The MLB All-Star break is about to end and we’re gearing up for a great second half of baseball. First, let’s take a quick look back at the first half of the season. Remember back in spring practice when some of the baseball fan base freaked out about the change, namely the pitch clock? Those concerns have fallen by the wayside for the vast majority of fans. As more than one player has pointed out over the past few months, the pace of play isn’t rushed, it just doesn’t progress at a snail’s pace.
Batting averages have gone up, runs per game have gone up, viewership has gone up, and average game time has dropped significantly. It seems to work for the general public:
- The number of visitors increased by 8.06% compared to the previous year.
- More than 1.5 million people attended for four consecutive weekends, the first time since 2017.
- MLB.tv saw a 9% increase in minutes watched over last season.
- The local ratings of the 29 US-based teams are up 3% despite all the problems with the local stations (RSNs).
- An MLB poll found that 86% of people in the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups said the rule changes made them more likely to watch MLB, with a similar number of them more likely to attend games.
That means the product itself has a chance to captivate audiences and gain lifelong fans. There are tons of possibilities here, although we’ve limited them to just the team level.
- Youngsters are always fun. The Reds are top of the NL Central and have not made the playoffs in a full season since 2013. The Marlins hold the top NL wildcard finish and have not made the playoffs all season since 2003. Few would have expected it. Diamondbacks are a strong contender, tied for first place in the NL West. Even fewer expected Rangers to be ahead of the defending champions in first place, but there they are. The Orioles are really strong and haven’t made the playoffs since 2016.
- Big brands are helpful too. The Braves have won it all in 2021, winning over 100 games last season. They’re looking better than those two teams at the moment and they’re a lot of fun to watch. The Dodgers are tied for first place. The Astros are back in the playoff position. The Yankees are one game away from the last AL wildcard and the Red Sox are two behind. The reigning NL champions Phillies are a game behind. The Giants are in playoff position.
- If the above group contains some bad guys in the eyes of many fans (particularly the Yankees, Dodgers, and Astros for different reasons), how about the lower-payroll guys who continue to thrive? The Guardians are once again first in the AL Central, while the Rays used a 13-0 start to propel them to the top of the mighty AL East all season.
- Can any of the hyped preseason teams that failed pull off a miracle run? We’re talking about the Mets and/or Padres.
- There’s all sorts of intrigue surrounding angels, and you know who.
And so much more! It’s possible the World Series champion wasn’t even mentioned considering the Brewers, Mariners, Twins and Blue Jays are all going head-to-head.
It’s going to be an incredibly entertaining and dare I say unpredictable second half of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Let us begin!
Biggest movers
rk | teams | change | round |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | — | 60-29 | |
Remember when the Rays were the easy and obvious number 1 here every week for a while? The Braves reached the All-Star Break by a FOUR game lead over the Rays, setting the best record in baseball. A 27-5 run at the end of the first half will do that. | |||
2 | 4 | 54-35 | |
The Orioles have lost two games but are tied on the loss list. I will agree with them here for several reasons. First, they’ve gotten better over the past month and have added some new, young talent. Meanwhile, the Rays’ pitcher injuries are really starting to hamper them. If we wanted to see a head-to-head, the Orioles would win this fight three games to two. And finally, my last resort is the tiebreaker of who I think will win a seven-game series now. I would take the Orioles. | |||
3 | 1 | 58-35 | |
They lost seven out of eight games before the break and certainly felt they needed the rest. The Orioles are fucked too. The good news for the Rays is that they should have a soft landing here in the second half, starting with a three-game streak in Kansas City. | |||
4 | 3 | 53-39 | |
Unless they lose to the Braves (which isn’t a crime; everyone does), they just keep winning. And for the “unsustainable” folks who came to that conclusion by looking at running difference and nothing deeper: The Marlins are running plus-52 in their last 43 games. The season total is compounded by about four losses early in the season distorted. Are we really going to pretend that four games from the start of the season through May 3rd can predict the rest of the season? Look deeper. be better | |||
