MLB Awards, Reactions, And Everything In-Between From The 1st Half of the Year

The first half of the baseball season is in the books and we're all left here to just twiddle our thumbs on this Wednesday July 17th, the worst day of the entire year. A fantastic day for your significant other, but dreadful if your evenings typically revolve around watching sports. It's radio silence tonight. Get ready to learn Love Island, buddy. Sure we knew this was coming as it's something we've dealt with for years now, but it doesn't mean we've learned to handle it appropriately. This will be on my couch at 8:00 tonight. 

Well, what better way to spend today than catch up on everything that has happened in baseball over the last three and a half months. Once Friday arrives it's go time. You check standings everyday, you press your GM to make trades, beg your squad to callup their top prospect for the stretch run, give up on all things life when your team hits a skid etc. It's equally exciting and terrifying. We'll go through this by handing out awards and maybe share a laugh, then call it a blog. Let's do it. 

Best Team in Baseball…Who Dave Also Happens To Have a Six Figure Future Wager On And Definitely Won't Blame Smitty When It Loses Award

The Phillies have been dominant from the jump and really never for a moment wavered. They're 62-34 and hold a commanding 8.5 game lead over the Braves for first in the NL East. Harper is having a MVP type year, the whole team sent 8 players to the All Star Game, and their front four in the rotation are as good as it gets. Their bullpen did them in last year in the playoffs with Kimbrel being relied on too much. This season Jeff Hoffman has further cemented himself as a top arm in the pen along with Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkerking. Could they use another one? Sure, but the Phillies have set themselves up as the clear team to beat in the NL. Dave's 6-1 $200k future on them surely won't be blamed on Smitty if things unravel. 

Best Player To Skate Around Serious Gambling Allegations And Put Together Another Historic MVP Season Award

Ohtani leads the NL in homers, runs scored, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and total bases. He's a God. Sometimes changing scenery and joining a new team warrants an adjustment period. Throw in your best friend betraying you, stealing all your money, and lying to you for years as a wrinkle in your season goals. It wouldn't be crazy if Ohtani stumbled out of the gates with the Dodgers in year one. Yeah, not even close. He's in the driver's seat to become the first full-time DH to win the MVP. 

Worst 58-40 Team In Baseball History Award

After how bad last year was, if you told any Yankee fan they'd be 58-40 at the break they'd probably kiss you on the lips. 2023 made me kinda hate baseball a little. Well, that's where they're at the midway point, but things feel far from great. After Soto, Judge, and newcomer Ben Rice there's really nothing much to do with the lineup. No opposing pitcher has any fear navigating this order once you avoid the top. The last month+ has been bleak. It's the kind of baseball that makes you question how they could have ever been 28 games over .500. Aaron Judge being better than his 2022 MVP version had something to do with it. Juan Soto being Juan Soto also makes you better. But what's their actual ceiling with this roster? At the moment? Limited. 

Could things turn for the good? Definitely. Giancarlo coming off the IL right after the break will be a welcomed sight. At some point they're going to add Jasson Dominguez to the fold. They're going to make a few trades as well, hopefully to improve the infield and bullpen, but it really hurts when you're getting exactly zero from Alex Verdugo, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe, and DJ LeMahieu at the plate combined. Michael Tonkin has been relied up to get big outs. While there's zero to complain from his end, it's a bit concerning that's what things have come to. If they're going to win the pennant there is so much work to be done. 

Team That has Absolutely No Clue What They Should Do Award

The Mets being 49-46 has for sure been a pleasant surprise for all of their fans. Frank has even shown some positivity this year. Still overwhelming negativity, but some sprinkled in relief that you don't normally see from him. At the moment they're the 3rd WC in the NL with Arizona, San Diego, and Pittsburgh right on their heels. Starting on July 1st they finished the 1st half with 7 games against the Nats, 4 vs. the Pirates, and a three gamer with Colorado. They went 9-5 and gave themselves some belief. They come out of the break with four in Miami, but after that it's the Yankees, Atlanta, and Minnesota leading into the trade deadline. The hardest thing a GM has to do is realize your team isn't good enough to compete for a WS and sell off assets for the future. Then again, the Diamondbacks were just a few games over .500 last year and made it to the World Series. The expanded playoff gives added hope to teams that normally wouldn't have that. Senga is set to come off the IL very soon which will give their rotation a ginormous boost assuming he can stay healthy. You also could flip Pete Alonso to a contender and get another piece for the future like you did with the Scherzer and deGrom trades last year. Tough message to send to your fanbase though. I have no idea what the Mets should do and neither do they. 

