Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Embracing Moneyball Philosophy To Start Season

Billy Beane would be proud of the Chicago Cubs' offensive approach.

Tyler Maher

The Chicago Cubs are embracing a key Moneyball philosophy to start the season.
The Chicago Cubs are embracing a key Moneyball philosophy to start the season. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Cubs are 4-2 to start the season entering Friday for one simple reason: they're getting on base.

The Cubs' offense has fueled their current four-game winning streak. They just demolished the Colorado Rockies in a three-game sweep and have scored 35 runs over their last four games, pounding out 41 hits during that span.

But perhaps more importantly, Chicago's hitters have shown impressive plate discipline thus far. They have nearly as many walks (33) as strikeouts (39) and entered play on their off day Thursday with the highest on-base percentage in baseball (.380).

Billy Beane would be proud of their offensive approach.

The Cubs own MLB's highest walk rate at 13.6%. Chicago also has the lowest strikeout rate in baseball (16.1%) -- a dangerous combination for opposing pitchers.

The Cubs have been patient, waiting for hittable pitches and pouncing on mistakes. They've also maintained a steady flow of traffic on the bases, putting pressure on opponents and scoring runs in bunches despite ranking middle of the pack in terms of power.

When teams get on base, good things tend to happen.

One week into the season, it's hard to know whether a trend is real or just statistical noise. It also doesn't help that half of Chicago's games came against one of the worst teams in baseball. These numbers might look a bit different after their upcoming series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Still, the Cubs' patience at the plate has been a big reason for their success thus far and deserves highlighting. If they keep it up, runs won't be hard to come by this year.

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Tyler Maher

TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.