By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com— It was a surprising and spectacular first half in MLB this season. Average game times are down 25 minutes and stolen bases are up 41% for the highest rate since 1997, thanks to the new rules.
Five of the six division races are within two games. And Shohei Ohtani continues to do things we’ve never seen before, including an awe-inspiring June in which he hit .394 with 15 home runs and had a 3.26 ERA in five starts as a pitcher.
With the first half in the books, ESPN graded every team in MLB. Only one received an A+… the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves’ record speaks for itself: They’re on pace for 109 wins; only last year’s Dodgers, with 111 wins, have won more games since the National League went to a 162-game schedule in 1962
