Axios Sports: MLB's second half

Plus: Why two South Koreans are skipping The Open. | Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Open in app View in browser     Axios Sports By Kendall Baker ·Jul 14, 2021 👋 Good morning! The NBA Finals returns tonight for Game 4 in Milwaukee (9pm ET). Current line: Bucks -4; Over/Under: 220.5. ⚽️ ICYMI: If you missed my live conversation with U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone, you can watch the replay here. Today's word count: 1,663 words (6 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: ⚾️ MLB enters season's second half Data: FanGraphs; Table: Axios Visuals With the All-Star Game in the rearview, MLB's second half has officially begun, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Let's take a quick tour through each division, five-words-or-fewer style... AL East: My "bold prediction" in the preseason was simply that Boston would be in the mix down the stretch — not that they'd end the first half with the best record in the AL! Red Sox: Chris Sale return imminent. Rays: Can Champa Bay keep rolling? Blue Jays: Vladito Triple Crown watch. Yankees: They'll heat up eventually, right? Orioles: Mancini's story is still awesome. AL Central: The Twins' downfall is frankly flabbergasting. If the Indians get their injured pitchers back before the White Sox get their injured sluggers back, this could be a tight race. White Sox: Mercedes gone, legend lives on. Indians: Missing Bieber more than Lindor. Tigers: Yikes — Miggy's OPS is .648. Twins: Nothing gold can stay. Royals: Whit and Salvy deserve better. AL West: Until that division lead reaches double digits, hope remains that Trout's return, Rendon's return-to-form and Ohtani's continued brilliance can yield a playoff berth. Astros: No trash cans, still raking. A's: Unheralded stars keep delivering. Mariners: Avoid playoff drought turning 20? Angels: Ohtani — greatest season ever? Rangers: Gallo gone by trade deadline. NL East: Welcome to the only division with fewer than 10 games separating first and last. In fact, the last-place Marlins have a better run differential (+17) than the first-place Mets (+9). Mets: Will deGrom become deGOAT? Phillies: That bullpen ... 22 blown saves! Braves: Losing Acuña was brutal. Nationals: Can Soto find power stroke? Marlins: Young arms are electric. NL Central: If Christian Yelich can even remotely approximate his MVP form after a lackluster spring (.768 OPS, 5 HR), Milwaukee looks real dangerous. Cincy is mighty frisky too, though. Brewers: Three aces? Good strategy. Reds: Sellers rapidly became buyers. Cubs: Buyers rapidly became sellers. Cardinals: Still stuck in neutral. Pirates: Two All-Star starters! NL West: How 'bout dem Giants?! San Francisco leading the division at the break is easily the biggest surprise of the first half. Giants: Brandon Crawford, 34, career year. Dodgers: Will Bauer saga become distraction? Padres: As good/exciting as promised. Rockies: Shipped Arenado; Story next? Diamondbacks: Six wins ... since June 2.     2. ⚾️ All-Star Game: Like father, like son Photo: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images   Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 468-foot bomb helped the American League beat the National League, 5-2, in Tuesday night's MLB All-Star Game. MVP: At 22 years, 119 days old, the Blue Jays slugger becomes the youngest MVP in All-Star Game history — 117 days younger than Ken Griffey Jr. was when he won the award in 1992. What he's saying: "Ever since I was a kid, I've been thinking about this moment. ... Dad, this is for you." Like father, like son: The Guerreros are the third father-son combo to homer in the MLB All-Star Game. Bonds: Bobby (1973) and Barry (1998, 2002) Griffey: Ken Sr. (1980) and Ken Jr. (1992) Guerrero: Vlad Sr. (2006) and Vlad Jr. (2021) The big picture: The AL has won the last eight All-Star Games, tying the second-longest win streak in history (NL won eight straight from 1963 to 1970). The longest win streak? 11 games, set by the NL from 1972 to 1982. 👀 Shohei Ohtani watch ... MLB's first two-way All-Star threw a perfect first inning (fastball topped out at 100.2 mph) and was rewarded with the win. He was 0-for-2 at the plate. Go deeper: All-Star Game winners and losers (The Ringer)     3. 🇯🇵 Experts fear Olympics will be a superspreader Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Infectious disease experts say the Tokyo Olympics don't have strong enough protocols for testing or ventilation, either in competition venues or in the Olympic village, Axios' Tina Reed reports. The state of play: The IOC's playbook calls for attendees to physically distance themselves from others, wear masks, and get tested daily. They're also required to use a contact tracing app on their smartphones. But it'll be too easy for cases to slip through the cracks and then spread, said Annie Sparrow, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Some IOC suggestions — athletes should open windows in the Olympic Village every 30 minutes — aren't supported by science, said Michael Osterholm, infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota. The backdrop: Other sports organizations have navigated this successfully, but experts said the IOC's precautions simply aren't as strong as those employed last year by the NFL or the NBA. "I think [the NFL] understood the concept of airborne transmission and what it meant and they planned accordingly," said Osterholm, who helped advise the NFL's safety precautions. "What about the workers, the volunteers ... exposed for 14 to 16 hours a day who are going into the [Olympic] village and then going back home to their families?" said Sparrow, who helped advise the WNBA through the pandemic.     A message from Axios Reach new audiences with Axios Local     Axios Local is expanding and will soon be available in 14 cities across the country. If you're a marketer or business owner looking to reach engaged readers in their own backyards while supporting local journalism, we'd love to speak with you. Click here to learn more about advertising with Axios Local.     4. 