After not winning a World Series since 1980, the Chicago Cubs may actually have a chance this year. With a .658 winning percentage, they are the best in the MLB – which is unheard of, considering their history.
They now have 50 wins to 26 losses. Compare that to just two years ago in 2014 when they couldn’t break even – they were in the negative at the bottom of the NL Central with 73 wins and 89 losses.
“Well I would imagine it would be special for any team that’s gotten to fifty wins this quickly,” ESPN’s Jesse Rogers said on ESPN Chat.
Across the MLB, closely following the Cubs are the Texas Rangers in the AL West, with a winning percentage of .654 and 51 wins. Following the Rangers are the San Francisco Giants who are approaching with 49 wins.
But we are seeing drastic leads by everyone at the top of their division.
The divisions each have a distinct leader, with the smallest margin being the Washington Nationals, leading the NL East by 4.5. The Cubs in the NL Central and the Rangers in the AL East have the biggest lead with a crushing 10 games.
The Baltimore Orioles aren’t doing badly for themselves either, leading one of the toughest divisions.
The Cubs are taking a stab at history here. They only need 77 wins to get the highest winning percentage of all time.
Yes, I know, it’s far too early to speculate that something like that could happen, but it’s possible.
So what happened to the Cubs? Well, Kris Bryant has turned out to be quite the big deal.
In the Chicago Cubs vs. the Cincinnati Reds game, Bryant had a full house with 5-for-5 hits, three home-runs, two doubles and five extra base hits. Bryant is only the fifth player to do that in the last 100 years.
Teammate Albert Almora told Jesse Rogers of ESPN that he felt that the Cincinnati fans actually wanted a curtain call.
“Everybody was like, ‘Dude that’s never happened. Embrace that.’ And Bryant was like, ‘Thats not my place,'” said Almora. “I applaud him for that. We all know he’s a great baseball player, but it’s what’s off the field that really matters to me.”
Bryant even rotates between many different positions on the team.
“He doesn’t complain – he doesn’t care as long as he gets his 4 or 5 at bats a night,” EPSN’s John Kruk said. “That just tells you how complete a player Kris Bryant is.”
The player doesn’t make the team, however, as we see the Los Angeles Angels are sitting at the bottom of the AL West in the negatives with 32 wins and 46 losses, even though they have one of the most powerful players in baseball, Mike Trout.
Trout had three back-to-back, 3-hit games with a home run in each, and yet the Angels still can’t seem to get their act together.
This should be an interesting season for the MLB. With the Cubs on the rise and the Rangers making their way, it should get pretty intense in the rest of the season as the Cubs fight to hold their lead.
