FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: July 18, 2026

I’ve been considering lots in regards to the baseball calendar in latest days, particularly how we use it to each mark the passage of time and look forward to the potential for what’s but to return. As followers, we slice up the season to make it simpler for us to debate noteworthy performances, consider tendencies, and justify our irrational religion that our staff simply may flip issues round. As analysts, we all know that we shouldn’t draw grand conclusions from these particular person slivers — the pattern sizes are simply too small — however we additionally acknowledge the advantages of utilizing these in any other case arbitrary segments to grasp the season because it unfolds.

I point out all of this as a result of this weekend is begin of the second half of the season. In fact, everyone knows that the All-Star break hasn’t been the season’s true midpoint for a while now, as Opening Day is scheduled earlier within the yr than it was whereas the All-Star Recreation continues to be performed on the second Tuesday of July. Even so, there are three causes that I proceed to search out worth in splitting up the season in mid-July. First, pausing the common season for just a few days supplies a pure demarcation level. Second, with playoff subject now expanded to 12 groups, the postseason lasts longer than ever earlier than. As a result of the staff that wins the World Sequence may play as much as 22 extra video games, the All-Star break finally ends up being a lot nearer to the midway level on the journey from Opening Day to the decisive recreation of the Fall Basic. Lastly, the three-week stretch after the All-Star Recreation is a frenetic rush to the commerce deadline that then rolls proper into the Canine Days of August and the strenuous dash of September. The video games after the All-Star break are rather more demanding than those earlier than it, thus making the few days of respite in July really feel like a extra consultant dividing line than Recreation 81 in late June.

Anyway, on this first mailbag of the second half, we’re answering your questions on what it will be like if MLB had a mortgage mechanism like skilled soccer, Kyle Karros’ breakout, the longest time a staff has spent inside a half-game of .500, and what Anthony Rendon’s profession may need been. However first, I’d wish to remind you that this mailbag is unique to FanGraphs Members. If you happen to aren’t but a Member and wish to preserve studying, you may join a Membership right here. It’s one of the simplest ways to each expertise the location and help our employees, and it comes with a bunch of different nice advantages. Additionally, if you happen to’d wish to ask a query for an upcoming mailbag, ship me an e mail at mailbag@fangraphs.com.