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Shemon & Sheppard – In The Afternoon

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Biggest Storylines From the First Half of the MLB Season

By psheppard July 13th

The first half of the MLB season is in the books, and what a first half it was. Between all the rule changes and Shohei Ohtani doing things on the diamond we’ve never seen before, this season has been unprecedented. Let’s get you caught up on the biggest stories of the first half.

RULE CHANGES

In short, many of the rule changes are doing exactly what Rob Manfred and the rest of the MLB office wanted. Games are shorter, there’s more action on the base paths, and batting averages are up (though they are still not close to what it was in the 80s and earlier).

PITCH TIMER

The average time of a 9-inning MLB game is 2:38 this season LINK, down from 3:03 last year and 3:10 in 2021 (which is the highest season on record). That’s on track to be the lowest 9-inning game average in a single season since 1984 (2:35).

BIGGER BASES/LIMITS ON DISENGAGEMENTS

There have been 2,466 stolen base attempts this season, the most prior to the All-Star break since there were 2,548 in 2011.  Caught stealing didn’t become officially tracked until 1951, and the 79.4% SB success rate so far this season is the best prior to the break in that time.

There have 1,957 SB so far this season, the most ever prior to the All-Star break (previous record was 1,912 in 1987).

HOW THE SHIFT BAN AFFECTED THE MLB SEASON

The overall MLB BA is .248 so far this season, up from .242 prior to the break last season and .240 in 2021 (which was the lowest since .233 in 1968, the year before the mound was lowered).

Batting Average on Balls in Play is .297 this season, on pace to be 7 points higher than it was last season (.290 BABIP, lowest in a single season since 1992).

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY AMONG THE DIVISIONS

The Cleveland Guardians entered the All-Star break with an AL Central division lead and .500 (45-45) record. It’s the first time every team in a division was .500 or worse at the break since the 2008 NL West and fourth time it’s happened in the Divisional Era (since 1969).

The AL East, conversely, is the first division in the Divisional Era with each team above .500 at the break.  Pete Sheppard’s beloved Red Sox are in last place in the division but 5 games over .500 and only two games behind for a wild card spot.

The second half of the MLB season will begin on Friday.  All teams are in action.

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10.83 seconds: Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds

10.83 seconds. That’s all it took. Elly De La Cruz hit a ball into the gap into right center field and was on 3rd base 10.83 seconds later. Elly is 21 years old and 3 weeks ago he was playing AAA ball and we had no idea who he was. Now he’s the hottest name in baseball, at least to us Reds fans.

Elly has brought an energy to the Reds that I haven’t seen in quite awhile. Until my friend sang the National Anthem at the June 7th game, I hadn’t watched a single minute of Reds baseball this year. I moved from Dayton, Ohio to Southwest Florida, the Fort Myers area, about 20 years ago. There’s not a lot of Reds talk down here. Until now.

Here’s what Elly’s stardom means to me.  Elly wears number 44. That’s Eric Davis’s number. “Eric The Red” as he was called, was my favorite player growing up. My dad would take us to games and I’d watch him play. Davis played with intensity. He knew he had a gift and played all out. So when I saw highlights of this new guy wearing number 44  – playing at full speed, swinging hard at every pitch, and absolutely crushing it, well, it guess it reminds me of watching games as a kid at Riverfront.

Elly hit for the cycle on Friday night, and helped the Reds beat the Braves 11-10. They’ve now won 12 games in a row. I’m watching the games now. And texting back and forth with my parents who are 1,100 miles away. So yeah, this is special to me, too. I’m watching Reds games with my Dad again. And cheering for number 44.

I’m not the only one. The Reds average attendance this year is 19,659. In April, a game drew 7,375. Last night’s game against the Braves was sold out.

Elly De La Cruz signed with the Reds back in 2018.

In 2020, COVID cancelled that year’s minor league baseball season, costing the young players a year of development. In 2022 he played single A ball with the Dayton Dragons. He started 2023 with the Triple-A Louisville Bats.

Elly was called up to the “Show” on June 6th. On June 7th he hit his first major league home run. On June 23rd he hit for the cycle against one of the best teams in all of baseball. His stats are impressive. In just 15 games he is 22 for 61 with 17 runs scored. 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and a batting average of .361.

Here’s what the last (less than) three weeks has looked like.

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