Chicago Cubs on pace to set franchise record in home runs

This season, home runs are being hit all over the league at a record-setting rate. Things are no different on the North Side as the Chicago Cubs are on pace to shatter their franchise home run record.

The Chicago Cubs record for most home runs in a season was set back in 2004 when they launched 235 long balls. That team was built to hit home runs and had four players tally 30 or more round trippers.

In just 58 games this season, the Cubs have already hit 96 home runs. They’re currently hitting 1.65 home runs per game, and on average they go about 21 at-bats in between home runs. If they keep up the current pace they’re on; they will hit a total of 267 home runs this season.

That wouldn’t just set a new franchise record, that would obliterate the Cubs previous mark by 32 home runs. If they were to hit 267 home runs, they would also tie the MLB home run which was just set last season by the New York Yankees. (Although, that record will probably be broken again this season as the Minnesota Twins have 109 home runs and are on pace to hit 303 home runs.)

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

The Cubs have already set a franchise record for the most runs hit in a month by hitting 51 big flies in May. During May the Cubs had games where they hit six home runs against the Washington Nationals and five long balls against the Houston Astros. Kris Bryant led the Cubs in May with 10 home runs while Anthony Rizzo launched nine of his own. As a team, the Cubs had the highest percentage of fly balls that were home runs at 21.6 percent.

Different philosophies bring different results

While we’re on the topic of HR/FB ratio, the Cubs have drastically improved in this area in comparison to last season. According to baseball reference, the Cubs have the second-best percentage of fly balls that were home runs at 14.1 percent. Last season, only 8.3 percent of the Cubs fly balls ended up being home runs.

A lot of this could have to do with the Cubs having a different, better voice in new hitting coach Anthony Iapoce. Iapoce replaced Chili Davis who did not mesh well with the Cubs and only lasted one season. Iapoce and Davis are on opposite ends of the spectrum where Iapoce believes in launch angle, and Davis doesn’t.

To this point in the season, the results seem to speak for themselves. The Cubs have been putting the ball in the air more often and have been getting better results. As I said earlier, the Cubs have already hit 96 home runs this season, whereas at this point last season the Cubs only hit 63 long balls.

Cubs players who struggled last season, in terms of power numbers at least, have bounced back in 2019. We’ve seen several players already match or surpass their 2018 home run total. Willson Contreras‘ power disappeared last year when he hit just 10 home runs. In 54 games this season, the young catcher has already hit 13 long balls.

Jason Heyward has shown more pop in his bat, hitting nine home runs after launching just eight home runs a year ago. Albert Almora Jr. has already hit seven home runs after tallying just five last season. Even Addison Russell, who’s only played in 23 games this year, is one home run shy of last season’s total of five.

As it stands right now, the Cubs have five players that have hit 10 or more home runs this season. Rizzo leads the way with 16 homers, in what looks like one of his best seasons. The Cubs certainly feature a lot of power in their lineup, and they are built to hit home runs. It will be fun to follow this lineup the rest of the way to see just how many home runs they can hit.