Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s safe to say that we’ve seen a tremendous 1st half of baseball in 2010. Can anybody else believe that it’s already the All-Star Break in Anaheim? The season seems to be flying by, but it certainly hasn’t disappointed yet. Without further ado, let’s take some time to reflect on the 1st half of baseball and reminisce the top games and plays.
The Yankees, going into the All-Star Break, have the best record in Major League Baseball at 56-32. They remain 1.5 games up on the Tampa Bay Rays and 4.5 games up on the Boston Red Sox. This time last year, sitting at 51-37, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by 3 games in the AL East. Clearly, the Yanks have had a better 1st half of the season this year. In fact, the last time the Yankees posted such a great record before the All-Star Break was back in 2004 when their record was 55-31 at the break. (Last time Yanks had a record of at least 25 games above .500 was in 1998).
Let’s put together statistics compiled over the last15 years to compare past teams to our 2010 version.
Please note: The 1st and 2nd halves of seasons are not necessarily 81 games each. The 1st half has fluctuated between 81 games (in 1998) and 93 games (in 2003). For the sake of keeping the statistics consistent, I will use the first 81 games of each season.
| Year | Wins | Losses | Win % | Runs For | Runs Against | Run Diff. |
| 1996 | 49 | 32 | 60.5% | 423 | 385 | +38 |
| 1997 | 46 | 35 | 56.7% | 436 | 358 | +78 |
| 1998 | 61 | 20 | 75.3% | 484 | 327 | +157 |
| 1999 | 50 | 31 | 61.7% | 431 | 371 | +60 |
| 2000 | 44 | 37 | 54.3% | 437 | 396 | +39 |
| 2001 | 48 | 33 | 58.6% | 421 | 348 | +73 |
| 2002 | 50 | 31 | 61.7% | 452 | 344 | +108 |
| 2003 | 51 | 30 | 63.0% | 457 | 353 | +104 |
| 2004 | 51 | 30 | 63.0% | 447 | 400 | +47 |
| 2005 | 42 | 39 | 51.9% | 438 | 410 | +28 |
| 2006 | 46 | 35 | 56.8% | 447 | 392 | +55 |
| 2007 | 40 | 41 | 48.2% | 428 | 370 | +58 |
| 2008 | 44 | 37 | 54.3% | 384 | 361 | +23 |
| 2009 | 48 | 33 | 59.3% | 427 | 351 | +78 |
| 2010 | 50 | 31 | 61.7% | 436 | 340 | +96 |
| AVERAGE | 48 | 33 | 58.6% | 437 | 367 | +70 |
Eight Yankee players have made the All-Star roster this year, the most since 2004. The double-play tandem of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano will be starting in Anaheim. Alex Rodriguez was selected as backup 3rd baseman (by Joe Girardi) and Nick Swisher was voted in by the fans via 2010 Final Vote (beating out Kevin Youkilis in the closest voting result ever). The pitchers include CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera (Rivera and Sabathia will not participate, though).
Yankee First Half Awards:
Most Valuable Player: Robinson Cano. He has truly blossomed into an amazing baseball player. He currently has 16 homers, 57 RBI, .337 BA and .390 OBP (on-pace for career highs in all categories). With only 1 error committed in the field, he is definitely earning his $9 million paycheck.
Cy Young: Andy Pettitte. The man has “turned back the clock” (I will award credit to Jedi Master A-Rod for that) and has been much more than fans had expected. Although Sabathia’s numbers have been just as good, and in some cases better, Pettitte has been the most consistent starter. His 2.70 ERA and record of 11-2 are outstanding. The Yankees record when Pettitte starts is 14-3 (in two of those losses, Pettitte went 7 innings allowing only 2 earned runs). He’s 38, but pitching like it’s 1997 again. Hopefully, this surge will last into the 2nd half and postseason where it always does.
Most Surprising Player: Brett Gardner. No surprises here. Last season, we all learned just how valuable Brett could be with his speed. The only problem, he slapped at the ball when at the plate and had a mediocre batting average and on-base percentage. This year, he’s been deadly. He’s 7th in the league in WAR (3.4) and 4th in the league in stolen bases (25). His .309 batting average and .392 on-base percentage are excellent for a mainly bottom of the order hitter. He can beat out plenty of infield balls for hits and has become a remarkable fielder in left and center.
The Carl Pavano Award: Nick Johnson. Here’s a new award that recognizes Yankee players that are being paid to be injured. Of course, we all knew Nick Johnson from his early days with the Yankees from 2001-2003. However, Cashman brought him back this year and he has been nowhere in sight. He suffered a wrist injury back in May and has been out ever since. He played in 24 games, tallying up an unprecedented .167 average with 2 homers and 8 RBI. His OBP was great at .388, but he’s gone for a long while more. See you in September! ... or will we?
The “We Can’t Replicate You” Award: Mariano Rivera. Words can’t describe how truly incredible this man is. He’s 40 years old and having, arguably, his best season ever. He is 20 for 22 in save opportunities, blowing one on July 4th against Toronto and one back on May 16th against the Minnesota Twins (let’s not talk about that game). He had a Houdini-like escape from a bases-loaded jam in Arizona with 0 out to secure the victory and has been great all season long. His ERA is 1.05 with a 0.64 WHIP (think about how ridiculous that is).
