Chicago Cubs fans have become used to their team making history as of late, but unlike most of their recent accomplishments, they are achieving a feat at the moment that they’d probably rather forget.
The Cubs, who won their Opening Day game against the Texas Rangers, have hit the skids hard this week, losing their last five games as their offense has spluttered and their bullpen has imploded on numerous occasions.
In fact, the Cubs are one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball, surrendering 46 runs in their first six games of the season. That average of over 7.5 runs per game allowed is bad, but when put into historical context, it looks even worse.
According to Christopher Kamka of NBC Sports Chicago, the 46 runs allowed by the Cubs are the most they’ve allowed in the first six games of a season since the 1901 campaign, when they allowed 57 runs in their first six contests.
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To put that into historical context, the Cubs weren’t even the Cubs at that point, as they were still formally known as the Chicago Orphans. They were still 15 years away from moving into Wrigley Field, and were still at the West Side Park. Finally, their in-city rivals, the Chicago White Sox, were busy celebrating their very first year of existence the last time the Cubs had allowed this many runs to start a season.
The Cubs will have a chance to reverse that trend on Friday, but it won’t be easy, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.