The Cubs offense has been solid at times this year, sputtering at others. They currently rank fourth in MLB in runs with 520, six ahead of the division rival Brewers.
One of the reasons for all those runs is that the Cubs lead MLB in walks with 448, significantly ahead of the second-best Brewers (420). That’s 4.39 walks per game, and if they keep up that pace they will finish with 712 walks, which would demolish the franchise record. That’s 656 walks, which was set in the World Series title year of 2016.
The previous record of 650 was set in 1975.
A bit about that 1975 team before I talk more about this year’s Cubs walks. The 1975 Cubs were a very good offensive team. They scored 712 runs, which in that lower-offense era was tied for third-best in the National League. That team got off to a 20-10 start and was still in first place in the NL East as late as June 6.
What happened? The pitching staff, which was atrociously bad. They allowed 827 runs, which was the most in the NL — by 88! The Braves, who lost 94 games, were second-worst. Rick Reuschel, who posted a 3.73 ERA in 38 games (37 starts), was the only starter with an ERA under 4.00. That sounds okay now, perhaps, but in that lower-offense era Reuschel’s ERA ranked 23rd among 39 qualified starters.
Darold Knowles, a World Series hero with the A’s in 1972, had been acquired and though he posted 15 saves, that came with a 5.81 ERA and seven blown saves. In an era when good relievers were called “firemen,” Knowles became known as “The Torch” because he’d come in and make bad situations worse.
Back to 2026: The Cubs walked 11 times in Tuesday’s win over the Tigers. That was the 46th time in 102 games this year that the team has had at least five walks. They’ve had 33 games with at least six and 17 with at least seven, and the 11 Tuesday matched the team’s season high (also June 19 in the 16-2 blowout of the Blue Jays). All of those walks have done a great job in helping score all the runs the Cubs have put on the board. Interestingly, they have done this with only two players in the top 10 in walks in the NL (Michael Busch is second with 65 and Ian Happ is 10th with 56). The Cubs’ team OBP of .338 is third in MLB, just one point behind the second-place Pirates.
Of course, one of the reasons for this increase in walks is Pete Crow-Armstrong, who has walked 52 times this year (including three times Tuesday) and might wind up with 75 or more, after drawing only 29 all of last year. His improved patience at the plate has made him a better hitter and likely helped the other guys in the lineup.
And if you’re curious, the MLB record for walks by a team in a season is 835, set by the Red Sox in 1949. That’s way out of reach for the Cubs, but the NL record might be catchable. That’s 732, set by the Dodgers in 1947.
Keep walking on, Cubs. It helps good things happen.