Team That Absolutely Should Sell, But Probably Won't Because It Makes Too Much Sense Award

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie! I couldn't decide who is more likely to fuck up their deadline by not selling off premier assets, so I gave it to both the Blue Jays and A's. Toronto is 8 under .500 and 9.5 games out of the 3rd WC spot in the AL. Both Vladdy Jr. and Bo Bichette have a year and half left before they become free agents. Bichette is having a career worst year, but with his age and capability you're safe to bank on him bouncing. Vladdy was a starting All Star this year and could provide a contender with a much needed power bat that is hard to come by at the deadline typically. I have no faith in that front office doing the right thing and neither should their fans. 

The Oakland A's have a Ferrari in their garage that can fetch them a haul of prospects for the future. Mason Miller has burst onto the scene this year and dominated as the A's closer. His stuff is flatout electrifying, but the last thing a bad team needs is a great closer. The last thing the A's want is a productive player helping them win games before their Vegas move. Miller has 5.5 years of team control and a flamethrower of an arm that could help any contending team take a giant step towards a championship level. There he was last night striking out Ohtani in the All Star Game. The guy is a sicko. 

While the A's have the chance before he likely suffers an arm injury, they should absolutely trade him to a desperate contender with bullpen issues. They're not moving into their Vegas digs until 2028 at the earliest. As shitty as it sounds, there's no chance Miller stays healthy until then anyways. The clear move is to trade him now and maximize what you can get. Baltimore is the team that keeps coming up in my mind. It's terrifying to think about, but they could put together a package of prospects that would please the A's and not really hamper their future. That's how loaded they are. Their lineup already consists of a ton of their talented youth and you can only start 9 guys. Going out and getting Mason Miller to fortify their pen would be a nightmare for everyone else in the AL. Could the Yankees use a Mason Miller to replace a shaky Clay Holmes? Without question, but Cashman would rather give the homeless guy down the street who thinks he has magical powers a shot before giving up a haul for Miller. Do I think Oakland does the right thing and trades their prized closer? It would be the clear right move, so of course not. 

Player Who I Wish I Could Trade Lives with Award

You could say you'd want to trade lives with a bunch of professional baseball players, but the run Skenes is on is generational. In the last calendar year Paul Skenes won the College World Series, started dating Livvy Dunne, got drafted number one overall, dominated major league hitters from the jump, and started the All Star Game. Did I miss anything? He's yet to leave a game in the bigs where his team was trailing. Remember, his team is the Pirates, who possess one of the worst offenses in the game. That means he's gotta be next to perfect to never once leave a game while losing. That's how good Paul Skenes is. Through 11 starts he has a 1.90 ERA with 89 strikeouts over 66.1 IP. If he keeps that up you're going to have a tough time not handing him the NL Cy Young award at the end of the year. It's so good for baseball that he's this dominant so quickly. Please just stay healthy.

Lamest Decision By a Manager To Pull a Pitcher With a No-Hitter Going On Award

Still very lame to think about. Obviously we all want him staying healthy for a very long time, but Skenes tossing a no-no in just his second month pitching in the MLB would have been so fucking legendary. Had just come off innings with six and seven pitches. Had never thrown a no-no in his life. Oh well. 

Team We Were Certain Was Cooked And Absolutely Left For Dead Only To Turn It Around Like They Always Do Award

The Astros fucking exhaust me. There was a point this year when I thought the Yankees sweeping Houston to start the year was actually not as impressive because they sucked. Then June happened and something snapped in that clubhouse. Bregman has been a different hitter in the last month, Hunter Brown has become the guy the organization has been waiting on, and the Mariners fell off big-time with their atrocious offense. Once again the Astros are going to be a player in October. Maybe not giving off the vibe they have in the past of being the team to beat, but also not one you want to go up against. They still have Yordan, Tucker, Altuve, and Bregman as well as Framber, Brown, and JV. I'm so done with them, but it appears they're not done with me. Dammit. 

Most Ridiculous Elly De La Cruz Play That Made People Question If He Was Human Award

Elly De La Cruz's speed is something to behold. Hell, every part of his game will make you stop and watch. His speed though, is truly something else. Scoring from second on an errant pickoff throw is laughable. The fact that we don't have a speed competition during All Star Weekend is asinine. Wake up Rob!

Player The Red Sox Gave Up On Who Is Thriving With His New Team Award

For about 30 or so games it looked like Alex Verdugo had a chance to contend for this award. Since then he's been the worst player in the sport and the Yankees have to deal with plays like this. 

So yeah, he's out on this one. If there was maybe an automatic ground ball hitter award he'd be the frontrunner, but the committee didn't spit that one out this year. No, this obviously goes to Chris Sale, who is pitching like a man with a new lease on life. 13-3 with a 2.70 ERA and an NL high 153 ERA+ in 110 innings. Sale's rejuvenation in Atlanta has been even bigger because of Strider going down with a season ending elbow injury early on. Without him, the Braves might not be a Wild Card team right now. 