Pinstripe Alley Clutch Player of the 1st Half: Alex Rodriguez. What a turn around A-Rod has had in his career, eh? After an MVP-like postseason last year in which he hit 4 homeruns that gave the Yankees momentum, he has hit plenty more this year. A dramatic 2-run homer off Papelbon to tie the game 9-9 in the 9th inning back on May 17th, three grand slams (May 14, May 31, July 6) that gave the Yankees triumphant leads, A 2-run 8th inning dinger to give the Bombers a 4-2 lead against Seattle, and his 2-run single against Seattle on July 8 to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead. Time after time, he has come up with huge hits late in games.
Top 5 Games of the 1st Half:
5) Wednesday, April 7 – Yankees 3 Red Sox 1: In what turned out to be a classic pitching duel between Andy Pettitte and John Lackey, the newest Yankee made the biggest difference. Jonathan Papelbon came out for his second inning in the 10th to face Curtis Granderson, and the “Grandy-man” hit a bomb to right off the atrocious closer. It was Granderson’s 2nd homer in 3 days up in Bahston. Needless to say, Rivera shut the door.
4) Sunday, July 4 – Yankees 7 Blue Jays 6: The fireworks certainly weren’t forgotten on this special 80th birthday of George Steinbrenner. The Yankees had earned a 3-0 lead before Hughes gave it up to Dewayne Wise by surrendering a 3-run homer to give Toronto a lead. Adam Lind went yard to make it 5-3, and then Brett Gardner benefited from a misplayed ball by Wise for his 2nd homer in two days and his 2nd inside-the-park-homerun of his career, making the game 5-5. Teixeira’s RBI double in the 7th should have put away Toronto because Rivera hadn’t blown a save in July since 2004. Dewayne Wise singled to tie the game. Bottom 10, Marcus Thames steps up to the plate for the 1st time since getting off the DL and lines an RBI single to leftcenter. He wanted pie. AGAIN.
3) Wednesday, June 23 – Yankees 6 Diamondbacks 5: This game started off terribly as Dontrelle Willis couldn’t threw a strike if his life depended on it. The Yankees helped him out with 4 base-running gaffs in the first 2 innings. The game was back and forth… Arod’s sac-fly in the 9th tied the game and Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead solo shot in the 10th. The real story was the courageous effort of Mariano Rivera. He loaded the bases with 0 outs, got Chris Young to pop out, Adam Laroche to pop out, and he struck out Mark Reynolds to end the game. HOUDINI.
2) Monday, May 17 – Yankees 11 Red Sox 9: Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the 1st inning off of Matsuzaka. A huge comeback by Boston and back and forth scoring saw multiple lead changes. Eventually Boston went up 9-7 going into the 9th. Gardner doubled to lead off the inning and Alex Rodriguez crushed the first pitch he saw from Jonathan Papelbon to tie the game. Cano made out, Francisco Cervelli was plunked by a pitch and Marcus Thames smashed a 2-run walkoff homerun. It was the first time Papelbon had ever surrendered 2 homers in one game.
1) Sunday, June 28 – Yankees 8 Dodgers 6: A game most Yankee fans turned off after Joba let up a run in the 8th… it’s a shame they had to miss it. The Yankees overcame a 6-2 deficit in the top of the 9th inning to tie thanks to Chad Huffman and Colin Curtis. Robinson Cano hits a game-winning 2-run homer in the top of the 10th and Rivera finishes off Torre and the Dodgers.
Breakdown of records against other teams:
Tampa Bay – 2-3
Boston – 5-3
Baltimore – 10-2
Toronto – 3-3
Total Against AL East: 20-11
Detroit – 1-3
Chicago – 2-1
Minnesota – 4-2
Cleveland – 3-1
Kansas City – 0-0
Total Against AL Central: 10-7
Texas – 3-0
LA Angels – 3-3
Oakland – 5-1
Seattle – 4-3
Total Against AL West: 15-7
Arizona – 2-1
Houston – 3-0
LA Dodgers – 2-1
NY Mets – 3-3
Philadelphia – 1-2
Total Inter-league Record: 11-7
Miscellaneous Notes:
1) Yankee Home Record: 28-13
2) Yankee Away Record: 28-19
3) Yankee starting pitchers have combined for 48 wins out of the total 56
4) The Yankees have three pitchers with at least 11 wins (Sabathia, Hughes, Pettitte)
5) Alex Rodriguez heads into the All-Star Break with 597 career homeruns.
Bob Sheppard 1910-2010: Before ending this article, I would like to throw in my share of comments on the sudden passing of Bob Sheppard. He was 99 years old and definitely lived a life at the PA system in Yankee Stadium that others dream of living. It can’t be explained how truly missed he will be. It’s a shame that some Yankee fans will grow up having never attended a game in which he was the voice of the realm. He had, what Reggie Jackson called, the “Voice of God” and was perhaps the most recognizable announcer in the history of sports. He’s been gone from Yankee Stadium for 3 years, but he will never be gone from our hearts. Bob Sheppard, rest in peace.
That about wraps up the 1st half of baseball. Check out the Future’s Game tonight and make sure you root for Nick Swisher during the Homerun Derby on Monday night! The All Star Game should be a good one this year on Tuesday, let’s hope the AL wins for homefield advantage.
