MLB: Plenty to be Happy About During First Half of 2013 Season

Can Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and the rest of the players in the Biogenesis case get suspended already. And, sorry nobody cares about your fantasy team taking a big hit when your guy gets put on the shelf for at least 50 games. It is taking away from the great baseball we have seen during the first half of the 2013 season.  

This really annoyed me when I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on Monday morning and the first thing they talked about was Alex Rodriguez. Instead of reporters asking the current All-Stars about their achievements during the first half of the season they were asking them about players on the Biogenesis report. 

Who cares.

Why not talk about Chris Davis having 37 home runs at the break? Only Barry Bonds had more by the mid-summer classic with 39 long balls.

Davis and Miguel Cabrera both have at least 30 HR's and 90 RBI by the All-Star break, this has never happened before during the live ball era (93 years).

Cabrera is trying to do something no one else has ever done: win the Triple Crown in back-to-back seasons. Only two players, Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams, have won it multiple times. At the break Cabrera leads the American League in average (.365) and RBI (95) and is second in HR's (30). 

Clayton Kershaw is the first lefty to have an ERA under 2.00 at the break since Randy Johnson did it in 2000 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kershaw is on pace to be the first pitcher since Greg Maddux to have the best ERA in the majors for three consecutive seasons (1993-95). 

Yasiel Puig has cooled off a bit since his historic debut, but he single-handily got the Dodgers back into contention. Los Angeles has the best record in the National League since Puig was called up on June 3. He was the first player since 1949 to post a two-homer, five-RBI game within his first two career games. He is the first player ever to win "Player of the Month" in his first month in the big leagues. 

Wait... 


We aren't done with Puigomania. 

His .436 average in his first month is the highest in MLB history. Only Joe DiMaggio had more hits (48) during his first month in the big leagues than Yasiel Puig (44). He enters the All-Star break with an impressive .391/.422/.616 batting line. I'll be nice and do the math for you, that equals a 1.038 OPS. He has eight home-runs, 19 RBI, and 28 runs in 38 games. He is truly a five-tool player, and as Vin Scully said, he is the first player he can remember that utilized all five-tools within his first week of being called up.

A lot of people are comparing Puig to another young stud who fishes not too far from Dodger Stadium: Mike Trout. 

We could be watching the best baseball player to ever play, and we don't even realize it yet. Trout is in his first full season in the big leagues and is having another stellar campaign. Last year he was named the "American League Rookie of the Year" and finished second in the MVP race. He was named to the All-Star team as a rookie, won a Silver Slugger, joined the 30-30 club (youngest ever), and led the American League in runs scored and stolen bases. No player has ever hit 30 home-runs, stole 45 bases, and scored 125 runs in a season, until Mike Trout did it last season as a rookie. He became the only American League player to ever win "Rookie of the Month" and "Player of the Month" last July. Not a bad start to a career, and he also led the majors with a 10.7 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Just to realize how amazing that is just check this out. Trout's teammate, Albert Pujols, you know the nine-time All-Star and three-time National League MVP, has never had a season with a WAR above 9.4. Miguel Cabrera, last years MVP winner over Trout, had a WAR at 6.9. When Ted Williams won his first MVP in 1946 he had the exact same WAR as Trout. Williams never had another season with that high of a WAR. Trout's 10.7 WAR was the fourth highest ever by a player under 25. The other three: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle. 

Trout enters the All-Star break with a .322/.399/.565 batting line. He ranks in the top-five in just about every offensive category in the American League: hits, batting average, OBP, SLG.%, OPS., runs, stolen bases, doubles, triples, and WAR. On top of that he is one of the best outfielders in all of baseball. He is the only player in the majors with at least 15 HR's and 20 stolen bases at the break. Trout was named to his second consecutive All-Star game, this time as a starter. He is the youngest American League starter since Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez in 1993. It is remarkable what Trout has done during his first 260 games in the majors, and the scary thing is he's only 21. 

There is another starter in the All-Star game under the age of 22, marking the third time ever in the mid-summer classic. The other two times this occurred was in 1953 with Eddie Mathews and Mickey Mantle, and in 1956 with Al Kaline and Frank Robinson. For those of you counting at home these four Hall of Famers combined for 2,033 home-runs, 64 All-Star appearances, 12 World Series rings, and five MVP's. 

Can Mike Trout and Bryce Harper live up to that?

That's a clown question bro. 

Or is it? 

Bryce Harper has been one of the best players in the majors since being called up as a 19-year old last season. He didn't have quite the year Trout did, but he still took home the "National League Rookie of the Year" award. He did something a teenager hasn't done since 1964 during his rookie season: stole home. He became the youngest position player to ever be named an All-Star and was the third youngest ever (Dwight Gooden and Bob Feller). Harper's 254 total bases and 57 extra-base hits were the most ever by a player under the age of 20. His 22 home-runs, .340 OBP., .477 SLG %, and .817 OPS. were the best regular season numbers in the last 45 years for a teenager. 

