CHICAGO -- Sunday night marks the final home game of the 2016 regular season for the Chicago Cubs, but we know it won’t be the last game at Wrigley Field this year, as the Cubs secured home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs late Friday night.
The Cubs will finish no worse than tied for the best home record in baseball, though a win Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals will secure them the best record outright. You won’t find a Cubs player who doesn’t believe playing in front of their rabid fan base makes a difference.
“It’s a lot of fun to be a Cub right now and go to that stadium and feel that energy,” catcher David Ross said recently.
The energy brought by the hungriest fans in the game is nothing new for the Cubs. But in the rare seasons they have fielded a winner, it goes to another level. Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood comes to life. With the team playing so many nationally televised games, combined with a limit on home night games, the Cubs' topsy-turvy schedule can result in fatigue for even the strongest of players. It helps to have the energy of 40,000 fans at nearly every game.
“You go out there after a long road trip, and it brings you to life,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “We want the fans to enjoy it.”
And enjoy it they have -- to the tune of 56 wins and just 24 losses at Wrigley going into Sunday night, including a 30-10 record in their past 40 home games. The 56 home-field wins ties a franchise record achieved with a dominant home pitching staff:
The Cubs' 2.74 ERA at Wrigley Field is the best home ERA in baseball.
Opponents hit an MLB-low .203 at Wrigley.
The Cubs' 1.07 WHIP is the best in baseball at home.
Cubs pitchers have given up just 73 home runs at Wrigley, tied for 23rd in the majors at home.
And remember, Wrigley Field is known as a hitter’s park, though wind patterns don’t always make it so. This season, the wind blew in 60 percent of the time, which actually gave the home run-hitting Cubs an advantage. Their record going into Saturday’s game was 34-13 when the wind was blowing in. For comparison, it was just 8-6 in a crosswind and 14-4 when the wind blew out.
As for Wrigley Field highlights this season, as you might imagine there were plenty: The seven walkoff wins are easily remembered, beginning with Javier Baez's Mother’s Day home run in the 13th inning against the Washington Nationals. The other six have come since July 31, including that night’s memorable come-from-behind victory on national television against the Seattle Mariners. The Cubs scored three in the ninth to tie the game, then Jon Lester squeeze bunted home the winning run with two strikes in the 12th inning as Cubs manager Joe Maddon was preparing starter John Lackey to take over. He wasn’t needed.
As for individual achievements, it would be hard to top Kris Bryant’s five-hit day Aug. 18 against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was his second of the season and included five RBIs and 2 home runs to go along with 4 runs scored. He’s not the only one who had good days at Wrigley, as 11 players going into Sunday's game had an OPS of .758 or above at home while all five starters had home ERAs no worse than 2.62, led by Kyle Hendricks at 1.32 and Lester at 1.86.
It all adds up to an historic home season for the Cubs. The only question is: Will that dominance carry over to next month? Stay tuned.