The Halfway Mark

On this episode, Danny goes over the MLB standings, lists the MLB All-Star rosters, Aroldis Chapman setting an MLB record and the Charleston Riverdogs clinching yet another playoff spot in the Carolina League.

Intro/Outro music-"Sound of Speed" by @infrared_krypto

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:26

What is good, good people? You are now listening to another episode of At the Play with Danny Foxworth. I am your humble narrator, Danny Foxworth, and it has been far too long since I've recorded an episode. But MLB season is reaching the all-star break. That's going to take place next week, and we're going to go over the all-star selections. But first and foremost, I want to go over the MLB standings. Tampa Bay Rays have a commanding 52 and 35 record. They have a four-game lead over the Yankees, who are in a bit of a slump right now. They're one and nine in their last 10 games. Then in the middle of the pack in the AL East is the Blue Jays with a record of 42 and 48. The Orioles, hard times down at Birdland. They got a record of 42 and 49. They're 12 games out of first. And bringing up the rear, the Red Sox with a record of 40 and 48, 12 and a half games, albeit they're 8-2 in their last 10 games. And moving on to the AL Central, who would have thought that the White Sox would be leading the division? Well, joke's on me, because they've been bottom feeders for the last few years in AL Central, but not no more. They are leading the AL Central with a record of 47-42. The Guardians are right on their heels with game back with a record of 47 and 44. The Twins in the middle of the pack with a record of 44 and 47. The Tigers are 10 games below 500, 40 and 50. They're seven and a half games out of first. And Kansas City Royals, they are sitting in dead last with a record of 36 and 54. 11.5 games out of first. Then moving on to the AL West. Mariners in top of the division with a record of 47 and 44. My beloved Texas Rangers, they've been so-so pretty much all year. They're sitting in second place with a record of 45 and 45, right at 500. They're a game and a half out of first place. The Astros behind them with a record of 45 and 47. The A's, 5.5 out, 41 and 49. And of course, the Angels, dead last, 36 and 55, and they're 11 games out of the division. The Rangers had the best record in the American League in the month of June, so kudos to them. But still a whole half of a season to play, so we'll see how that goes. Then moving on to the National League, the Atlanta Braves are atop the NL East with a record of 52 and 36. They are three games ahead of the Phillies. I'll tell you what, Tom Mattingley took over as manager, and they've really been clicking on all cylinders, and they're three games out with a record of 50 and 40. The Marlins, and shout out to Amp from Random Max Podcast. I gotta get him on here to talk about the Marlins. They're actually above 500 with a record of 49 and 42. They are four and a half games out. Then the Nats are one game over 500. They're a record of 46 and 45. And good God. Them poor New York Mets, man. I tell you. God bless. They're bringing up the rear in the NL East with a record of 37 and 53, 16 games out of first place. Then moving on to the NL Central, the brew crew. I tell you, Mizarowski, that man is musty TB. I still can't believe he pulled a Maddox, throwing the complete game with 15 strikeouts, one hit, no walks on 95 pitches. It just that is absolutely absurd. The Cubs are in second place. They're six and a half games behind the Brewers with a record of 50 and 40. Then Cardinals in the middle of the NL Central 47-40 record. They're seven and a half games out. The Pirates, look at the Pirates with a winning record. Who'd have thunk it? They are second to last with a record of 46 and 45. They're 10.5 out of first. And then the Reds are dead last in the NL Central with a record of 41 and 48. 14.5 games out of first place. Then moving on to the NL West. I mean, what's there to say? It's the Dodgers world and everybody else is living in it. 59 and 32 got an extremely comfortable 14-game lead over the second place team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are 44 and 45. And the Padres, who are also 44 and 45. The San Francisco Giants have a 37-52 record. They're 21 games out of first place. And then, of course, the dreaded Colorado Rockies. 37 and 54. 22 games out of first place. So yeah, there's been some surprises this season. Namely the White Sox, because just a few years ago, they've set the MLB record, or if not flirted with the MLB record for most losses in a single season. And now they've really turned the corner. So kudos to them because, again, I did not see that coming. And being that we're at the midway point of the season, I'm going to talk about the recently announced MLB All-Star selection. So we're going to move, we're going to start with the American League first. So your elected starters are Shaylangaliers as their catcher, his first All-Star selection with the A's. Vladimir Guerrero was named a starter at first base, even though he turned down the invitation to play in the All-Star game. And Nick Kurtz is going to be his replacement from the A's. He's going to replace Vlad Guerrero at first base. Second base, got Ernie Clement with his first all-star selection. Third base, former Charleston River Dogs, one of my favorite players in the league, Junior Camanero. His second all-star appearance, he's going to be man in the hot corner. And then, of course, at shortstop, who else but Bobby Witt Jr.? His third all-star selection for the Royals. Then Mike Trout, 12th All-Star selection, man. It just sucks that he plays for the Angels because, yeah, that's a whole nother story for another day. I might delve into that topic on another episode, but he got his 12th All-Star selection and Byron Buxton for the Twins, who's been lights out this year. He nabbed his third all-star selection in outfield. And then, of course, All Rise, another former Charleston River Dog. Aaron Judge getting his eighth All-Star appearance. And then DH, your starting D.H. will be Jordan Alvarez, who is just an absolute beast. Granted, it's always F the Astros till the sun gets cold, but you can't deny his greatness. And then moving on to the National League starters. Last year's Rookie of the Year, Braves catcher Drake Baldwin making his first all-star appearance. As a starter, first baseman, you got Freddie Freeman making his 10th all-star appearance. Second base, Ozzie Albys, his fourth all-star selection. Then third base, you got Max Muncie from the Dodgers. Shortstop, you got CJ Abrams from the Nationals. You got Brandon Marsh from the Phillies getting his first all-star selection. Then Juan Soto from the Mets with his fifth selection. And Andy Paez from the Dodgers. Shout out to him nabbing his first all-star selection. And then you got the robot, Shohei Otani, starting to DH for the National League, his sixth all-star appearance. Then for the American League, your pitchers are Brian Baker, Dylan Sees, a Roldest Chapman, which shout out to a Roldest Chapman. He just became the all-time leader in career strikeouts for closers. He just threw his 1,600th and 634th career strikeout. So kudos to him for that big accomplishment. And you got Rangers closer, Jacob Latz, the only representative all-star representative for my beloved Texas Rangers. He gets his first all-star nod. Then you got Parker Mesick, Drew Rasmussen, Joe Ryan, Cam Schlitter. Another pitcher that's just must see TV for the Yankees. He's got his first all-star selection, then Kate Smith for the Guardians, Ranger Suarez for the Red Sox, Lewis Varland from the Blue Jays, and Michael Walker from the Royals. That's your pitching staff for the American League. And the National League. Got Chase Burns getting his first All-Star selection. And shout out to a friend of the pod, Jay Braze. I had him on an old episode, and his first time on the podcast, he told me is uh got him look out for. And sure enough, my man Braze knows what he's talking about. So shout out to Chase Burns for getting his first all-star selection. Then Joan Duran for the Phillies. Uh Rezo LaGlesius for the Braves, Max Meyer for the Marlins, Mason Miller, absolute dog of a closer, getting his second all-star nod for the uh Padres. Then the aforementioned Jacob Mizaroski getting his second all-star appearance, and Eduardo Rodriguez from the D-Backs. Chris Sale with his 10th all-star selection. Christopher Sanchez from the Phillies, Paul Skeens for the Pirates, Logan Webb for the Giants, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting his second all-star appearance to round out the National League pitching rotation. And then for your American League reserves, you have Dylan Dingler for the Tigers and Allie Rutschman from the Birds. National League Catchers Reserves, you got Will Contreras and Hunter Goodman. American League infielders, you got Travis Bazana, Nick Kurtz, Kevin McGonagall, Ben Rice, and Miguel Vargas. And for the National League, you got Luisa Rice, Bryce Harper, Otto Lopez, Matt Olson, and Sal Stewart for the Reds. Then for your outfielder reserves in the American League, you have Randy Arrozarina, you got Cody Bellinger and Riley Green. And for the National League, you got one of my favorite players in the league, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow Armstrong, Jordan Walker, and James Wood, rounding out your your outfielder reserves. And this game is going to take place on July 14th in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. And I cannot, I for one, cannot wait to sit down and have me a cold drink and watch some baseballs. And then also I got to give a big shout out to my home team, the Charleston River Dogs, for clinching the first half title in the Carolina League, which automatically clinches a playoff spot. And that's going to do it for this episode of At the Plate. Feels good back in the saddle again. So I promise I won't wait so long in between episodes. That's on me. Blame my head, not my heart. But anyway, make sure you like, download, or subscribe to At the Plate. You can find it on all DSPs. Tell a friend to tell a friend about the podcast. Subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can find me at Danny Foxworth843. There you can find videos of every episode of this podcast, as well as my other podcasts since we last spoke with Danny Foxworth, my candle podcast, The Wicked Good Time with Danny Foxworth, and Grown Up Low Country with Liz and Danny, which, by the way, if you're in the Charleston area, Liz and I are going to do a live recording of Growing Up Low Country on Friday, July 24th at 7 p.m. at the Charleston Mattress. That's at 1078C East Montague Avenue in North Charleston, South Carolina. It's in Park Circle. It's right next to Azul, the Mexican restaurant. Mission is absolutely free, and we're going to have ourselves a good old time. So with that being said, this has been another episode of At the Plate. And until next time, y'all be good. Three strikes.