5 | 3 | 51-38 | |
Mookie Betts was .365/.471/1,039 with eight doubles, nine homers, 19 RBI and 18 runs in his last 15 games before the break. Ignore Home Run Derby performance. When it comes down to it, he’s on the heater. | |||
6 | 3 | 52-39 | |
Difficult end to the first half for Rangers as they took a 5-11 lead after June 23. They’re lucky to have gained so much cushion after a stellar start. This is a big homestand against three playoff-caliber teams (Guardians, Rays and Dodgers) at the start of the second half. | |||
7 | 3 | 52-39 | |
Let’s hope Corbin Carroll’s shoulder holds it together. | |||
8th | 3 | 50-41 | |
Can a second wildcard team be a sleeping giant? Because they really do feel like a sleeping giant. | |||
9 | 3 | 48-41 | |
Kyle Schwarber hits .184 with 22 bombs. The only players to have ever hit the top 30 for home runs with a batting average under .200 are Joey Gallo (.199, 38 HR, 2021), Eugenio Suarez (.198, 31 HR, 2021), and Mark Reynolds (.198, 32 HR , 2010). | |||
10 | 3 | 48-43 | |
James Paxton and Brayan Bello are a very nice double whammy in the rotation right now, just like everyone thought it would be. | |||
11 | 3 | 50-41 | |
Ready to argue a home run derby fixed a player? Because Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to have a tremendous second half. Look, if you’re going to blame the derby every time a player suffers a setback afterwards, then it has to go both ways. | |||
12 | 3 | 49-42 | |
The Brewers have won 11 of their last 17 games before the break, including beating the Reds in two of three games. They will meet the Reds again in the second half. | |||
13 | 3 | 50-41 | |
The Reds lead the majors with 112 stolen bases. Elly De La Cruz has 16 in just 30 games. | |||
14 | 3 | 49-42 | |
For me, the offensive issues are down to Aaron Judge’s age (read: old), staffing and injury, but it will be interesting to see if Sean Casey makes a difference now as a hitting coach. | |||
15 | 6 | 49-41 | |
The Giants lost seven of their last 11 games before the break, but let’s face it: To have eight games over .500 right now is an overall positive. | |||
16 | 3 | 45-44 | |
Look what we have here! The Mariners are 7-2 in July with a plus-25 run difference and all three opponents are currently in the playoffs. Can they continue? | |||
17 | — | 45-45 | |
The Guardians were 5 1/2 games behind the Twins on June 2nd. As they continued to give way over the weeks that followed, all I could think was, We’ve seen this movie before. | |||
18 | — | 45-46 | |
Prior to this season, the lowest OPS in the first half of Carlos Correa’s career was .803. This season it was .700. | |||
19 | 3 | 45-46 | |
They were well on their way to being strong buyers before the close and – perhaps most importantly – could have avoided the trade talks with Shohei Ohtani. And then they lost nine of their last ten and Mike Trout got injured. | |||
20 | 3 | 43-47 | |
It is too late? Everything about this team screams that it should be much better. Five out of six wins before the break give reason for hope. However, they still have to get much hotter. | |||
21 | 1 | 42-47 | |
Cody Bellinger’s last 15 games before the break: .436/.467/.600. With the Cubs likely to be salesmen again, expect his name to be seen a lot over the next two weeks. | |||
22 | — | 42-48 | |
That six-game winning streak brought the Mets within a narrow margin of the playoffs, but losses in the last two games really hurt. It’s still possible, but they need to get really hot very quickly. | |||
23 | 2 | 41-49 | |
Paul Skenes definitely seems worth the fuss. | |||
24 | — | 38-52 | |
I had less than 89 wins for this group at the start of the season and it seems like it won’t be long before I win. I’m obviously the smartest man in the world. | |||
25 | — | 39-50 | |
There’s been a lot of bad news here about the big league squad in recent years, but let’s not sugarcoat Riley Greene. The fifth overall high school pick of 2019 is .305 with an OPS+ of 133 at age 22. | |||
26 | — | 36-54 | |
In his first 80 games this season, Joey Meneses hit two home runs. He had four hits in his last three games before the All-Star break. | |||
27 | — | 38-54 | |
Luis Robert has a season MVP type and is young enough to be at the heart of the franchise’s upcoming rebuild. I would trade almost anyone else on the MLB roster that would add value. | |||
28 | — | 34-57 | |
You’re well on your way to reaching 61-101. The franchise record for losses in a season is 98. | |||
29 | — | 26-65 | |
You’re well on your way to reaching 46-116. The franchise record for losses in a season is 106. | |||
30 | — | 25-67 | |
You’re well on your way to reaching 44-118. There has never been a season in which two teams have lost at least 111 games (there have been two teams with 110 losses twice, most recently in 2021). | |||