The Chicago Cubs keep finding ways to win in the clutch

The Chicago Cubs refuse to quit

You’ve heard the old saying, “I’d rather be lucky than good”, but do you know who said it? Of course, it had to be a baseball player. Lefty Gomez of the New York Yankees coined that phrase and many others, but he was a joker and made light of his success and skills.

One thing you cannot make light of is how this year’s Chicago Cubs team is playing when the game is on the line.

Now are the Chicago Cubs really this good or are they getting some lucky breaks? That depends on if you believe in luck, some people say you make your own luck. For argument’s sake let’s just say luck is a true force in the universe – does it apply to how this team is playing and winning?

If you look at the stats you can get a clearer picture of what this Cubs team is doing in the later innings of the game. According to baseball-references.com, in games that are late and close (defined as plate appearances in the seventh or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck), the Cubs are slashing .294/.384/.445 with four homers and 23 RBI.

Individually there are several players who are just destroying the opposing team in those late and close situations. Starlin Castro who’s had the most appearances at 17 is hitting .375 with five driven in. Anthony Rizzo, only one appearance behind Castro, is even better – posting a line of .600/.750/.700, with two stolen bases and five walks. Jorge Soler has a .357 average with a homer and two batted in, Kris Bryant in 12 appearances is registering a .500/.667/.625 line along with two RBI, four walks, and a stolen base.

To get more specific – as a team in the ninth inning the Cubs are batting .264 with six runs batted in, three steals, and drawing six free passes. In extra innings, the Chicago Cubs are even better with a .450 average, six driven in, two swipes and five walks. With those numbers, you can see how they are 3-0 in extra-inning games so far this year.

They are also winning these close games against some very good pitchers. One of the wins was off of one of the elite closers in baseball, Craig Kimbrel. Mark Melancon, who closed out 33 games for the Pirates last year, was tagged for three runs in the Cubs’ comeback win.

"”I’ve always thought really highly of a team that can win in extra innings on the road. That’s always been my measuring stick of a good team.”I’ll take the attitude of these guys any day of the week.” – Joe Maddon – via Joey Kay of CBSSports.com"

So the question was, is this team that lucky or that good? Looking at the numbers and seeing this team play, one could say they are maybe a little lucky, but they are also doing just about everything right when it counts and they are looking very good at doing it. Friday night’s game was just another example of how much heart this Chicago Cubs team has and that is something luck cannot play a factor in.