🏀 Tonight: WNBA All-Star Game Table: Danielle Alberti/Axios Tonight's WNBA All-Star Game (7pm ET, ESPN) pits Team USA against Team WNBA in a star-studded matchup that doubles as an Olympic tune-up, Jeff writes. "This game is gonna be more than just the regular All-Star Game ... We're out there with a mission. We're going to use this game to get ready." — Brittney Griner, Team USA Team USA: South Carolina's Dawn Staley, who played for the 1996 team that won the first of six straight gold medals, is Team USA's coach. Returning Olympians: Sue Bird (5x), Diana Taurasi (5x), Sylvia Fowles (4x), Tina Charles (3x), Brittney Griner (2x), Breanna Stewart (2x) First-time Olympians: A'ja Wilson, Ariel Atkins, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd Team WNBA: Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson — Hall of Famers with a combined 17 All-Star Game appearances, six WNBA titles and six Olympic gold medals — are co-coaching Team WNBA. Returning All-Stars: Candace Parker (6x), Liz Cambage (4x), DeWanna Bonner (4x), Jonquel Jones (3x), Courtney Vandersloot (3x) First-time All-Stars: Brionna Jones, Kahleah Copper, Dearica Hamby, Arike Ogunbowale, Betnijah Laney, Courtney Williams, Satou Sabally Go deeper: All-Star Game preview (ESPN)     5. 🇰🇷 Why two South Koreans skipped The Open Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photos: Kevin C. Cox, Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images   Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim of South Korea have withdrawn from The Open Championship this week to focus on the Olympics. Why it matters: South Korean athletes who win an Olympic medal are able to forgo an 18-month military stint, which is mandatory for males between ages 18–28. Talk about stakes. Sangmoon Bae, who was ranked 26th in the world in 2015 when he returned to South Korea to complete his military service, hasn't been the same player since. K.J. Choi, once the only South Korean playing full time on the PGA Tour, completed his military requirements before turning pro. The big picture: Military strength has long been a priority in South Korea, where the threat from North Korea is always looming. Yes, but: The country's pool of eligible enlistees is shrinking fast due to South Korea having the developed world's lowest birthrate, per WSJ (subscription).     6. 🇫🇷 Photos: Morton completes solo Tour Lachlan Morton (L) riding with fellow Australian Chris Hamilton. Photo: Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images Lachlan Morton, an Australian adventure racer, completed his solo Tour de France on Tuesday morning — rolling into the Champs-Élysées five days before the Tour peloton is set to arrive. Morton sets up his sleeping bag at the end of Day 13. Photo: Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images To complete his solo trip, Morton spent 220 hours in the saddle over 18 days, covering 3,424 miles (60% longer than the regular Tour de France) and climbing nearly 215,000 feet. Morton at a cafe near Tarascon-sur-Ariège. Photo: Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images He slept outdoors in a damp sleeping bag and ate only what he could buy along the way at gas stations and cafes. Guy's a legend. Go deeper: Meet the man riding the Tour de France alone (Axios)     7. ⚡️ Lightning round Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   🎾 Wimbledon investigation: At least two Wimbledon matches are under investigation for allegedly being fixed. This is a big issue in tennis. ⚾️ MLB rule changes: Seven-inning doubleheaders and starting extra innings with runners on second are likely to be dropped next season, per MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. ⚽️ Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Kyle Walker (England), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy), Harry Maguire (England), Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy), Jorginho (Italy), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Denmark), Pedri (Spain); Federico Chiesa (Italy), Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Raheem Sterling (England). 🏀 Kawhi has surgery: Kawhi Leonard had surgery to repair the partial ACL tear that kept him out of the playoffs. Of note: Leonard has a $36 million player option for 2021-22. ⚾️ 20 picks, 20 pitchers: The Angels selected a pitcher with all 20 of their picks in the 2021 MLB draft. 19 of them were college arms.     8. 📆 July 14, 1951: First color sports broadcast A family relaxes in front of their color TV, circa 1954. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images   70 years ago today, CBS televised the first ever sporting event in color — a horse race in Oceanport, New Jersey, called the Molly Pitcher Handicap. The backdrop: The color TV war reached a head in 1950, when the FCC approved CBS' technology but not RCA's. Incensed, RCA filed an injunction, effectively hamstringing CBS. But in the spring of 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the FCC and CBS, paving the way for television's technicolor future. The aftermath: CBS' victory was short-lived. They were first to market, but had the inferior product — not only was the picture fuzzy, but the system worked only with new color TV sets, which few people had. By 1953, RCA's superior product was approved, but widespread adoption was still a long way off due to high expenses for consumers (purchasing a set) and broadcasters (converting to color transmission). By 1965, the color revolution came at last after a study showed it would significantly increase ratings. By the end of the decade, networks broadcast everything in color. Go deeper: Color TV transformed the way Americans saw the world, and the world saw America (Smithsonian)     9. 🏀 Olympics trivia Photo: Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images   Team USA finally got a win Tuesday, beating Argentina, 108-80, in a pre-Olympic exhibition. Question: The U.S. (15x) and Argentina (2004) are two of four countries with Olympic gold medals in men's basketball. Who are the other two? Hint: They won gold in 1972, 1980 and 1988. Answer at the bottom.     10. 📺 "Ted Lasso" makes TV history Source: Giphy "Ted Lasso" earned 20 Emmy nominations on Tuesday, becoming the most-nominated freshman comedy series in TV history. Looking ahead: I got early access to Season 2, and it's somehow just as good as the first. A truly magical show. Episode 1 comes out July 23. See all Emmy nominations.     A message from Axios Reach new audiences with Axios Local     Axios Local is expanding and will soon be available in 14 cities across the country. If you're a marketer or business owner looking to reach engaged readers in their own backyards while supporting local journalism, we'd love to speak with you. Click here to learn more about advertising with Axios Local.   Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Don't let the Diamondbacks get hot" Baker Trivia answer: Soviet Union (1972, 1988) and Yugoslavia (1980) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to refer friends (axios.com/referral) and follow us on Twitter: @thekendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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