On Friday night, after a 4 day hiatus for the All-Star break, MLB started the second half of their season. If the second half is anything like the first, we are in a for a wild ride.
When Friday began, the Rangers, Yankees, and White Sox were in first places in the American League, while Washington, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles headed up their respective divisions in the National League.
Keep in mind, that for the first time, there will be 2 wild card teams from each league. As of right now, there only a few teams that you could say are out of the race for the playoffs.
Many surprises in the first half, including the aforementioned Nationals and Pirates playing great baseball. On the other end of the spectrum, the Phillies, decimated by injuries, are 14 games out.
The battle tested Yankees & Rangers are taking care of business as was expected. The White Sox & Angels are also both playing very well.
Individually, we’ve seen the emergence of Bryce Harper in Washington, as well as a 10 win first half from Yu Darvish. Matt Kemp of the Dodgers was off to a sizzling start before being injured. Josh Hamilton of Texas slugged 4 home runs in a game. There were 4 no hitters tossed, including 2 perfect games. Knuckleballer RJ Dickey led baseball with 12 wins.
I had the opportunity to see 7 games in the first half, including witnessing Norwell’s Jarrod Parker come close to tossing a no-no against Texas.
Baseball. America’s Pastime. Get on the bandwagon, as the best is yet to come.