Jeff Passan's unexpected MLB midseason awards: Bes...

Jeff Passan's unexpected MLB midseason awards: Best robbery, best doink and much moreKansas City Royals48mJeff PassanRotation depth? Clutch hitting? Biggest strengths for top MLB playoff contendersLos Angeles Dodgers1dDavid SchoenfieldManfred: Giants' Pride cap guidance was 'not clear'San Francisco Giants10hBrewers' Woodruff gets 900th K in return from ILMilwaukee Brewers7hDodgers' Tucker day-to-day with low back spasmsLos Angeles Dodgers11hBack from IL, Teel goes 0-for-4 in White Sox winChicago White Sox18hReds expect De La Cruz to return from IL TuesdayCincinnati Reds14hMets' Lindor to play at least 1 more rehab gameNew York Mets13hOlney: The 12 MLB execs under the most pressure at the trade deadlineAtlanta Braves7dBuster OlneyBagpipes and baseball: Why was Scotland's Tartan Army cheering for the Miami Marlins?

Miami Marlins10hAnthony GharibWhat to know about MLB's draft proposal: No more high school players? $150M cut from bonuses?4dKiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan2026 MLB mock draft: Who every team SHOULD take with its first pickArizona Diamondbacks5dKiley McDanielRanking the top 100 MLB trade deadline candidates -- and finding their potential landing spotsArizona Diamondbacks6dKiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan'We're going to have to be open-minded': Is an MLB trade deadline overhaul ahead for struggling Giants?

San Francisco Giants4dJesse RogersBaseball under the lights ... sort of: Alaska's unique Midnight Sun Game4dAnthony GharibFantasy baseball: First-half relief pitcher MVPs, busts and waiver wire steals42mEric KarabellFantasy baseball free agent pickups: AL Central rookies headline the waiver wire20hTristan H. CockcroftJonathan Hui-Imagn ImagesJeff PassanJun 23, 2026, 07:00 AM ETMultiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsAs the halfway point of the 2026 Major League Baseball season approaches this week, there will be plenty said about the traditional awards.

Those are easy: Shohei Ohtani for National League MVP, Jacob Misiorowski for NL Cy Young, JJ Wetherholt for NL Rookie of the Year, Yordan Alvarez for American League MVP, Cam Schlittler for AL Cy Young and Kevin McGonigle for AL Rookie of the Year.This is a different set of awards. One that seeks out the best ...

with a twist. Baseball is not just about players' numbers. It's the stories behind them.

This is a celebration of those stories -- though the numbers in the first one are quite telling, too.Players Are People, Too AwardDuring spring training, the Kansas City Royals posted a fun video with a supercut of players answering a simple question: How many alarms do you set each day? Most of the players said one or two -- Bobby Witt Jr.

doesn't use one because his dog awakens him, and Nick Loftin said, "Just one, discipline," in a judgmental tone -- but the Royals saved the best answer for last."This is embarrassing," rookie catcher Carter Jensen said. "But I need at least six to eight alarms.

It's not good."Already an objectively funny capper on the video, Jensen's alarm habits took on particular relevance April 2. Not only did Jensen oversleep, but he overslept on the day of an afternoon game when he was supposed to catch and offer a day of respite for 36-year-old catcher Salvador Perez.

On behalf of everyone who has awoken in a panic, overwhelmed by the crippling feeling of blowing through multiple alarms -- maybe not six to eight, but anything more than three is an impressive feat -- we salute Carter Jensen for setting a new standard of excellence.50 Cent Memorial CupEvery year, there are around 2,500 first pitches thrown at major league games -- 2,500 opportunities for people to join a fraternity of ignominy. There are bad first pitches, and then there are bad first pitches.

By now, you know the names.Carl Lewis. Gary Dell'Abate (Baba Booey).

Carly Rae Jepsen. John Wall. Cincinnati mayor Mark Mallory.

Dr. Anthony Fauci. Victor Wembanyama.

Conor McGregor. And, of course, to round out our starting nine, the patron saint of the bunch, rapper 50 Cent, whose left-handed fling at a New York Mets game in 2014 wound up closer to the first-base dugout than home plate.One would not have expected Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis to join the list.

Unlike the other professional athletes on the list, Willis, you know, uses his arm. And at the beginning, it looked fine: leg lift, internally rotated front hip, front foot toward the target. Willis then made a classic mistake: He tried to throw the ball too hard.

The arm was late. The torso flew open too early. And Willis unleashed a bullet a good 10 feet over the head of Marlins infielder Graham Pauley.

The ball ricocheted off the backstop. Willis later posted in the Instagram comments of the Marlins' post on the pitch: "I slipped."No, you didn't, Malik.

You found greatness.Lufthansa AwardNobody had robbed three home runs in an MLB game before Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell engaged in the biggest heist since $5 million cash was stolen from the German airline at JFK airport in December 1978. It