Four Fun Current MLB Storylines: Fans Return, Pitchers Dominate, Red Sox Return To First

As the 2021 season in Major League Baseball continues to move along, there have been plenty of great storylines and great early season performances.

Friday Cincinnati Reds pitcher Wade Miley threw already what was the 4th no-hitter in all of baseball when he shut down the Indians in Cleveland.

That, by the way, was the second time already Cleveland’s been no-hit. Oh yeah, and they are only 0.5 games back of Chicago in the AL Central.

Any given day though anything in baseball can happen. Last season playing just 60 games robbed fans of given teams over 100 games, but it seems like this year fans have been slowly returning to the stands and embracing the game once again.

Today we take a look at a couple of the early breakout performances around Major League Baseball, and how players, teams and more and trying to get their teams to the next level in the game they love.

The No-Hit Crew

So far just a short time into the 2021 season there’s been FOUR no hitters, which is kind of unheard of this early in the season.

Friday Wade Miley was the 4th to record the historic feat, becoming the SECOND pitcher in MLB to no-hit the Cleveland Indians in 2021.

Miley’s night was impressive: 9 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts and 114 pitches.

The 2021 no-hit parade began on April 9th as Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres was close to perfect but still recorded a no-no.

Carlos Rondon threw a no-no in Chicago against the Indians for the White Sox.

John Means of the Baltimore Orioles was the last to reach the feat prior to Miley on Friday night. Means might be starting a march to a magical season, as already he’s 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in seven starts.

It’ll be curious to see how many no-no’s total we have in 2021.

Welcome Back

Sure it’s not like 40-60,000 fans losing their mind late in games in the stands, but it’s been fun to FINALLY see fans enjoy the game once again after there wasn’t anything to really cheer about until the playoffs.
Right now the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to fans is that of the Texas Rangers, who are averaging 16,730 fans a night.

Of course one thing to keep in mind is the Rangers have a NEW stadium that fans didn’t get a chance to be at in 2020, so a lot of them are cramming their way to the stadium now.

Second on the list for fans are the Astros, who average 13,026. Third is Atlanta, who are averaging 12,070.

With weather getting better and kids out of school, there should be an uptick in fans for 2021.

The Red Sox Were In No Mood To Go Away

Entering play on Saturday the Red Sox were the best team record-wise in the AL East with a mark of 20-13, 10-9 at home and 10-4 on the road.

A lot of so-called ‘experts’ said that the Red Sox were not going to have enough to compete in 2021, and it would be a season of growing pains.

Instead J.D. Martinez leads the AL in homers, this after hitting just .213 last year. Martinez wasn’t thrilled with those comments from the media, as he’s coming out with a vengeance in the 2021 season, hitting .342 with 10 homers and 31 RBI.

We will see if the Rays, Yankees and even Orioles are ready to turn it back on and compete in the division.

There’s plenty of time for teams to find themselves, but the Red Sox have made an early statement they are here to compete.

When Will The Astros Get It?

There are some teams that are just built to be naturally disliked, and in 2021 in Major League Baseball that team is the Houston Astros.

It was just a few years ago that the Astros were the darlings of baseball, having fun, doing it with a good group of players, and winning nightly with dominance both at the plate and with who they put on the mound daily.

Now a cheating scandal involving a trash can, whistling signals, and flat out ‘boo’s’ by fans all over the United States have the Astros on edge it feels like.

Right now at 17-15 they are two back in the AL West and there’s plenty of chances for the Astros to get back on track.

With all the drama that this team has been through you have to give credit that this team is even in this position.

We will see if this team can keep responding how the fans have been vicious in their words against the Astros.