"The Phenom" has been banged up this year and has missed over one-third of the season. He plays the game with aggression and passion, which is great for baseball. He has shown his importance to the Nationals because they are 16-21 in his absence and 32-26 in games he's played in. Harper is one of the most exciting players to watch in the majors, and like Trout, he still isn't close to reaching his potential. The kid can't even buy a beer, and don't ask him if he will when he travels to Canada, we remember how that went. 

We've already talked about "Puigs", "Trouts", and "Phenoms", oh my. 

Wait. There is another young stud that pitchers are in fear of:

Manny Machado.

The Baltimore Orioles All-Star third baseman can finally buy a beer. He turned 21 nine days ago and hopefully he avoids "Johnny Football" in the Big Apple, he doesn't want to get "dehydrated". 

Before I get to his MLB stats I want to go back to high-school real quick. During his senior season he batted .639 with 12 HR's and 68 RBI in 29 games. Nobody even does that in Little League. 

Okay back to the big leagues. 


You know he is having a phenomenal season because he was selected as an All-Star at third base. There is a huge log jam at third in the American League. Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria, and Josh Donaldson were all deserving but Machado brings a lot more to the table as an all-around third baseman. The crazy thing is third isn't even his natural position, he's a shortstop. He played two more games at third base in the minors than I did. That is remarkable because he plays third like he's been doing it his whole life. (Best web gem of 2013, so far.)In his first full season in the big leagues he's leading the American League in doubles with 39, the second most in MLB history at the All-Star break. He's well on pace to break Earl Webb's 81-year old record of 67 in a season. On May 30th he broke Ty Cobb's record for most multi-hit games before turning 21. Cobb had 40 before the age of 21, Machado flew by that with 51. In the month of May he had 44 hits, and the only other player to have more hits in a month under the age of 21 was some guy named Mickey Mantle.

It is huge for the game of baseball what these young studs are doing. From the mid-to-late 1990's the steroid era was creeping in. Now in 2013 it is still in the picture but Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Yasiel Puig are making the transition that much easier. They are proving you don't have to be on the juice to make the game entertaining. 


Alright. Let's take a break and see who wins the awards for the first half of the MLB season.


American League

MVP: Miguel Cabrera

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

Rookie of the Year: Jose Iglesias

Manager of the Year: John Farrell


National League

MVP: Paul Goldschmidt

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

Rookie of the Year: Shelby Miller

Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle 

Right before the All-Star break we saw the back-to-back NL Cy Young winner from 2008-2009 return to form. Tim Lincecum threw 148 pitches and recorded his first career no-hitter. He is the first pitcher to throw a no-no at Petco Park. "The Freak" finally had his swag back and was pitching with a great amount of confidence. His slider was wicked, changeup was dancing more than Chris Brown, and his fastball command was finally back. If Lincecum can regain his form the Giants instantly become a very dangerous team again. They have won two of the last three World Series all because of pitching. This year has been a total 180 for the reigning champs. They enter the break with the 20th ranked ERA in all of baseball and have the fourth worst team ERA in the National League. Luckily for the Giants, the National League West has been mediocre at best. San Francisco enters the All-Star break eight games under .500 but only 6.5 games back of first place in the NL West. You have to think Matt Cain will be the old Cain in the second half of the season. Ryan Vogelsong is coming off the disabled list soon and Madison Bumgarner has been one of the best pitchers in the game, this team is far from done. 

One thing I have learned over the last three years: never count out the San Francisco Giants.

If you want to talk about a surprise team in 2013 look no further than the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates haven't finished with a record over .500 since Barry Bonds played there. Yeah, that was in 1992. Pittsburgh has the second best record in the majors and it's because of pitching. Entering the All-Star break they are tops in the majors in ERA (3.07), shutouts (13), and opponents batting average (.225). Jeff Locke has been one of the best stories in baseball this season. Clayton Kershaw is the only pitcher in the National League who has a lower ERA than Locke's 2.15 earned run average. He went 16 consecutive starts without being handed a loss before the Oakland Athletics beat him for the second time all season. Locke is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA this season and was named to his first All-Star game. 

Another name to remember is Gerrit Cole. The former No. 1 overall selection out of UCLA in the 2011 draft has made seven starts this year and has never allowed more than three earned runs in any start. Cole became the fifth pitcher in MLB history to win his first four career starts. Add those two young arms with A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, and Wandy Rodriguez (when he returns from the DL) they form one of the best rotation in the bigs. The Pirate's rotation has been so good they haven't even had to depend on the first pick of the 2010 MLB draft, Jameson Taillon. The 6'6" right-handed pitcher has a chance to become one of the best in the game down the road. 


Things are looking bright in Pittsburgh, finally. Andrew McCutchen is one of the best players in baseball, Starlin Marte is one of the top young outfielders in the game, Pedro Alvarez is hitting bombs, and they have one of the best bullpens in the game. This could be the year the Pirates finally finish above .500, and more importantly, make the postseason. 


The surprise team in the American League this year has been the Boston Red Sox. While the Pirates are doing it with the arms, the Red Sox are doing it with the lumber. They are tops in the American League in runs, total bases, doubles, triples, OBP., and OPS. They are second in the AL in hits, average, and slugging %. Boston has the best record in the American League at the break (58-39). They have six guys with a batting average above .300. 

Clay Buchholz has the best ERA among all starting pitchers (1.71) and is a perfect 9-0 this season. It is remarkable the Red Sox have the best record in the AL considering they have used three different closers this year. If they sure up the back end of the bullpen the rest of the American League has a lot to worry about. Also, how about John Lackey this season. He is only 7-6 this year but his 2.78 ERA is fourth in the American League. The Red Sox might be the most balanced team in the majors. 


The San Francisco Giants have been a disappointment in 2013, the same can't be said for the other team across the Bay. The Oakland Athletics have the best record in baseball since last year's All-Star break. They have the second best record in the American League (56-39) and enter the break winning six-straight series. Four of those series were against teams that were 10-plus games above .500. Josh Donaldson was the biggest All-Star snub this year, easily. A team that is playing this well deserves more than one All-Star. Donaldson leads the A's in batting average, hits, runs, HR's, OBP., SLG%, OPS., total bases, doubles, walks, and WAR. Donaldson ranks in the top-ten in the American League in average, RBI, OBP., SLG %, OPS., and WAR. It's safe to say the A's are earning all of his $492,500 salary for this year. 

Oakland's second highest paid player, Yoenis Cespedes, put on a show at Citi Field in route to winning the 28th home-run derby. Cespedes went 71 at-bats without a homer heading into the derby. Most people think the derby negatively affects hitters heading into the second half of the season, but this might have the opposite affect with Cespedes. He has been off to a slower start this year in his second full season in the bigs with a .225/.293/.420 batting line with 15 home-runs and 43 RBI. 


Bartolo Colon is having one of his best seasons at the age of 40, posting a 12-3 record with a 2.70 ERA. His name is one the biogenesis list of players who were supplied by Anthony Bosch so he could be serving a suspension in the near future. Luckily, the A's have depth in the rotation and they went through the same scenario last season and still found a way to win the American League West. 

Brett Anderson finally had his walking boot taken off after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, and could be back within a month. The Texas Rangers are dealing with same problem, their only position player to make the All-Star team, Nelson Cruz, is on the Biogenesis list too. One of the Athletics major strengths this year has been at the back end of the bullpen. Grant Balfour replaced Colon on the All-Star team because Colon started on Sunday, and is not elgible to pitch. Balfour is 0-1 with a 1.63 ERA this season and is a perfect 25-25 in save opportunities. He is the only closer in the majors with zero blown saves and passed Dennis Eckersley's 21-year old record for most consecutive saves in Athletics franchise history. His 43 consecutive saves dating back to last year is the longest active streak in the majors. Oakland enters the All-Star break with the best ERA in the American League and the fourth best bullpen ERA. 


While most the talk has been about who is on the Biogenesis list this past week we are losing focus on the players who have done their job to make this America's pastime. It might be years from now until we know the game of baseball is finally clean again, but that shouldn't take away from what we are witnessing. 

Matt Harvey, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Madison Bumgarner, Adam Wainwright, Max Scherzer, Matt Moore, Felix Hernandez Justin Verlander, Yu Darvish, and so many other great pitchers in the big leagues are helping transition the game of baseball from the steroid era back to the way it should be.

Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Yasiel Puig, Paul Goldschmidt, Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina, Joe Mauer, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia, Freddie Freeman, Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Troy Tulowitzki, and so many other great position players don't deserve steroids being the centerpiece of the talk during the All-Star break. It takes away from what so many great players are doing on natural talent and hard work. 

I hope five years from now we don't have to go through steroid talk again, but baseball in an unpredictable sport, for the good and the bad. I just hope youngsters like Machado, Trout, and Harper can show young kids you don't have to be on performance enhancers to produce at a high-level and make the game entertaining. 

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should never be inducted into the Hall of Fame. If they wanted to be in the Hall they would have never done it. They knew the choice they were making and knew they wouldn't get in if they got caught. Well sorry to break it to you, but you guys got caught. They aren't little kids, they knew what was right and wrong. It was part of that era, an era that tainted the game, but at the same time made the game more popular. It was what the game needed, but every player that juiced knew they were taking a chance of tarnishing their careers. No player that was on steroids should be in the Hall. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens would easily be in the HOF if they stayed away from steriods, but they got too greedy and got their needle caught in the cookie jar.