Specialists say the true mark of a winning team is run differential.
A team’s record can be misleading sometimes: the perfect example are last year’s Seattle Mariners.
They finished the season with a 90-72 record and were on the verge of making the postseason.
They did it with a lousy -51 run differential, however, a number that would have probably exposed them in the playoffs.
Speaking of run differential, the 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers have the majors’ best mark so far at +236.
Let that sink in: +236 is an incredible, historically great run differential.
MLB statistician Sarah Langs helps us understand just how good that number is by comparing it with the best marks in the history of the game.
“Best run differential thru 1st 110 games of season, since 1900: 1939 Yankees: +298, 1902 Pirates: +276, 1944 Cardinals: +275, 1927 Yankees: +272, 1929 A’s: +252, 2022 Dodgers: +236,” she tweeted.
Best run differential thru 1st 110 games of season, since 1900:
1939 Yankees: +298
1902 Pirates: +276
1944 Cardinals: +275
1927 Yankees: +272
1929 A’s: +252
2022 Dodgers: +236— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 11, 2022
The Dodgers Are A Tier Above Everyone Else
Today’s game is supposed to be closer and more competitive: for Los Angeles to be that much better than the rest of the competition speaks wonders of them as a franchise.
Oh, and they have done that with two struggling stars (Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger have scuffled for most of the season), several key injuries (Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May are currently out), and other unexpected situations.
They are, quite simply, a tier-and-a-half above everyone else in MLB.
They excel at talent evaluation, player development, scouting, coaching, and using analytics in game situations to their benefit.
In addition, they are not afraid of paying to get top talent, like they did with Freddie Freeman, for example.
They are incredibly good, and are the favorites to lift the World Series trophy.