The departure of Sale and ineffectiveness of Vaughn Grissom would be a bigger deal for Boston if not for their surprise surge to end close out the 1st half. The Sox are 11 games over .500 and in a playoff spot at the moment. They rank 5th in all of baseball in team ERA and 6th in OPS. They're young, athletic, and super aggressive on the bases. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey has been a revelation for that staff and pen all year. Jarren Duran has also become one of the more exciting players in the league. Their remaining July and August schedule is fucking brutal, but if the front office helps them out a little bit and their level keeps up they'll be playing in October as one of baseball's biggest surprises. You see Boston, I may hate you, but even in a negative category I still found it in me to compliment your team. That's growth. Now stop winning. 

Dennis Schröder Award 

 You may be wondering how an NBA player found his way into this blog. Dennis Schroder once turned down a 4 year $84M contract from the Lakers because he believed he was worth more. He ended up settling for a one year, $5.9M deal with the Celtics. Now the guys I'm going to list here didn't necessarily turn down big money, but their play in the first half surely lost them tens of millions if not hundreds of millions for this coming offseason.

We've got two clear cut favorites for the award: Pete Alonso and Gleyber Torres. Pete is still going to get paid, it's just a matter of how much. He's slugging nearly 70 points below his career average. In 2022 and 2023 he posted 40+ homers and 115+ RBI. He's currently at 19 and 51 for those numbers. It's just not the year the power hitting first baseman wanted to be having going into free agency. There's still time to finish strong, but he's gotta be kicking himself for this start. 

Gleyber Torres on the other hand might have lost everything. This version of him in 2024 has people wanting him getting replaced by pretty much anyone else — .231/.307/.347 with an 84 OPS+. With just eight homers and 35 RBI it's been a nightmare for the Yankees second baseman this year. I think the pressures of a contract year have infiltrated his brain and led to the struggles. If he was doing anything close to his 2022 and 2023 campaigns he'd be looking at a $100M deal considering he's only 27 years old. Now I think he's settling for a one year prove it deal. Gleyber is the winner of this award, but the loser of the season sadly. 

Kris Bryant Still Alive Award

Kris Bryant come on down! Another year alive, another year being a complete ghost while being on the Colorado Rockies. No one can blame him for taking the $182M contract that they offered him, but in exchange he became completely irrelevant when it comes to baseball. This year he's played in just 24 games while dealing with injuries and in the short time he's spent on the field he's hitting .186 with a 63 OPS+. He's rich though, that's for sure. 

Best MLB Co-Worker Award

This was a tough one, but considering he's the only MLB player who works for us at the moment I'm giving this one to Justin Steele. Been some fun moments on the pod that he and Marty put out. Even more impressive, Mush hasn't mushed his season. 2.71 ERA over 14 starts ain't too shabby. He's quickly become of the most consistent pitchers in the NL and will command top dollar on the market when he reaches free agency. Sadly he needs to maintain this until the end of 2027. MLB free agency is a motherfucker. 

Fall Off The Face Of The Earth Award

We've got a bunch of candidates for this one: Bo Bichette, Jordan Montgomery, Corbin Carroll, Julio Rodriguez, Matt Olsen, Paul Goldschmidt, and Xander Bogaerts. All of these guys have completely shit themselves this year. 

Julio has a sub .700 OPS and only 19 extra base hits. This time last year he had 32. The Mariners offense has been abysmal and he's a big reason for it. 

Bo Bichette's OPS is somehow sub .600! A 70 OPS+ meaning he's 30% worse than the league average hitter. This was the one guy on that team who I thought was immune to a bad year. His 2024 has been stunningly bad compared to what he's done in his previous five seasons. 

Jordan Montgomery was supposed to come over from the Rangers fresh off a World Series win and give the Diamondbacks a big boost with their rotation. He's been nothing short of atrocious with his 6.44 ERA. Starting to think teams were right to stay away from him in free agency. 

The sophomore slump might have to be renamed after Corbin Carroll. I mean my god what happened to this guy. Just 5 homers with a .212 batting average and a .301 OBP. He's way too talented to be this bad. 

Matt Olson is having the worst year of his career. When Acuna went down for the year it put a ton of weight on Olson to be the guy. He has refused to step up. If not for Marcell Ozuna the Braves would be fucked. Olson has been league average across the board and currently has an OPS that's about 280 points below last year's number. 

Paul Goldschmidt might just be washed at this point. It was thought if the Cardinals were dreadful once again that they'd ship him off at the deadline to a contender. Instead the Cards find themselves as the 2nd WC and zero takers for Goldschmidt's talents. 

Xander Bogaerts has been hurt a bunch this year and when he's on the field he's posted a sub .600 OPS. Good news is he's only under contract until 2033. 

Impossible to pick out of that group, but I'm going Bo Bichette. It's just such a crazy drop off from anything we've seen from him. 

Biggest Loser Award

Easily me for writing 3,000 words that not nearly enough people are going to read.