Indians Show Why They're The Top Team In The American Leauge After Hitting Five Home Runs Off The Royals
I had a debate with someone on Twitter yesterday over what really makes a team the “best” in their league — run differential or winning percentage?
It’s trickier than it sounds. I mean, obviously the name of the game is to win, so the one who wins the most games at the end of the year is the best. I also view it as the “best team in the league” is the team with the best winning percentage. However, let’s use last year for example. The Royals won 95 games and had a run differential of +83, and the Blue Jays won two fewer games but had a run differential of +221. Toronto’s run differential was nearly double what the next best team in baseball was (Cardinals, +122), so in a playoff series, you tip your cap to the Royals for putting together a great season, but the Blue Jays are clearly the better team. But, as we know, things didn’t play out that way, and the Royals beat the Blue Jays in six games in the ALCS, because baseball’s great, and things don’t always play out the way that you’d expect them to.
So, what does all this have to do with the Cleveland Indians? Well, that’s because there’s no debate over who the best team in the American League is right now. It’s them. With an American League-leading record of 56-38, and an American League-leading run differential of +95, the Indians are the best team in the league right now. And I say “right now” because we all know that things could change. There’s plenty of baseball left to be played, and I don’t think they’re not a powerhouse team that is going to break away from the pack. They already went on a run like that, a 14-game winning streak at the end of last month, to catapult themselves to the top of the AL, but I can’t see them getting to a point where they’re head and shoulders above the rest of the league.
However, with a rotation of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin and Trevor Bauer, the Indians have the best rotation in the American League, and it’s not even close. That was the belief going into the season, and I think they’ve been even better than expected with Bauer having a career year, Tomlin having a solid “from out of nowhere” season, and the three-headed monster atop the rotation doing what they do. That’s the team you don’t want to fuck with come postseason time.
The biggest concern for Cleveland was their offense. They’ve been without their number three hitter, Michael Brantley, since the first week of May. But despite that loss, they’re still sixth in the MLB and third in the American League in runs scored (472). Brantley led the league in doubles last year with 45 and hit 15 homers, but first-year Tribe member Mike Napoli is on pace to hit 38 home runs, 26 doubles and drive in 115 runs. Pretty decent value for only giving him a one-year deal worth $7 million. Cleveland has five hitters who have at least 10 home runs this year, and all but Francisco Lindor went deep against the Royals yesterday.