The Major League Baseball Season is a little more than halfway finished, and even though many of us around here are die hard Kansas City Royals Baseball fans, the first half of the season has been miserable for the Boys in Blue. The Royals are currently tied for the worst record in Baseball (38-59), and they are 13 games out of first place in their Division. Not to make excuses, but three of the 8 position starters for Kansas City, have missed a large number of games due to injuries, while two of their top starting pitchers and their closer have all had serious arm injuries, and have seen very limited action so far. Let’s hope that the Royals can get things turned around, during the second half of the season, but if so, it needs to happen very quickly. Following is a quick review of the Major League season to date: American League Central: Probably the biggest surprise in all of Baseball, is the resurgence of the Chicago White Sox (50-45), who have recently normally been the door mat of the Division. The Sox are currently tied for first place in the Division with the Cleveland Guardians (51-46). The Minnesota Twins are in third place, 3 games behind the two leaders, while the Detroit Tigers are 6.5 games off the pace, followed by the Royals, 13 games back.

American League East: The Tampa Bay Rays, who currently have the best record in the American League (56-38)), lead the Division, while the New York Yankees, who have the second best record in the League, trail by 3 games. The Boston Red Sox are in third place, at 10 games back, while the Baltimore Orioles are 11.5 games off the pace. The Toronto Blue Jays, who are the defending American League Champions, are currently in last place, 12 games back.

American League West: The Texas Rangers (49-47), are the only team above .500 in the Division, and they are in first place, currently 1.5 games ahead of the second place Seattle Mariners. The Houston Astros are in third place 3 games out of first, while the Oakland A’s are 8 games back, with the Los Angeles Angels in the cellar, 11.5 games off the pace.

National League Central: The St Louis Cardinals, who unloaded a large portion of their roster, after last season, and are re building this year, have been pretty successful so far this season as the are currently above .500, with a 50-45 record. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the Division with the second best record in all of Baseball (59-37). The Chicago Cubs are in second place, 6 games behind, while the Cards are third, 8.5 games off the pace. The Pittsburgh Pirates are fourth 9.5 games back, while the Cincinnati Reds are last, 15.5 games back.

National League East: The Atlanta Braves lead the Division (5540), and are 2 games ahead of the second place Philadelphia Phillies. The surprising Miami Marlins are in third, only 4 games behind, followed by the Washington Nationals who are 8 back, and the New York Mets,16 games out of first place.

National League West: The two time defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, to nobody’s surprise, have the best record in Baseball (61-36), and they lead the second place Arizona Diamondbacks by 11.5 games. The San Diego Padres, who will play in Kansas City this weekend, are12.5 games back in third place, followed by the San Francisco Giants, who will play here next week, are 19.5 games back, with the Colorado Rockies in last place, 22.5 games out of first.

Wild Card Races: If the season were to end today, in the American League, the New York Yankees would be the first Wild Card Team, while either the Chicago Whie Sox or Cleveland Guardians would earn the second spot, with either the Minnesota Twins or Seattle Mariners, nailing down the third Wild Card berth.

In the National League, if the season concluded today, the Chcago Cubs would be the first Wild Card Team, with the Philadelphia Phillies being the second team, and the Miami Marlins nailing down the third slot. The good news is that the St Louis Cardinals are currently only one game out of the third Wild Card spot.