Come To Think of It...There's No Place Like Home in MLB

There has always been a built-in advantage to playing at home in Major League Baseball. Each team has its fans cheering them on, they know every nook and cranny in their home park, and they get the last at-bat. But it's been 75 years since home teams have enjoyed the kind of success they've had thus far in 2008.

Entering Sunday's games, home teams were 541-396, a winning percentage of .577. Over the same period last season, home teams had a .522 winning percentage.

Twenty-five of the 30 big-league teams are at or above .500 at home this season, led by the Red Sox (29-10), Cubs (32-8), Braves (27-13), and Rays (30-13). Only four teams—the Angels, White Sox, Phillies, and Cardinals—started Sunday at .500 or better on the road, and only the 25-12 Angels are more than four games over the break-even mark.

The last major-league season in which the home team's winning-percentage was that high was 1931, when it was .582, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Since then, it's finished as high as .570 only once - .573 in 1978.

Many of these teams have not enjoyed nearly as much success on the road, of course. But no one has experienced the disparity displayed by the Atlanta Braves—their terrific home record is countered by an awful 11-27 mark on the road.

One reason for the skewed home-road differential this season is that several teams—Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Tampa Rays—are doing so much better at home, and one, the Cubs, are on a record-setting pace.

The 1961 Yankees currently hold the record for best winning percentage at home in major-league history. They went 65-16 that year, a winning percentage of .802. This year's Boston Red Sox team had been winning at a .815 clip until a recent down turn put them right around .750. 

The 1975 Cincinnati Reds own the mark in the National League. The Reds went 64-17 that season, a .790 winning percentage. The Cubs are currently 32-8 at home, a winning percentage of .800.  They would hold the all-time NL record if they keep up this pace.

The winner of the All-Star Game determines which team has home-field advantage in the World Series. I might be getting ahead of myself here, but the Cubs in particular would do well to help the NL win the game this year. 

Fortunately, they should be in position to help themselves, as they will be roundly represented at the game, if current vote tallies hold up.

Note that all teams that completed a season with a home winning-percentage of at least .765 went on the win the World Series. However, each of those teams could also win on the road.

The Cubs sit at 16-20 on the road. If they want to join these other teams as World Series winners, history tells us that the Cubs road record will need to improve. The '98 Yankees won 52-of-81 on the road. The '75 Reds and the '61 Yankees finished 44-37 away from home.

Like Dorothy, us Cubs fans should just keep telling ourselves, "there's no place like home"..."there's no place like home"...but come to think of it, let's pick up the pace on the road too.