Baseball is just past the halfway point of the 162-game season, with some teams (Boston, New York Yankees) building Secretariat-like leads over the rest of the pack and others (Baltimore, Kansas City) so far out of contention they could be mathematically eliminated in early August.
Rosters for the July 17 All-Star Game will be announced this weekend, and rumors are already heating up in advance of the July 31 trade deadline — where will you go, Manny Machado? — so it’s a good time to take stock of the first three months and issue some midseason awards.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout gets the nod over Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts in a tight race in which supporting casts — or lack thereof — could factor in eventual voting.