[Dukie98]

Exceeding Expectations: The Cincinnati Spiders appeared primed to snap a seven-season postseason drought, led by the stingiest pitching staff in baseball. The Spiders took a 3 1/2 game lead over Detroit into the All-Star break, posting a 45-29 mark. Center fielder Al Oliver led the way, hitting .281 and slugging .470, with 23 doubles, 9 homers, and 33 RBI's. Right fielder Lou Brock hit .290 with 6 homers, 34 RBI's, 49 runs scored, and 22 steals. Shortstop Bruce Christensen came out of nowhere to slug .471, with a team-high 11 homers and 36 RBI's. Ageless ace Bob Moose posted an 11-3 record with a 2.22 ERA, an 0.93 WHIP, and 105 strikeouts. Southpaw David Price sported a hard-luck 6-5 record despite a 2.34 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, allowing just 6 homers in 108 innings. Larry Dierker went 9-2 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Closer Jack Killilay notched 21 saves along with a 1.30 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. The St. Louis Pilots posted a best-in-baseball 50-23 record, led by a 22-2 start, including a 15-game winning streak. At the break, St. Louis led the Frontier League in runs scored and ranked second in runs allowed. First baseman Joe Adcock had a monster first half, hitting .300 and slugging .655 with 28 homers and 75 RBI's. Second sacker Charlie Gehringer had a breakout season, hitting .364 with a .582 slugging percentage, including 32 doubles, 7 homers, 56 RBI's, 61 runs scored, and 19 steals. Third baseman Chipper Jones hit .342 with 21 doubles, 19 homers, and 69 RBI's. Crafty righthander Ray Crone posted a 9-1 mark with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, yielding just one homer in 85 innings. Journeyman Jaime Navarro went 7-4 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

In the Continental League, the Nashville Blues looked to snap an eleven-season postseason drought behind a dominant pitching staff. DH Ted Kluszewski provided an impact bat, hitting .316 with 25 homers and 73 RBI's. Catcher Cliff Johnson popped 15 homers and drove in 34 runs. Third baseman Wayne Gross chipped in, hitting .285 with 12 homers and 37 RBI's. On the mound, perennial Cy Young candidate Mark Prior had another stellar start, going 10-2 with a 2.35 ERA, an 0.91 WHIP, and 145 strikeouts. Southpaw Ron Guidry went just 7-6, but sported a 2.61 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and fanned 123 hitters. Hard-luck Herb Score went just 7-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 95 strikeouts, but managed to successfully dodge all incoming line drives. Sophomore closer Bob Smith notched 20 saves and a 0.81 ERA. The Dallas Wildcatters had not made the playoffs since 2035, including five straight sub-.500 seasons, but they posted a 46-29 first-half record. Right fielder Geoff Jenkins starred, hitting .388 with 18 homers, 19 doubles and a league-high 80 RBI's -- in just 56 games! Left fielder Zack Wheat hit .311 and slugged .526, bopping 22 doubles, 12 homers, and driving in 64 runs. Veteran first baseman Chris Shelton hit .319 with 22 doubles, 11 homers, and 48 RBI's. Righthander Milt Wilcox posted a 9-2 record with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood notched a 9-4 mark with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.

Disappointments: Last season, the Boston Minutemen unexpectedly led a middling Northeast Division in mid-August, before collapsing in the final weeks of the season. That long hangover continued into 2042, as the Minutemen stumbled to a 27-48 start, ending the half in fifth place, a distant 21 1/2 games out of first place. Right fielder Manny Ramirez, who was runner-up for the Rookie of the Year last year with 38 homers, missed most of the first half with a sprained knee and then a sprained ankle, as he popped just one homer and drove in 8 runs in 22 games. Second-year center fielder Chris Taylor struggled mightily, hitting an anemic .162 and slugging just .201, with only 5 RBI's in 179 at bats. Boston's pitching staff took a step backwards, ending the half ranked 22nd in the Frontier League in runs allowed. Free agent signee Bill James went 1-10 with a ghastly 8.73 ERA. Reliever Chris Reitsma posted a 7.91 ERA and a 2.15 WHIP. While righthander Matt Morris was effective in ten starts, he tore his UCL, ending his season prematurely. The Vancouver Viceroys led the Frontier League last season with 107 victories, but they struggled in the first half, going just 38-33. 37-year-old first baseman Aledmys Diaz finally showed signs of slowing down, hitting just .239 with 4 homers and 20 RBIs and seeing his slugging percentage plummet by nearly 120 points. Left fielder Bernard Gilkey, after hitting 29 homers and driving in 114 runs last year, dropped off to hit 10 round-trippers and drive in just 33 runs. While Vancouver's pitching staff remained solid, free agent acquisition Brett Oberholtzer went just 3-7 with a 5.14 ERA.

