On August 23, the Cleveland Indians were already a pretty good baseball team. They were 69-56 and had a healthy 4.5-game lead in their division. But at that time, they were still well behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in terms of chances to win the World Series and they were even behind the Houston Astros in terms of who had the best shot to win the American League.
What a change a month can make.
In the 33 days since, the Indians have gone 29-2, they now have a 16-game lead in the division, and they are now the overwhelming favorite to win the World Series.
Based on 100,000 simulations of the rest of the season by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, the Indians have a nearly 30% chance to win the World. No other team is above 15%.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider