It’s an unusual circumstance for the National League team in a World Series to be disadvantaged in the games that it plays at home.
The theory, after all, is that an American League team, which uses a designated hitter throughout most of the year, is forced to sit one of its regulars. But in the case of Kyle Schwarber’s miraculous return to the Chicago Cubs lineup during the World Series, after he tore his ACL and LCL on April 7 and was ruled out for the season, his team found itself in that AL-like conundrum.
Though Schwarber has been cleared to hit, doctors prohibited him from playing in the field. So, the left-handed slugger was relegated to duties as a pinch hitter, forced to watch his team struggle offensively over the last three games at Wrigley Field.
But by virtue of the Cubs’ Game 5 win Sunday night, the series heads back to AL champion Cleveland for the final two games, giving Schwarber the opportunity ignite Chicago’s offense.
Over the last three home games, Schwarber has played spectator while his team scored only four total runs. Manager Joe Maddon tried every which way to spark the offense.
But aside from Anthony Rizzo—center fielder Dexter Fowler and outfielder Ben Zobrist are switch-hitters—Maddon couldn’t find capable left-handed hitting, which is of utmost importance against the right-handed-dominant Cleveland Indians pitching staff.
Reliever Andrew Miller is the only southpaw among the Indians’ key pitchers.
It was as if Maddon walked into his kitchen intent on making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich only to find he was out of jelly.
Except there’s no running to the store in the World Series. The roster is set.
Left-handed-hitting outfielder Chris Coghlan is hitless in three at-bats this series. Right fielder Jason Heyward, another lefty, has struggled all year (.230/.306/.325 this season). He has three hits in this series, two of them seeing-eye singles that wouldn’t even make the NL’s worst-hitting pitchers jealous.
Maddon had nowhere to turn, except to try to adeptly pinch hit with Schwarber when it appeared advantageous.
That’s like telling Picasso to paint with only two primary colors.
During the World Series Schwarber is hitting .375/.500/.500, which makes him a superhero among Cubs fans given that he only had five MLB plate appearances prior to starting as the team’s designated hitter in Game 1.
But the superhuman nature of Schwarber’s comeback will be judged after the series is over. And in a loss, it may not matter anyway.
As it pertains to Tuesday’s Game 6, another series-clinching opportunity for the Indians, he has a chance to give his team a boost.
It should be noted that in 10 plate appearances during the World Series, Schwarber has struck out four times.
It’s irrelevant, though.
With his power, Schwarber can change the game with one swing. So if he strikes out four times it doesn’t matter. As long as he gets that timely hit.
But it’s not just the AL format that benefits Schwarber and the Cubs in Game 6.
According to ESPN’s "MLB Park Factors," a statistical measure that determines which stadiums are friendly to hitters, Cleveland’s Progressive Field ranks third in runs, fourth in hits and fifth in home runs.
Those are the three most relevant categories for a hitter like Schwarber.
Furthermore, it’s 325 feet to right field in that stadium. By comparison, Wrigley Field is 353 feet to right field. Though the distance to Progressive Field's left field is also 325 feet, there is a 19-foot-high wall. That makes it more difficult for right-handed hitters to homer.
For lefties, though, the right field fence is only nine feet high.
According to FanGraphs, Schwarber pulled the ball 46.8 percent of the time in 2015, which makes him, along with Rizzo, the likeliest on the Cubs roster to homer on Tuesday and, if the Cubs should win, in Wednesday’s decisive Game 7.
Simply we should see the best of the Cubs with Schwarber in the lineup at Progressive Field.
Sure, the Indians, too, had to maneuver Wrigley Field’s NL rules. But it seemed through the last three games that Chicago’s offense was actually hurt more by them.
Cleveland scored 10 runs over the three games.
It’s netted the Cubs and their tortured fanbase the most unpredictable of circumstances. Since 1945 fans have waited for a World Series to return to Chicago’s north side.
Fans needed to write four-figure checks to get into the ballpark for one of the three games. Others gathered en masse outside the stadium and packed the surrounding bars.
Chicago couldn’t wait to watch a World Series game at Wrigley Field.
But now that the games are over and the World Series is leaving Wrigley Field for, at least, the 2016 season, those rooting for the Cubs to win this year might want to collectively wish it good riddance.
Because their home field didn’t turn out to be such an advantage.
Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments