Not a summer goes by without some baseball story-line shaking out those can't-miss picks and replacing them with real shockers. Be honest, did you think the Astros would be this good? Or that the Mets would be catastrophically bad? And that Aaron Judge could make a clean sweep of a prestigious trifecta _ Rookie of the First Half, MVP and the game's most popular player?
It's all part of what's been a dynamic few months for the sport, highlighted largely by Judge and the over-performance of the Astros and Dodgers and superstars like Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. There's also been home runs, a million of them, and games that are (still) running too long. Nevertheless the second half promises plenty of compelling theater. Here are the first-half awards and a peek at what's around the corner.
Just don't ask for any other can't-miss predictions. We had the Mets winning the wild card in the preseason, which is why our crystal ball is currently being hawked on eBay.
