A quick follow-up on yesterday’s post about the Cubs’ 2021 season. With two games to go (I am posting this before Saturday night’s game), the Cubs have already set a team record for most strikeouts in a season (by batters, unfortunately, not pitchers), and they are only fourteen strikeouts away from setting a major league record. Which they should be able to do since they are averaging 9.88 strikeouts a game.
While it may be obvious that you have to hit the ball to win,1 it is actually more obvious than you think. Consider the New Look Cubs’ seven-game winning streak from August 31 to September 6. Two of those wins came on balls that were hit, but should have been outs. On September 2, a whiffed pop up to the infield resulted in the winning run scoring in the bottom of the eleventh. A strike out wouldn’t have done it, but when you hit the ball, you never know (see at 7:40):
Similarly, two days later, with two out in the bottom of the ninth, Frank Schwindel hit a grounder to the hole at short. The shortstop’s throw pulled the first baseman off the bag, and Schwindel dove into first to avoid a swipe tag by the first baseman. Once again, a strike out wouldn’t have done it, but when you hit the ball (see at 10:03):
That’s two wins out of seven. And that tells you, when you hit the ball, you never know. But when you set a major league record for team strike outs, you do.
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1 Yes, you can win on a dropped third strike, but you can win while being no-hit, too. It doesn’t happen much.
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