Shea Langeliers to have a fighting chance. This was a huge problem in last year’s Cactus League and bled into the regular season. It’s not about pick offs, it’s about keeping runners from getting walking leads or huge leads without being held in check.
There is reason to hope the A’s defense will be much improved this season. It starts with Denzel Clarke anchoring the outfield from CF, where he is not only a human highlight reel but also is very fundamentally sound. Adding Jeff McNeil on the infield strengthens that group, Tyler Soderstrom was a revelation when he moved to the outfield, and Nick Kurtz has the benefit of experience to improve upon his poor 2025 numbers. One can also hope Jacob Wilson is healthier and more mobile.
Where the A’s are vulnerable is that as a hitting group, while imposing they are not a team that is likely to take many extra bases as they have few base stealing threats and average overall speed. They can’t then afford to be a team that gives away a lot of bases by throwing to the wrong base, botching rundowns, letting runners get walking leads, and so on.
That the A’s are 1-5 so far is utterly meaningless. The Colorado Rockies are 6-2 but will be lucky to win 12 games in April. What is worth watching, however, is how fundamentally sound the team looks as it gears up for Opening Day in now less than a month. (Less than a month!!!)
Keep a keen eye on this essential aspect of the game as it could go a ways to predicting the A’s fortunes in 2026.