Major League Baseball First Half Recap

At long last, the All-Star Break is upon us in Major League Baseball. Even though most teams have already played 90 or more games during this long schedule, the All Star Break gives teams and players a chance to rest and relax a little, all those who aren't playing in the mid-summer classic that is. To this point in the season, we have seen teams and players have outstanding performances that have surprised us and gotten us to the edge of our seats. Some teams and players have really surprised us, while others have really been a bit of a disappointment to this point in the year. We will now take a look back at some of the great moments from the first half of the year, we will give out the best of and worst of from that first half and so much more. So with all that in mind, lets take a look back at some of the highlights of the first half of the 2014 Major League Baseball season.

We haven't had a hitter hit for the cycle this season, at least not yet, in the big leagues, but a few hitters have reached some pretty big milestones. On May 12th against thew New York Mets, Yankees outfielder Alfonso Soriano became the seventh player in Major League history to amass 1,000 hits in both the American and National Leagues. He joins Dave Winfield, Frank Robinson, Vladimir Guerrero, Fred McGriff, Carlos Lee, and Orlando Cabrera. Albert Pujols joined the record books when he hit his 500th career home run in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals on April 22. He became the 26th player to reach this mark. The league also saw two new members join the 2,000 hit club in the form of Miguel Cabrera and Raúl Ibañez. Cabrera collected his 2,000th career hit with a home run in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles on April 4, while Ibañez picked up his 2,000th career hit with a home run in the ninth inning against the New York Mets on April 12.

So here's what we have as the leading hitters in each league at the All-Star Break:

In the American League:
Batting Average - Adrian Beltre (TEX) .337
Home Rruns - José Abreu (CWS) 29
Runs Batted In - Miguel Cabrera (DET) 75
Runs Scored - Brian Dozier (MIN) 69
Hits - Jose Altuve (HOU) 130
Stolen Bases - Jose Altuve (HOU) 41

In the National League:
Batting Average - Troy Tulowitzki (COL) .345
Home Runs - Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) Troy Tulowitzki (COL) 21
Runs Batted In - Giancarlo Stanton (MIA) 63
Runs Scored - Troy Tulowitzki (COL) 71
Hits - Andrew McCutchen (PIT) Casey McGehee (MIA) 115
Stolen Bases - Dee Gordon (LAD) 43

Jose Abreu has been one of the bigger offensive surprises in the American League. The rookie is hitting .292 for the year, but leads the league in homers, just ahead of Nelson Cruz of the Baltimore Orioles, and is two RBI behind Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers for the league lead in that department. This kid has been knocking the cover off the ball and has been one of the few bright spots on the season for the White Sox, who sit near the bottom of the American League Central.

That's just the offensive highlights around the big leagues. We still have pitching to get to. The roughest start of the year for a pitcher has to go to Jeff Samardzija of the Cubs, who became the first pitcher in Major League history (since 1876) to go winless in his first eight starts of a season despite not allowing more than three runs in any outing. Things have gotten better for Samardzija, as he's now playing for the Oakland Athletics, and has a record of 3-8 on the year with a 2.70 ERA. Now for the positives and we had three big ones this year. To this point, there have been three no hitters thrown in the big leagues: Josh Beckett of the Dodgers tossed the first no hitter of the year, and the first no-hitter of his career on May 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Then Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers Pitched the first no-hitter of his career on June 18 against the Colorado Rockies. In 107 pitches, he struck out 15 batters, and walked none. Finally, Tim Lincecum of the Giants tossed his second no-hitter of his career on June 25 against the San Diego Padres. So pitching has been solid this year in the big leagues.

Here's what we got for the league leaders in Pitching.

From the American League:
Wins - Rick Porcello (DET) Masahiro Tanaka (NYY) 12
Loses - Kevin Correia (MIN) 11
Earned Run Average - Chris Sale (CWS) 2.08
Strikeouts - David Price (TB) 164
Innings Pitched - David Price (TB) 147.2
Saves - Fernando Rodney (SEA) 27

Masahiro Tanaka has been leading the league in wins for the New York Yankees, which puts him into the conversation for both American League Cy Young and AL Rookie of The Year. He was dominating the league like it was nobodies business. The fact that he is now injured and is going to miss at least six weeks hurts his cause, that's for sure. Tanaka had been one of the most outstanding pitchers in the game, in either league, and with the injury now, it takes away from that. Plus having him out of the rotation really hurts the Yankees, who are already banged up as it is, especially in regards to their pitching staff.

Another surprise pitcher from the American League this year has been Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Verlander is 8-8 with a 4.80 ERA, numbers that are pretty bad, at least by his standards. Verlander is normally a guy who you would expect to totally dominate teams, but this year at times has looked average at best.

That was the American League. Now here's the league leaders in Pitching for the National League:
Wins - Alfredo Simon (CIN) Adam Wainwright (STL) 12
Loses - Eric Stults (SD) 11
Earned Run Average - Clayton Kershaw (LAD) 1.78
Strikeouts - Stephen Strasburg (WAS) 149
Innings Pitched - Johnny Cueto (CIN) 143.2
Saves - Craig Kimbrel (ATL) 29

Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright have been the two dominate pitchers in the National League this year. Kershaw, who is the reigning Cy Young award winner in the NL, is having another career year, with a 11-2 record and a 1.78 ERA, both of which have the Dodgers sitting at the top of the NL West. Same can be said about Wainwright, who is 12-4 with a 1.83 ERA, both of which have helped the Cardinals into a tie with Brewers for the best record in the NL Central.

