The first half of the MLB season did not disappoint.
Cal Raleigh made home run history, Aaron Judge flirted with .400 and Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited return to the mound.
But this is where the real fun begins.
Baseball’s stretch run starts Friday when all 30 teams kick off the season’s second half.
Three of the six MLB division leaders are clinging to an advantage of two games or fewer, while only one first-place team has a lead greater than 5.5 games.
The wild-card races are similarly tight, with 15 teams either holding a wild-card spot or within 4.5 games of one.
With the All-Star festivities officially over, here are the biggest MLB storylines the rest of the way.
CAL’S CHASE
Raleigh’s 38 home runs were the second most ever before an All-Star break, trailing only Barry Bonds’ 39 in 2001.
Bonds went on to hit an MLB-record 73 homers that year, and while that total is likely out of reach, a few others could be in Raleigh’s future.
The Seattle slugger is on pace for 64 home runs, which would most notably break Judge’s American League single-season record of 62, which he set in 2022.
Raleigh is also on track to break Salvador Perez’s record for home runs by a primary catcher (48) and Mickey Mantle’s high mark for homers by a switch-hitter (54).
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
Despite his historic first half, Raleigh isn’t considered the favorite for AL MVP.
That’s because Judge is in the midst of an incredible season of his own.
The Yankees captain leads the majors with a .355 average, while his 35 home runs and 81 RBI rank second only to Raleigh’s 38 and 82.
That means Judge could be on his way to a Triple Crown — and not just for the AL, but for the entire MLB.
Judge would become the first player since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 to lead his respective league in average, home runs and RBI. He would be the 11th player to do so — and would account for the 13th Triple Crown season — in the live-ball era.
Whether he wins a Triple Crown or not, Judge could become the 13th player to win three MVP Awards, and the fourth (along with Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mantle) to earn them all as a Yankee.
Judge is on pace for 59 home runs, so another run at his own AL homer record is within reach, too.
WILD ACES
Judge isn’t the only MLB star who could pursue a Triple Crown.
Detroit ace Tarik Skubal has positioned himself for a run at a second consecutive pitching Triple Crown, while Boston’s Garrett Crochet has a chance at his first.
Skubal and Crochet are tied for the AL’s best ERA at 2.23, while their 10 wins are tied for second. Crochet leads the league with 160 strikeouts, while Skubal is right behind him at 153.
Only 22 pitchers have achieved a Triple Crown — for a combined 31 instances — since 1913, when ERA became an official stat.
Skubal would become the fifth pitcher to do it in back-to-back seasons, joining Grover Alexander, Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax and Roger Clemens.
DEADLINE DILEMMA
We may have already seen the biggest in-season trade of the year, as San Francisco’s shocking acquisition of Rafael Devers from Boston last month will be hard to top.
But there should be many more deals between now and the July 31 trade deadline, even if the expanded playoffs have made fringe teams more reluctant to sell in recent seasons.
Arizona (47-50) is among the teams that could define the market, with potential trade chips in third baseman Eugenio Suarez and starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly all set for free agency this winter.
Minnesota (47-49), too, will need to decide whether to buy or sell, with high-leverage relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax sure to command numerous suitors.
Other big-name players to look out for are Miami ace Sandy Alcantara and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, who both have multiple years of control remaining but could fetch a haul for their lower-budget clubs.
Alcantara, however, has struggled in his return from elbow surgery, going 4-9 with a 7.22 ERA in the first half.
Also worth monitoring are the San Diego Padres, who are in the thick of contention at 52-44 but have a history of trading players before they hit free agency, as starters Dylan Cease and Michael King are poised to do.
MR. MET
In the coming weeks, Pete Alonso could establish himself as the Mets’ all-time home run king.
He is five homers away from tying — and six away from breaking — Darryl Strawberry’s franchise record of 252.
The Mets begin the second half with a six-game homestand, giving Alonso an outside chance to make history at Citi Field soon.
Alonso, who has 21 home runs this season, hit five homers in five games during a hot streak last month.
ROCKY ROAD
In what would be much, much less glamorous history, the Colorado Rockies remain on track to set the MLB record for losses in a season.
At 22-74, the Rockies are on pace to finish with 125 losses.
That would mean the Chicago Whites Sox’s dubious record of 121 losses last year would have lasted only one season.
Last month, the Rockies heated up with a season-best four-game winning streak, only to immediately follow that with a 5-17 slump to end their brutal first half.
Making matters worse is that the Rockies have the second-hardest remaining strength of schedule, according to Tankathon. Their savage slate includes seven more games against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
DODGERS DOWNFALL?
Although, facing the Dodgers sounds a little less scary these days than it did a few weeks ago.
Ravaged by pitching injuries, the deep-pocketed Dodgers have come back to Earth, losing seven consecutive games earlier this month.
Tyler Glasnow recently returned from injury, while Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki are expected back eventually, all of which should bolster a rotation that also plans to get more and more innings out of Ohtani.
But the Dodgers (58-39), who lead the NL West by 5.5 games, appear more vulnerable than to start the year, when some speculated they could challenge for MLB’s single-season win record.
