Just the Stats: Home Sweet Home

The following statistics are completely true pieces of information. Use them at your own risk. Results may vary.

See You In Chicago Cleveland for Game 1 of the World Series
Despite winning 103 games and having baseball’s best record since May, the Chicago Cubs open the World Series on the road because of one exhibition game played in July. It probably doesn’t matter, writes FiveThirtyEight, as only three teams in the past 13 Fall Classics undeservedly lost home-field advantage. However, all three teams who should have had home-field advantage lost the World Series (2004 and 2013 Cardinals, 2011 Rangers). Coincidence? Possibly, but the Cubs could care less about coincidence. They’ll take their 46-34 record and .776 OPS on the road (both second-best in MLB) to Cleveland and look to end 108 years of misery.

Editor’s Note (Matt): Now is as good a time as any to introduce Friends of Just the Stats: FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, and StatMuse. While these friendships are (currently) one-way streets, much of the information you’ll see here and at @StatTardiff comes provided at the hands of some great minds.

See You In London to Watch Bad NFL Teams Play Each Other
The NFL playing one game a year (and since 2014, three games a year) in London sounds like a good idea. In theory, it grows the sport’s reach, taps into new markets, and gets the U.S. to watch football games before noon. In practice, we all get to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars show another country how not to play football. The collective record of all teams entering their London game is 70-119 (.370), with the Jaguars holding a 2-23 (.080) record over the past four years that they’ve been exiled invited to London.

See You On National TV Every Week, Golden State
Say what you will about super-teams and 73-win teams who don’t win the last game of the season – when projection systems tab you for an 84-0 season, you get 30 nationally televised games. When you average 115 points per game, a record-setting 13.1 threes per night, drop 101 possessions per 48 minutes, and add one of the best players in the league, we’re going to see a lot of you. Cleveland may have its championship, but the 2017 Larry O’Brien Trophy is the Warriors’ to take, and NBA fans will be able to follow along on their journey every step along the way.