A big disappointment in the NL has been Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. Any other year, Cain would be viewed as the main guy in the Giants pitching rotation. That's not the case this year. Cain right now is 2-7 with a 4.18 ERA. This comes as a bit of a shock, considering the fact that the Giants are in 2nd in the NL West, right behind the Dodgers. Cain has got to step it up and play better to help the Giants get over the push of the Dodgers.

Now that we are at the break, here's what the Standings look like in Major League Baseball:
AL East
Baltimore Orioles 52-42
Toronto Blue Jays 49-47
New York Yankees 47-47
Tampa Bay Rays 44-53
Boston Red Sox 43-52

AL Central:
Detroit Tigers 53-38
Kansas City Royals 48-46
Cleveland Indians 47-47
Chicago White Sox 45-51
Minnesota Twins 44-50

AL West:
Oakland Athletics 59-36
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 57-37
Seattle Mariners 51-44
Houston Astros 40-56
Texas Rangers 38-57

NL East:
Washington Nationals 51-42
Atlanta Braves 52-43
New York Mets 45-50
Miami Marlins 44-50
Philadelphia Phillies 42-53

NL Central:
Milwaukee Brewers 53-43
St. Louis Cardinals 52-44
Cincinnati Reds 51-44
Pittsburgh Pirates 49-46
Chicago Cubs 40-54

NL West:
Los Angeles Dodgers 54-43
San Francisco Giants 52-43
San Diego Padres 41-54
Colorado Rockies 40-55
Arizona Diamondbacks 40-56

Now that we know where everybody sits at the halfway point of the season, its time to give out some awards. Here is who we have for the first half of the season award winners.

Manager Of The Year:
AL: Bob Melvin Oakland Athletics
There are no real household names in this Oakland Athletics lineup, like you see with the other clubs around the Big Leagues. With that being said, at the All Star break, the Athletics have the best record in all of baseball, with Melvin at the helm. You could make a case for John Gibbons of the Toronto Blue Jays as he has them near the top of the AL East after the flop of last season. But still the Athletics don't have a major name in the lineup and have the best record in the game for a reason.

NL: Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers
Here we have a team who finished near the bottom of the NL Central division and right now they are in first place, a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. Roenicke's Brewers play in a division that yielded three playoff teams a season ago. Not only do they lead said division, but they also find themselves on pace for a franchise-record 97 wins. You could make a very strong argument for first year manager Bryan Price of the Reds, who are still very much in the race in the Central, despite all the injuries, but I have to give it ton Roenicke for all he has had to deal with.

Rookie Of The Year:
AL: Jose Abreau, Chicago White Sox
In this case it had been a close race between him and Masahiro Tanaka, of the Yankees, but right now its Abreau. Tanaka has 12 wins a 2.10 ERA. His injury has him out of action for quite some time to come, which puts him in a hole. Abreau has been hitting the cover off the baseball this season. As of now, Abreau is second in baseball in homers (27), fourth in RBI (69) and seventh in OPS (.951). And he's doing this in a pitching-dominated era. He has been putting up unreal numbers and deserves the award.

NL: Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds
The National League has a surprisingly weak rookie class this year. Hamilton is presently batting a semi-useful .281/.312/.402, but bear in mind that he also adds a tremendous amount of value with his base-running and his excellent defense in center field. Easy choice. The only one even in contention is Chris Owings of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but with him being out injured, Hamilton is a run away with this award.

Cy Young:
AL: Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Again this is a topic in which you could make a case for Tanaka of the Yankees, with the numbers he has put up. But, with the injuries and his numbers starting to fall off just a little bit, King Felix gets the nod here. Why? Well lets see. Among AL ranks for the season on the whole, Hernandez is second in ERA (2.11), WHIP (0.89) and innings (136.1), as well as third in strikeouts (145) and batting average against (.201). Here's a scary thought: As great as Hernandez has been to this point in his 10-year career, 2014 is shaping up to be his best season yet.

NL: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
The argument could be made for Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who has been steady this year, but Kershaw has been flat out dominate. He's 11-2. with a 1.78 ERA which is near the tops in baseball. I know he has a talent loaded offense to be able to score runs for him, but you still need to be able to get guys out and he can do that quite well.

MVP:
AL: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
This guy has been off the charts this season. Trout is hitting .310 with 22 long balls and 73 driven in. He's crushing right-handers (.990 OPS), and he's crushing left-handers (1.079 OPS). He's producing at an elite level at home (1.025 OPS), and he's doing the exact same thing on the road (1.009 OPS). All of that, of course, is in addition to his outstanding base-running (10-for-10 in steals, and he's taken the extra base an impressive 67 percent of the time) and plus defense in center.

NL: Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
I know he doesn't play on a team that has been ultra competitive team, but still this guy deserves the award. I know Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies and Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates are putting up MVP worthy numbers in their own right, but I still feel it should go to Stanton. My reason being is that he leads the National League in homers and RBI and is a big reason why the Marlins have hung around in this division. Lets face facts, when the season started, nobody really gave the Marlins much of a chance at all. Now I can tell you that they won't be able to overtake either the Nationals or the Braves, but they have been able to stay somewhat relevant in this division, and Stanton is a very big reason why.