The New York Yankees are playing on a different level this year.
They own MLB’s best record, at 44-16, entering Monday’s play.
They are five games better than the second-ranked team in MLB, the New York Mets.
Thanks to a strong and deep rotation, and a powerful offense that leads the majors in home runs, the Yankees are inviting their fans to dream about their first World Series title since 2009.
There is one particular stat that shows the Yankees’ dominance in the American League: run differential.
Look at this:
“Best run differentials in the American League: 1. Yankees +127; 2. Astros +43 3; Red Sox +40 4; Blue Jays +34 5; Cleveland +33 6; Minnesota +25 7; Tampa Bay +22,” Josh Goldberg, who covers and follows the Toronto Blue Jays closely, tweeted.
Best run differentials in the American League:
1. Yankees +127 (lmao)
2. Astros +43
3. Red Sox +40
4. Blue Jays +34
5. Cleveland +33
6. Minnesota +25
7. Tampa Bay +22— Josh Goldberg (@JGoldberg12) June 13, 2022
The gap between the Yankees and the second-best team in run differential in the American League, the Astros, is 84 runs: that’s just incredible.
Only The Dodgers Are In The Yankees’ Stratosphere
If we expand the search to MLB as a whole, there is just one team in the Yankees’ stratosphere, and it’s not the Mets.
The Los Angeles Dodgers top the National League in run differential, with +106.
The Mets have +66 and are third in MLB.
The playoffs are random and unpredictable enough that we can’t really know for sure which teams will go to the World Series, but it’s pretty clear that the Yankees and the Dodgers represent the elite of their respective leagues.
For the Yankees, it’s quite a surprising outcome considering they really didn’t make any big signings over the offseason.
But they brought in a really talented hitting coach in Dillon Lawson and re-signed Anthony Rizzo, a crucial move.
They also made some savvy trades and improved their pitching assets.
All in all, they look like the best team in Major League Baseball.
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ROBERT BACON says
The 127 run differential is impressive. Why is it then that I feel like we are in a ton of close games?