Chicago Cubs: Most of baseball experiencing an offensive downturn

Chicago Cubs: Home runs go down

But can’t you turn these games around with just more home runs?

Absolutely. Again, everyone was down this year as MLB team home runs averaged 204 in 2017 and only 186 in 2018. The Yankees led the regular season with 267 dingers. The Cubs came in 22nd in MLB in regards to the long-ball, finishing an even 100 behind the Yankees with 167. In 2017, 17 teams hit more than 200 home runs and in 2018 the number dropped to 11. Honestly, hitting and run scoring just sucked across the MLB this year. Sorry, sue me!

One thing I’m not ready to blame is pitching. I believe pitching has probably gotten better on average this year and maybe there are more strikeouts this year – I’m not checking.

Why?

Pitching is a matter of skill that is the yin to a batter’s yang. Pitching will get better and so will some batters and their approach and execution. Coaches will get better at producing a “run-scoring culture” and it’s all a matter of skill. The job is about matching the skills. So don’t blame pitching on your run scoring woes.

If there is a bright side to this offensive mess, it’s simply that the trend is for the MLB to bounce back after a down year.  And for the Cubs, they just hired Mr. Run-Scoring-Culture.