Chicago Sun-Times

60-game runs for better, worse

A LOOK AT HOW SOME CUBS, SOX HAVE FARED EARLY, LATE IN SEASONS

- BY BILL CHUCK walkoffs@gmail.com | @billyball

There are certain numbers and phrases that are iconic when it comes to baseball. For example, 60 always has represente­d Babe Ruth’s record-breaking home-run total of 1927. The phrase ‘‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint’’ always has referred to the length of the baseball season and the pacing required to get through it.

Well, you can throw the significan­ce of each of those out the window as Major League Baseball embarks on a 60-game dash to outrun the coronaviru­s this season.

The question I have been stressing about is, how will the Cubs and Sox perform in this Babe Ruth-ian dash? This is not like asking how Brigid Kosgei, Lawrence Cherono, Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schar, the 2019 Chicago Marathon winners, would do in the 60-yard dash. This is different.

There are factors we must include when considerin­g whether players will respond as if this were the first 60 games of the season or the last 60 games of the season. Here are some:

• Conditioni­ng: What kind of shape was a player in when reporting to summer camp?

• Energy and enthusiasm: Each team is starting Game 103 — essentiall­y — of a regular season tied for first place. Will players be able to respond accordingl­y?

• No fans/no contact: What is the adrenaline factor going to be when playing to an empty stadium and no high-fives among teammates?

• Enforced confinemen­t: No going out for a beer with teammates after the game.

• Slow starts: Some players and some teams, for whatever reason, take a while to get started. Can they adjust?

• Competitio­n: The National League Central is much tougher than the American League Central.

• The weather: It’s hot.

• COVID-19: It’s hot.

Here are some numbers to consider when measuring your expectatio­ns. I’ve put together the statistics of some Cubs and Sox in the first 60 and the last 60 of their teams’ games in recent seasons.

Now go wear a mask, wash your hands, stay healthy, take care of your pets and be kind to one another.

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