A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, a general manager demonstrated that his team has been hitting well after the All-Star break and that’s why the team becomes a playoff contender.
I can hear that the general manager certainly loves his team to hit well in the second half of the season. After listening to the show, I began to think about a question. Which teams also have hit well after the All-Star break?
Firstly, the Braves have an OPS over .850 after the All-Star break. So far in the second half of the 2023 season, they already blasted 122 home runs, most among 30 MLB teams. There’s little surprise to see the Braves on the top of the chart. Before the All-Star break, they had an OPS of .830, best among 30 MLB teams. With one of the best lineups in the MLB, the Braves already won the NL East title.
In the first half of the 2023 season, the Houston Astros had an OPS of .723, which ranked 17th among 30 MLB teams. After the All-Star break, the Astros batters have done a great job with an OPS of .836, which is the best in the AL.
In addition, the Dodgers had an OPS of .785 in the first half of the 2023 season. An OPS of .785 ranked 3rd among 30 MLB teams. Hence, the Dodgers batters actually were hitting well before the All-Star break. After the All-Star break, they do an even better job. So far in the second half of the 2023 season, they own an OPS over .820 and they are very patient. After the All-Star break, the Dodgers now have 247 walks, leading the NL.
Moreover, the Phillies had an OPS of .742 before the All-Star break. After the Mid-Summer Classic, their OPS is over .800. The Phillies batters crushed 99 home runs in 89 games in the first half of the 2023 season. After the All-Star break, they already blasted 105 home runs over 62 games.
Finally, the Twins have an OPS over .800 after the All-Star break. In the first half of the 2023 season, the Minnesota Twins had an OPS of .709, which ranked 22nd among 30 MLB teams. Nonetheless, after the All-Star break, the Twins batters have done a great job. A key thing to watch is that they already drew 247 walks, leading the AL. Furthermore, the Cubs had an OPS of .721 before the All-Star break. But, in the second half of this season, they own an OPS over .780 thus far. Additionally, the Mariners had a .703 OPS and hit 102 home runs in 89 games before the All-Star break. After the All-Star game, which was hosted by the Mariners, the team began to heat up. The Mariners already smashed 95 home runs over 62 games in the second half of this season.
After the All-Star break, the Braves and the Dodgers keep doing great jobs as they did in the first half of this season. There’s little doubt that they are able to play October baseball. But, we can see that some teams just heat up after the All-Star break. In particular, the Twins and the Mariners each had an OPS below .710 in the first half of this season. After the All-Star break, there’s a huge increase in OPS between these 2 teams. At the same time, the Cubs also hit well after the All-Star break. With good hitting performance after the All-Star break, are the Mariners going to clinch a spot in the postseason again? Will the Cubs be back into the playoffs for the first time since 2020?
No comments:
Post a Comment