The biggest disappointments from the first half of the 2021 MLB season

There’s been plenty to celebrate in the first half of the 2021 MLB season; Shohei Ohtani has solidified his status as the “Japanese Babe Ruth,” Jacob deGrom has left many wondering if he’s human, and the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants have wildly exceeded expectations. And – as America continues to curb COVID-19 – fans have been allowed back in stadiums across the country.

But we’re not here to talk about any of those things today. We’re going to dwell on the negative, highlighting (lowlighting?) the five most disappointing things that baseball fans have endured this season.

5. All-Star absentees

The build-up to the MLB All-Star Game felt similar to that of the NFL’s Pro Bowl with the startling number of players declining to participate.

All four Houston Astros that were selected – Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Ryan Pressly – decided to forgo the trip to Denver. They were joined by the likes of former MVP Mookie Betts and two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom.

Their collective absence served to diminish the 2021 “Midsummer Classic.”

4. The Minnesota Twins

There are plenty of contenders for 2021’s most disappointing team, but the frontrunner is clearly the Minnesota Twins.

They sit a startling 11 games under .500 at the All-Star break, trailing the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox by 15 games. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles have allowed more runs than the Twins this season.

Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson could be among those in different uniforms by the end of the month.

3. Poor umpiring

The drumbeat for “robot umpires” has grown louder by the week in 2021, and it’s easy to see why.

In addition to the occasional missed balls-and-strikes, there's been a puzzling HBP call, a mind-numbingly bad interference call, and a game-deciding play at the plate that both the home plate umpire AND the replay officials somehow got wrong on Sunday Night Baseball, the game’s biggest stage during the regular season. 

Umpires are human beings, and cannot be expected to be perfect. But the standard seems to have slipped dramatically this year.

2. Historically-low batting averages

MLB hitters were batting just .239 through June 30, the lowest mark since 1968 – better known as the “Year of the Pitcher.” Strikeouts are up once again to nearly nine full Ks per game, and it would set a major-league strikeout record for the 13th consecutive season at this rate.

Among the changes suggested in recent months is to move the mound back by one foot in an attempt to aid hitters. But it’s clear that MLB must act soon to make its product more palatable.

1. The mid-season “sticky substance” crackdown

The biggest black eye MLB has suffered this season was self-inflicted. Their misguided mid-season attempt to check pitchers for “sticky substances” has predictably turned into a circus, thanks in no small part to the demonstrative Max Scherzer and Sergio Romo.

Hitters have often said that they prefer pitchers have a better grip of the baseball so that they know where it’s going, putting those in the batter’s box in less danger. For whatever reason, the powers-that-be decided to ignore that advice and alienate the majority of the players on the field.

It remains to be seen if anyone – including Hector Santiago – will be suspended under these newly-enforced rules.