It’s a surprise party!

The first half of the baseball season has been anything but predictable. So here’s a few things that have surprised me this year, and my thoughts on whether or not they’ll continue.

After 77 games, the Tigers find themselves three games under .500, and five games back of the White Sox. Almost every single person who works for the media expected the Tigers to run away with their division. Well, that’s still not the case. Will the Tigers be able to turn it around in time to make the playoffs? Yes, I believe they’ll win the division, but it’ll be a lot closer than everyone expected.

R.A. Dickey is leading Major League Baseball with 12 wins, and even though he’s the feel good story, nobody expecting the New York Mets knuckleballer to be this dominant in 2012. Dickey recorded his 12th win of the year yesterday, and aside from one bad start against the Yankees, he’s been nearly unhittable. I think he’s pitched enough this year to prove it’s not a fluke. He should be in talks for the NL Cy Young Award, and he absolutely deserves it.

The Baltimore Orioles are in second place in the AL East, the toughest division in all of baseball. Equally impressive is the fact that no team in the AL East is currently below .500, making the Orioles looking more like contenders than pretenders. The thing that scares me most, is the fact that the Orioles have allowed 16 more runs than they have scored, whereas the third place Boston Red Sox have scored 56 more runs than they have allowed. Unfortunately, I think the Orioles will be lucky to find themselves playing for anything besides the final Wild Card spot this year.

Mike Trout was expected to be a star player for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but I don’t think anyone expected him to come out as strong as he has. Trout is hitting an astonishing .342 while stealing 22 bases. If he continues to put up numbers like that, he’ll not only find himself with the AL Rookie of the Year Award, but possibly the Most Valuable Player, too. At this point, it’s hard to root against the guy, although I imagine his batting average will drop at least 20-30 points before is all said and done. Oh yeah, he can play defense, too.