Perhaps the biggest surprise in the first half of the baseball season didn’t occur between the foul lines. Did anyone really expect the MLB to be able to get rid of umpire Angel Hernandez? The oft-berated Hernandez said in early May he was retiring after 33 seasons in the majors to spend more time with his family. His lawyer, Kevin Murphy, adamantly told The Athletic that his client “was NOT forced out.” Those pitches were further outside than Hernandez’s strike zone. He reached a “financial agreement” with MLB to go away. Other umps decried the move, saying Angel was an angel. But that was perhaps because they could toil in relative anonymity with Hernandez’s highlights—lowlights?—dominating social media. As for between the lines? Here are some of the season’s biggest surprises: The Guardians won just 76 games last season, after which longtime and popular manager Terry Francona retired. The team made an interesting choice to replace him with Stephen Vogt, who spent last year as the bullpen coach in Seattle after completing his playing career in 2022. A .500 record seemed optimistic after their ace, Shane Bieber, needed season-ending elbow surgery after making just two starts. But the Guardians rallied and have the best record in the American League (58-37) at the All-Star break. Outfielder Steven Kwan leads the MLB with a .352 batting average, and Emmanuel Clase anchors a bullpen that has a 2.62 ERA. “We’d all sign up to be where we are,” Vogt said. Perhaps a team that has been to the past two National League Championship Series shouldn’t be on this list, but the Phillies have exceeded expectations. They entered the All-Star break with the best record (62-34) and largest divisional lead (8 1/2 games over Atlanta in the NL East) in the majors. Their plus-110 run differential is also tops, and they’d have the best ERA if not for an 18-3 loss Sunday against Oakland that dropped them 0.01 runs behind the Braves’ staff. The Phillies, who are on pace for a franchise-record 104 victories, have eight players headed to Arlington, Texas, for the All-Star Game. A year ago, Pittsburgh selected right-hander Paul Skenes out of LSU first overall in the amateur draft. Tuesday, he’ll start for the NL in the All-Star Game. He’ll become just the fifth rookie to do that, per the Elias Sports Bureau, joining Hideo Nomo (1995), Fernando Valenzuela ('81), Mark Fidrych ('76) and Dave Stenhouse ('62). “Just being able to say that you started an All-Star Game in the first place is cool,” Skenes said. “But getting the opportunity to do it now in my rookie year is really cool.” Skenes made a total of 12 minor-league starts before being called up. He’s gone 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. Last Thursday, he pitched seven hitless innings against Milwaukee, his second start of at least six no-hit innings with 11 or more strikeouts. The only other hurler to ever do that twice in a season is Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. It was suggested recently that the Seattle Mariners could be the first team to lead their division at the All-Star break yet be sellers at the trade deadline. It’s not that far-fetched. The Mariners’ 10-game edge in the AL West is down to one over Houston, with the Astros in position to move in front during a three-game series this weekend in Seattle. The M’s are batting an MLB-worst .219 and are on pace for a record 1,675 strikeouts (Minnesota fanned 1,654 times last season). This might have been the year fantasy owners would have been better off drafting near the end of the first round, especially if their league employs a snake system. It’s been a tough first half for players who went early. The top choice in most leagues, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. (.250 batting average-4 HRs-15 RBIs), played in just 46 games before tearing the ACL in his left knee and undergoing season-ending surgery. Teammate Spencer Strider, likely the top pitcher selected, had a 7.00 ERA in two starts before undergoing the knife for a damaged UCL. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (broken left hand), Houston’s Kyle Tucker (right shin contusion), and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. (stress reaction in right femur) all remain out, and Philadelphia’s Trea Turner missed six weeks (strained right hamstring). Plus, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll (.212-5-32) and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez (.267-10-35) have struggled.
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