Chicago Cubs have transformed into second-half heroes with Joe Maddon

Ever since he took the reigns as the Chicago Cubs skipper, Joe Maddon has guided the team to second-half surges, making up for any slow starts.

The Chicago Cubs have enjoyed an incredibly successful run under the leadership of Joe Maddon, including the long-awaited World Series title, several deep postseason runs and a Wild Card appearance. The curious thing about each of these seasons, however, is how much better the Cubs have been as a second-half team.

Not counting the current ongoing season, the Cubs are 198-158 in the first half: an overall respectable record, but nothing compared to their 189-103 record in the second half. What exactly causes Maddon’s teams (save for the 2018 club) to improve so much late in the season?

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The 2015 campaign was marked by an increase in total runs for the Cubs in the second half, with the team scoring 19 more runs in 12 fewer games. The team’s pitching held firm throughout the season as well, with the ERA hovering between 3.67 to 3.85.

During their World Series year, the Cubs’ stellar run production dropped in the second half, but their pitching saw a massive improvement. Part of this is likely due to the mid-season acquisitions of Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery: both integral pieces to the team’s push to the postseason.

2017 saw a team ERA of 4.53 drop to only 4.00, powered by late improvements from starters Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks. With a respectable improvement to run production in the second half as well, the Cubs improved to a .662 winning percentage from a dismal .489 percentage in the first half.

Much of this second half success seems to be attributed to Maddon’s careful management of his players’ time on the field. He’s not afraid to give star players time off to keep them fresh for when they are needed most.

Once more, the two-time former Manager of the Year looks to put this plan in place to assure the Cubs do not peter out at the end of the season. Last year, this plan ultimately failed due to the abnormally long stretch of games caused by constant rain-outs.

We can see how Maddon is conserving his players this year by how he has managed catcher Willson Contreras: alternating between him and Victor Caratini to keep both playing at peak performance. It is easy to see why with Contreras playing a staggering 138 games last year and struggling to a .249/.339/.390 after a dismal second half.

Maddon is also attempting to keep the starters well-rested by switching over to a six-man rotation. The hope is to give each guy an extra day of rest in anticipation of a late push while giving rookie Adbert Alzolay some chances to start.

The Chicago Cubs look poised to make a push in the back end of the season once again, barring yet another disastrous schedule shift. If they do, it will be yet another proof of concept for how Joe Maddon has made second-half heroes of his players by respecting their limits.