In the Continental League, the Jacksonville Gulls saw their offense decline from elite to merely solid, while their league-worst pitching staff took a giant step backward. After going 80-82 last year, the Gulls entered the break in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 28-46 record. First baseman Jim Thome, while still effective, saw his slugging percentage drop by over 100 points, as he hit just 15 homers and drove in 43 runs, after smashing 35 longballs last season. Shortstop Robin Yount, after hitting .345 and slugging .595 last year, dropped off to hit .303 with 8 homers. Jacksonville's pitching, already a liability, declined further, as Dave Rozema went 2-6 with a 8.88 ERA, allowing 19 homers in just 73 innings. Righthander Lou Lucier posted a 2-4 mark with a bloated 8.10 ERA. The San Antonio Marksmen narrowly missed the playoffs in each of the last two years, but they posted a mediocre 34-41 first-half mark. The Marksmen's offense ranked second-to-last in the Continental League. Free agent signee Yoan Moncada struggled, hitting just .243 with 8 homers and 32 RBI's, after hitting .300 with 30 homers the year before. The Marksmen struggled to replace departed free agent catcher Mike Sweeney, as replacement Vance Wilson hit just .244 with 3 homers and 11 RBI's. San Antonio's vaunted pitching staff took a step back, as reigning Cy Young winner Greg Maddux went just 6-5 with a 3.45 ERA - an increase of more than a run and a half per game. Free agent signee Jim Slaton stumbled, going 5-8 with a 5.57 ERA.

The Bold El Paso: The El Paso Armadillos, after another active offseason, assembled perhaps the most balanced team in the Continental League, and they stormed to a 51-24 first-half record. While Joe DiMaggio's maiden season with El Paso was a modest disappointment, as he missed 30 games and hit just 23 homers last season, he had an MVP-caliber first half, hitting .353 and slugging .710 with 28 homers and 74 RBI's. Free agent signee Victor Martinez starred, hitting .353 with 14 homers and 56 RBI's. They also traded for Virginia Beach righhander James Paxton in spring training, and he rewarded the Armadillos by going 8-3 with a 4.27 ERA.

Flirting with .400: Although Larry Walker was the only player to top .400 in the last ten years, several players posed viable challenges at the All-Star break. Most notably, 36-year-old Detroit first baseman Julio Franco took a .398 mark into the break -- while teammate Tony Gwynn batted .390 in the first half. Phoenix second sacker Jim Viox took a .396 mark into the break, along with 32 doubles and a .465 on-base percentage. Meanwhile, Denver slugger Willie Stargell threatened to rewrite the record book, bashing 38 homers and driving in 90 runs in 75 games.

Cellar Dwellers: Each league featured a team that could threaten the single-season record of 120 losses, held by the 2020 Birmingham Steelers and the 2040 Memphis River Pirates. The Pittsburgh Golden Gorillas -- just 3 seasons removed from an 87-win season -- posted an 18-57 record, punctuated by a 22-game losing streak in April and part of a 4-39 stretch. Pittsburgh ranked dead last in the Frontier League in every major offensive category except steals, where they were tied for last, and they also ranked last in runs allowed and strikeouts. No starter hit higher than .260 or drilled more than 7 homers, and starters LaMarr Hoyt, Harry Krause, and Ubaldo Jimenez combined for a 2-22 record. Remarkably, Pittsburgh had a better record than the hapless Austin Mustangs, who went 16-59, despite winning the Texas Division just four years earlier. Austin's offense was actually middle-of-the-pack, but their pitching staff was on pace to surrender the most runs ever, yielding 587 runs in just 75 games. Jake Peavy posted a 1-11 mark with a 10.80 ERA and a bloated 2.42 WHIP. Veteran Saul Rogovin went 1-9 with a 8.23 ERA. Austin took a 15-game losing streak into the break, as part of a 2-22 stretch.

Major injuries: Several contenders overcame the loss of star players, while lesser squads struggled to replace their injured stars. The Chicago Mules posted a 50-25 record despite losing All-Star second baseman Carlos Baerga to a broken hand a week into the season and losing ace Odalis Perez to a season-ending fractured elbow in late May. The Buffalo Fighting Elk lost third baseman Eric Chavez to a torn thumb ligament in early June, yet still enjoyed a comfortable division lead. Detroit overcame the loss of Red Schoendienst to a torn MCL in spring training. Promising Milwaukee pitcher Howie Pollet went down in spring training with a season-ending UCL tear. Veteran New Orleans second sacker Jose Altuve tore his labrum at the start of May, and was not expected to return until the end of August. Phoenix centerfielder Jackie Brandt went down with a season-ending tear in an elbow tendon shortly before the break.

Major milestones: Minneapolis first baseman Mark Grace joined the 3000-hit club in mid-April, and Kansas City third baseman Manny Machado followed suit two weeks later. Charlotte DH Hal McRae, Houston first baseman Chick Gandil, Dallas first baseman Chris Shelton, and Detroit teammates Tony Gwynn and Nemo Leibold each popped their 2500th career hit. Detroit third baseman Nolan Arenado and Austin DH Ernie Banks each smacked their 500th career homer. Austin center fielder and Cincinnati catcher Frank Fernandez each pounded their 400th career round-tripper. Righthanders Jim Shaw of Vancouver and Marty Bystrom of New York each notched their 200th career victory. Cincinnati ace Bob Moose and ageless Philadelphia hurler Ed Walsh each joined the 4000-strikeout club. Meanwhile, New Orleans first baseman George Brett was a month away from popping his 3,500th career hit, while Hartford's Roberto Alomar was expected to join the 3000-hit club before Labor Day. Veteran Charlotte left fielder Sherry Magee, with regular playing time, would likely hit his 700th career homer by September, while Machado was on the precipice of smacking his 600th round-tripper. St Louis first baseman Joe Adcock, if he kept up the pace from his red-hot first half, was expected to blast his 500th homer by season's end. Walsh and Moose were both weeks away from winning their 300th career games.