Chicago Cubs: A review of the 2015 season

Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Arrieta has the season of his life

Something happened to Arrieta when he came over from Baltimore to Chicago. He was a mediocre pitcher with the Orioles, but he became very good.

Then in 2015, he became otherworldly.

In four season with the Orioles, he owned a 20-25 record, with a 5.46 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.

In three seasons with the Cubs, he is 36-13, with a 2.26 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP.

A bulk of his stats came from 2015. He did something the rest of the world wants to find out, and he had a historic season.

In 2015, Arrieta was 22-6, with a 1.77 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. He led the league in wins, games started (33), complete games (4), shutouts (3), hits per nine innings (5.9) and home runs per nine innings (0.4).

It was during the second half of the season that Arrieta went off. After the All Star break, Arrieta went 12-1. with an amazing 0.75 ERA. He had a 0.73 WHIP, with 113 strikeouts and just 23 walks. He also gave up only 2 home runs. His BAbip was .207.

It was the greatest second half of a season any pitcher had in the history of baseball. The Cubs were 14-1 in games he pitched in the second half. In fact, the only game he lost was on Cole Hamels‘ no-hitter. Of course, Arrieta himself went on to throw one himself, against the Dodgers.

The special season Arrieta had was a big reason for the Cubs’ magical season. We can’t ask that he repeat it next year, but as great as he was in 2015, if he can be just a fraction of how good he was, 2016 can be another great year.

Next: The Cubs Go Hulk on the League