Run differential

In baseball, run differential is a cumulative team statistic that combines offensive and defensive scoring. Run differential is calculated by subtracting runs allowed from runs scored. The run differential is positive if a team scores more runs than it allows, while it is negative if a team allows more runs than it scores.

Run differential can be used to predict the expected win total for a team, via a formula devised by Bill James, the Pythagorean expectation.

Records

The best run differential in an MLB season is +411, set by the 1939 New York Yankees, who scored 967 runs and allowed 556 runs.[1] The worst run differential was by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders at -723 (529 runs scored, 1252 runs allowed).[2] The highest run differential in a single game in major league history is 29, when the Chicago Colts (now the Cubs) beat the Louisville Colonels 36–7 on June 29, 1897,[3] and the record in baseball's modern era (since 1900) is 27, when the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 30–3 on August 22, 2007.[4][5] The biggest run differential in a shutout is 22, when the Cleveland Indians defeated the New York Yankees 22–0 on August 31, 2004.[6][7]

Group stage tiebreaker

Run differentials can be used to break ties that occur in the standings when determining which teams should advance to the playoffs.

Team Quality Balance

A variation on the run differential formula is the Team Quality Balance (TQB) formula. It is calculated as "runs scored/innings played on offense - runs allowed/innings played on defense".[8] It is possible for outs to be considered thirds of an inning, as they are in the innings pitched statistic. TQB functions identically to run differential except that it rewards the home team for having as few of its batters get out as possible in games that it wins.

See also

References
  1. "The Chicago Cubs are putting together the most dominant season in MLB history". Fox Sports. June 7, 2016.
  2. Jazayerli, Rany (November 3, 2015). "The BP Wayback Machine: Dayton Moore's First Week". baseballprospectus.com.
  3. "Events of Tuesday, June 29, 1897". Retrosheet. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  4. Mintz, Jake (August 1, 2018). "These games were the most one-sided matchups in MLB history". MLB.com.
  5. "Texas Rangers 30, Baltimore Orioles 3 (1)". Retrosheet. August 22, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  6. "5 Biggest Winning Margins In MLB History". July 18, 2014 – via Excite.
  7. "Cleveland Indians 22, New York Yankees 0". Retrosheet. August 31, 2004. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. "Major changes coming to international baseball and softball, World Cups". wbsc.org. Retrieved 2021-08-17.

Further reading
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