There has been so much talk about how many runs the Chicago Cubs have been scoring this season, and even more talk about their incredible run differential. It is an important stat to track since run differential is one of the truest ways to determine a contender from a pretender, yet one that really hasn’t received much attention until the past several seasons.
The Cubs lead the majors in run differential this season, and it is by a huge margin already. In their first 26 games, they have scored 93 more runs than their opposition, while the closest team to them is the St. Louis Cardinals with a RDiff of 40.
Well ESPN’s Baseball Tonight just ran this graphic on their Instagram page.
Not only are the Cubs on pace to break the record set by the 1939 New York Yankees – you know, the team that had six Hall of Fame players in Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, Bill Dickey, Joe Gordon, and Red Ruffing – as well as the second best team ’27 Yankees… you know… “Murderers Row.”
With the Cubs on pace to win 124 games this season, they will have tons of opportunities to break the long standing record. I mean, they aren’t even at the quarter season mark, the team hasn’t really started hitting, yet they are about a quarter of the way to the Yankees record.
Why is this important? Leaders in run differential typically have outstanding seasons. In 2015 there was only one division in baseball which saw the leader in run differential NOT win their division- the Houston Astros – who won the Wild Card. It was similar results in 2014, 2013, 2012, and almost every single other season you look up. In fact, there has only been four teams to have a run differential of more than 200 or more since 2002, two of those teams won the World Series – 2007 Boston Red Sox, and 2002 Anaheim Angels (the Yankees also had a +200 Rdiff in 2002).
While this doesn’t guarantee anything, with half the teams with a 200 or better Rdiff in the past 14 years being crowned champions and the only team on the all-time leaders to not win a title being the 1902 Pirates (because they didn’t have a championship that season), I feel the Cubs are in good territory.
This stat, while can be tied to a great offense, typically means you have a very well rounded roster. Strong pitching and defense going along with a strong offense helps in this stat. If you pitch well, can catch the ball, and hit… you will be good.
https://twitter.com/LenKasper/status/727197642678276098
