The best first-half MLB performances of all-time

Cobb is one of the greatest players in baseball history, but he won only one MVP. That happened in 1911 after winning the Triple Crown and leading the league in stolen bases. He got off to an amazing start for the Tigers, hitting .446-5-34 with 41 steals and a 1.168 OPS in the first half. His batting average is still the highest ever in the first half.

Arguably the greatest pitcher ever, Johnson had plenty of jaw-dropping seasons. One of them came in 1912 when he went 33-12 with a league-best 1.39 ERA in 369 innings. During the first half, he won 17 games in 25 appearances with 19 complete games and 45 runs allowed in 199 innings.

The first half of Cobb's 1915 season didn't quite stack up to his 1911 first half, but it wasn't far behind. He hit .405-2-48 with 56 steals and 74/19 BB/K, giving him a 1.085 OPS. He finished the year leading the league in steals, batting average, on-base percentage, run, hits, total bases and OPS.

Ruth was just transitioning to hitting full time and had a breakout offensive season in 1920, surpassing 50 home runs for the first time. His first half was monstrous, hitting .383-28-77 with a 1.350 OPS in 323 plate appearances. Of course, he was even better after the break with a 1.420 OPS.

The Babe had a great first half in 1920, but he topped it the following season. Ruth hit .371-32-82 with a 1.361 OPS en route to a .378-59-168 season.

A two-time .400 hitter, Sisler accomplished the feat for the second time in 1922. He had an amazing first half for the St. Louis Browns, hitting .426-7-62 with 33 steals and 32/6 BB/K in 81 games. Sisler hit .420 for the season, the highest batting average of his career.

Hornsby won his first of two MVP Awards in 1925 and his only one with the Cardinals. He claimed the Triple Crown after hitting .403-39-143. During the first half, Hornsby hit .425-22-75 with a 1.317 OPS in only 71 games.

Gehrig won his first of two MVP Awards in in 1927 after leading the league in total bases (447) and RBI (173). He had a mammoth first half, hitting .397-29-102 in only 82 games with a 1.313 OPS. The RBI total still stands as the most ever before the All-Star break.

Foxx started a streak of nine straight All-Star appearances in 1933 and went on to win his second MVP Award in a row in that season. He hit for the Triple Crown (.356-48-163) and set the stage in the first half, hitting .365-24-69 for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Back in baseball after three years fighting in World War II, Williams didn't waste any time in 1946. The Red Sox legend hit .347-23-72 with 92/22 BB/K in 367 plate appearances before the break and went on to win the MVP with a league-best 1.164 OPS.

Newhouser won the league MVP in 1945, and he picked up right where he left off the following season. The Tigers legend went 13-5 with a 1.86 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 14 complete games in 18 outings over 150 innings in the first half. He went on to win his second straight ERA title.

Mantle won his second straight MVP Award in 1957 and had an epic first half in his age 25 season. He broke out of the gates hitting .369-22-57 with 91/41 BB/K in the first half, resulting in a 1.240 OPS over 345 plate appearances.

Gibson's historic 1968 season in which he finished with a record-breaking 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts started well. During the first half, Gibson went 11-5 with a 1.06 ERA, 14 complete games and six shutouts in 18 starts.

Blue had a breakout season at age 21 in 1971 with the Oakland A's en route to winning the Cy Young and MVP Awards. The lefty went 17-3 with a 1.42 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 17 complete games in 22 starts before the All-Star break. He was unable to keep up that amazing pace during the second half but still finished with 24 wins and claimed the ERA title with a 1.82 ERA.

Wood won 18 games in the first half of 1973, the most in the modern era during the first half. Of course, the White Sox lefty also lost 14 games in the first half but had a 2.98 ERA in 247.2 innings entering the All-Star break in late July. Wood's arm was still intact at the end of the season after making 49 appearances and leading the league in innings pitched for the second straight year, finishing with 359.1 innings.

