NEWSLETTER
Offense across baseball is down, particularly in all ways tied to anything but home runs. It’s been the transition in the sport for a while now, and I can only hope that 2021 will mark the bottoming out (just seven teams right now have a team OPS over .718). It’s not necessarily that “more offense” is better for baseball, but I’m very confident that the current combination of “very little offense, provided mostly by home runs” is not best for the sport.
That’s probably why last night’s offensive explosion for the Cubs felt particularly fun in the current environment. Not only did the Cubs score a whopping 16 runs, but it came mostly by way of not home runs. Just one dinger on the night for the Cubs, and it was the really good kind – a grand slam by Javy Báez. Otherwise, the Cubs were just racking up the hits and walks and just kept moving the line. It makes for a fun night, and a very low stress night for the pitching staff. Oh, and 8-15 with runners in scoring position? That always makes you smile.
Enjoy the highlights if you missed it, or if you just want to enjoy again:
