Midseason awards feature Ohtani and Acuna

Is it me, or did the All-Star break get here quicker this year?

Technically, that’s true. The Midsummer Classic is taking place a full week earlier than a year ago, returning to Seattle for the first time since Safeco (now T-Mobile) Field opened in 2001.

But I’m referring more to the speedy nature of the games themselves, thanks to the introduction of the pitch clock, which has reduced the average time of a nine-inning game to 2 hours, 38 minutes, down from 3:03 last season. Frankly, the new rule has been the biggest All-Star of the first half, launching to rave reviews among players, managers and fans.

That’s not the only new rule, however, that will have Rob Manfred smiling in Seattle. The clock restrictions on pitchers, along with the slightly bigger bases, have boosted the running game, with teams averaging 0.72 stolen bases a game, a sizable jump from 0.51 in 2022.

Throw in the shift ban, and the commissioner is getting the offensive spark he so desperately craves, with the first half’s .249 batting average reversing the three-year downward trend that bottomed out at .243 a year ago. The .731 OPS is the highest since it was .740 at the end of the pandemic-shortened (60 game) season. But the one nagging problem that still sticks to Manfred, like a wad of Bazooka on his loafers, is strikeouts — they’re up to 8.59 per team, per game, as compared to 8.40 in 2022.

But enough about the rules. There were plenty of interesting story lines brewing in the first half, and at the top of that list is Shohei Ohtani being on pace to set a new AL home run record, only a year after Aaron Judge’s historic march to 62 took down Roger Maris. The $377 million Mets were making a furious push during the final week to distance themselves from the hugely disappointing Padres and Cardinals. But on the flip side, the resurgent Reds — powered by the electric Elly De La Cruz — along with the unanticipated rise of the Rangers and Diamondbacks, are threatening…