NL on pace to outscore AL for first time in nearly 50 years

DH production across the two leagues is very similar. AL DHs are hitting .231/.318/.413 this year while NL DHs are hitting .234/.315/.411. Considering NL teams did not have an offseason to tailor their roster for the universal DH—it was dropped on them during the shutdown—that’s impressive. NL pitchers hit .131/.161/.168 last season, remember. Now those at-bats go to real hitters.

The universal DH certainly contributes to the NL outscoring the AL this year but it alone does not explain it. NL teams are receiving significantly better production than AL teams at four of the nine positions:...

Weighted runs created plus, or wRC+, is a catch-all statistic that adjusts for era and ballpark, and presents offensive output relative to the league average, where 100 is average. Anything higher than 100 is above-average (a 125 wRC+ is 25 percent better than league average, for example) and anything below 100 is below-average.

At the four positions the NL leads, the average gap is 9 wRC+ points. At the four positions the AL leads, the average gap is only 7 wRC+ points. The NL has a bigger offensive edge at several individual positions, they’re hitting (slightly) more home runs, and they’re performing better with men in scoring position. That equals more runs scored per game, on average.