If it feels as though the Cubs have an uncanny ability to come up with groundballs at the most inopportune times, that’s because they do. With a 45.8% mark on the season, the Cubs beat more balls into the ground than all but the Pirates (46.6), White Sox (46.9), and Marlins (48.6). That’s only a slight improvement over last season, when the Cubs’ 46% grounder rate was third-worst in the league.
Even with the juiced ball toppling team and league home run records, the Cubs have somehow managed to hit more grounders over the past two seasons than in the first three of this vaunted competitive window.