This article was originally published as part of Verducci’s View, a new weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom empties out his notebook over email and covers MLB’s hottest topics, provides in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, looks forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more. If you want to be featured in his new mailbag, please email [email protected] with any questions about MLB or his decades in the sport.
The All-Star break is a good time to take stock of what we’ve seen this year and anticipate wild pennant races, even if the standings might not change all that much. Of the 12 teams in playoff position last year at the All-Star break, 10 of them held on to play in October. The only changes: the Astros and Mets fell out, allowing the Guardians and Reds to sneak in.
