Run Differentiating Like the Wind

There’s nothing like a 15-10 game to get one thinking about run differential, which is runs scored minus runs allowed. Scoring 15 runs is great, but allowing 10 runs to the Orioles is risky behavior.

I have heard it claimed that run differential is the single most reliable predictor of team success. A few years ago, the Nationals defied gravity by having a negative run differential in the first half of the season, but they came brutally back to Earth in the second half.

So who leads the majors in run differential? Our own Boston Red Sox (+118), closely followed by the New York Highlanders. Third runner-up Philly trails by 32 runs.

Good times.