For the Red Sox, they clinched the American League Eastern Division days ago. They have been playing meaningless games for over a week. It looks like they will finish the year with 108 wins, a team record. That is a .667 winning percentage, the best in all of baseball. That is they win, two out of every three games they've played. This is the seventh best record ever for any team in Major League baseball history. They did all this with one of their stars, Gold Glove second baseman Dustin Pedroia, on the Disabled List (DL) most of the season and their best pitcher, Chris Sale, for part of the season. Because of Pedroia being missing, defense was less than stellar up the middle. They made up for it with hitting and pitching.
It is an incredible year, they have two candidates for MVP with Mookie Betts being the batting champion with a .346 batting average. He also lead the league in slugging percentage and extra bases. JD Martinez is right behind him in batting .329. He lead the league in total bases and runs batted in (RBIs). JD's chances at winning the MVP is less probable because he didn't play the field as much as Mookie or Mike Trout of the Angels who play ever day and are phenomenal.
The Sox have a lot of other standouts with Jackie Bradley Jr. playing Gold Glove caliber outfield and stealing bases at a 94.4% rate (highest in the league). Shortstop Xander Bogaerts had the best year of his career and they have the two best defensive catchers in the league with Vasquez and Leon. Their only soft spot is their bullpen who have been quite shaky late in the year.
The Cubs have the best record in the National League, tied with Milwaukee. They have a potential National MVP in Javier Baez who leads the league in RBIs, but considering what Christian Yellich has done late in the season for Milwaukee, I have no doubt he'll get that honor. Baez may be awarded it because of his defense. Check out this video below of Javy's 2018 defensive highlights. He is undoubtedly the most exciting player on the diamond to watch whether he is batting, fielding the entire infield or stealing home. If MLB is looking for a player to be the face of baseball, here he is.
Cubs have great hitting and pitching but the most impressive aspect of their game is their defense. They may have the best infield in baseball with Bryant and Rizzo on the corners and Javy and Russell in the middle. They tied a record this year by turning seven double plays in one game. Try scoring any runs in that game. It isn't just their infield. They have Jason Heyward in center field with a killer arm.
Either team could easily be eliminated with great teams from Cleveland, Houston and surprisingly Atlanta looking very good about now. Either way, my wife and I will be hoping our fantasy match up: Sox / Cubs with four games in Fenway so that we might get a chance to see one of them live.
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