The Indians won their 16th game in a row Friday night. And Yu Darvish just gave up a four spot to the Rockies in the 5th inning; if that game holds, the Dodgers will have lost eight in a row (and 13 out of 14). Both streaks are crazy. But, how much do they actually matter for the playoffs?
October is a crapshoot, yes, but if you had to make a list of "favorites," you'd start with the Dodgers, Nationals, Indians, and Astros. Should Dodgers fans be worries? Should Indians fans be submitting vacation time for a World Series parade? Here are the September records for the last five years worth of World Series teams.
| Team | Sept Record | Sept RD |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Cubs | 18-11 | +28 |
| 2016 Indians | 18-11 | +7 |
| 2015 Royals | 14-17 | -7 |
| 2015 Mets | 16-14 | +14 |
| 2014 Giants | 13-12 | -12 |
| 2014 Royals | 15-11 | +6 |
| 2013 Red Sox | 16-9 | +58 |
| 2013 Cardinals | 19-8 | +52 |
| 2012 Giants | 20-10 | +32 |
| 2012 Tigers | 18-13 | +24 |
Overall, teams that made the World Series were 167-116 in the last month of the regular season. That's a .590 winning percentage. The only teams with a 2017 winning percentage better than that mark are the four mentioned above. The 2015 Royals were the only team to have a record below .500. Does any of this matter? Probably not, but I do think September records matter more than people want them to.
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.