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World Series 2016: Who has home field advantage?

By Dave Stevenson

Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Cleveland Indians celebrate beating the Toronto Blue Jays in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Cleveland Indians celebrate beating the Toronto Blue Jays in game five of the 2016 ALCS playoff baseball series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians will square off in the World Series. But who has home field advantage? 

Home field advantage means quite a bit in the World Series. It seems trivial, but it’s an important advantage regardless. Home teams win more in the Fall Classic, with a 55 percent winning percentage all-time. But it has been even more important since Bud Selig made the All-Star game determine who gets four home games. Since 2002, eight of the 11 teams who get the extra game at home have won the series. In the 2016 Fall Classic, the Chicago Cubs will square off against the Cleveland Indians.

So who gets an extra home game during the series? Thanks to Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer and the 2016 American League All-Stars, that would be the Indians. This is very important for the Indians, who owned the best home record in the American League with a 53-28 mark. More importantly, it keeps the Cubs away from home for an extra game. The Cubs led MLB with a 57-24 home record. So keeping them away from Wrigley Field is huge.

However, will it really be home field advantage? That remains to be seen. Most National League teams aren’t well suited to have a designated hitter because they rarely have a hitter good enough to play every day who can’t play in the field.

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The Cubs have the unique distinction in having a flawless DH candidate — Kyle Schwarber. He’s coming off an injury. The Cubs have enough catchers as is. As a matter of fact, they have three quite capable ones. Currently, Schwarber’s role with the Cubs in the future is sketchy at best. But this makes him a great DH candidate. As long as he can hit, he can be a very valuable asset to the Cubs.

Likewise, the Indians might be a bit lost without their designated hitter. It will be interesting to see if Terry Francona can find a way to get both Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli at bats without the designated hitter.

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