Records are made to be broken, but Henderson's modern-era stolen base record might stand forever. He had 84 steals at the break in 1982 and finished with 130 steals. His first-half steal total was 24 more than Lou Brock's 60 first-half steals in 1974, and Henderson also had a .422 on-base percentage with 78 runs scored in the first half.

Oh, what might have been. Thomas started the 1994 season on fire after winning the MVP Award in 1993, hitting .383-32-78 with 84/42 BB/K and a 1.311 OPS in 96 games. Unfortunately the season ended on Aug. 12 with the MLB strike, but the Big Hurt still won his second straight AL MVP Award. Despite playing only 113 games for the year, Thomas hit .353-38-101.

The 1995 season marked Maddux's fourth straight NL Cy Young Award, and there wasn't much doubt by the halfway point of the season that he would get it. The Braves ace went into the break 8-1 with a 1.64 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 86/8 K/BB in 104.1 innings.

Big Mac became the single-season home run king in 1998 with the Cardinals by launching 70 home runs, and he set quite a first-half pace. He tied Reggie Jackson's record of 37 first-half home runs, hitting .310-37-87 with 88 walks and a 1.252 OPS.

Martinez was the best pitcher in the American League during his prime with the Red Sox and won his second Cy Young Award in three years in 1999. He entered the break 15-3 with a 2.10 ERA and 184/24 K/BB in 132.2 innings.

While Martinez's first half was great in 1999, it was arguably better the following season. He went 9-3 with a 1.44 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 140/20 K/BB in 106 innings for the Red Sox, eventually winning his third Cy Young Award in four seasons.

Mark McGwire's home run record stood for only three seasons before Bonds exploded for 73 home runs in 2001. He also broke the first-half home run record with 39 long balls, hitting .305-39-73 with a 1.314 OPS at the time.

Gagne transitioned from starting to relief for the Dodgers in 2002 and took the league by storm. He had 32 saves, a 1.39 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 62/6 K/BB in 45.1 innings at the break to make his first All-Star Game. Gagne finished the year fourth in the NL Cy Young voting but was even better in 2003 with 55 saves, a 1.20 ERA and 15 K/9 to win the award.

Bonds won his second consecutive NL MVP Award in 2002, leading the league in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.582), walks (198) and slugging percentage (.799). At the All-Star break, Bonds was hitting a cool .345-27-57 with 109/28 BB/K and 1.342 OPS and managed to hit .404 after the break.

A terrific starter and reliever for the Braves, Smoltz had a fantastic year in 2003. He started the season by setting the prebreak saves record with 34 (later broken by Francisco Rodriguez in 2008) and also had a 0.95 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 54/7 K/BB in 47.1 innings. His season concluded with a 1.12 ERA and 45 saves in 62 appearances.

Bonds won his fourth straight NL MVP Award in 2004 and set the first-half record with an unbelievable 1.421 OPS. For the first half, he hit .365-23-48 with 71 runs scored and 131/19 BB/K in 325 plate appearances. He finished the year setting new all-time records in OPS (1.422) and walks (232), breaking his own marks set in 2002.

Haren had a first half to remember with the Diamondbacks in 2009. The right-hander went into the break at 9-5 with a 2.01 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 129/16 K/BB in 130 innings. While his ERA inflated to 3.14 by the end of the season, Haren still led the NL with a 1.00 WHIP.

Kershaw had arguably his best season in 2014, winning his third Cy Young in four years and also the NL MVP Award. He entered the All-Star break 11-2 with a 1.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 126/13 K/BB in 96.1 innings over 14 starts.

Kershaw's 2016 season was cut short due to injury, but he had a historic first half. The lefty entered the break 11-2 with a 1.79 and 0.73 WHIP, the best in history prior to the break. That WHIP came as a result of his amazing 145/9 K/BB in 121 innings.

Scherzer had a tremendous first half in 2018. The three-time Cy Young winner's 13 K/9 is the fourth best in MLB history before the break. He improved his outstanding first-half 10-5 record, finishing the season with a 2.53 ERA, an 0.91 WHIP and an 18-7 record. To compare, this year he is 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA at the break and is once again a member of the NL All-Star team.