From teams finding success out of nowhere to championship winners performing well below expectations, the MLB’s first two weeks have been filled with a series of unexpected storylines. Long standing records have been broken and former MVP’s are off to astounding starts. Here is everything you need to know about the beginning of the 2019 MLB season.

Shockingly, the 2018 World Series champions Boston Red Sox, posting a 9-13 record thus far, are off to one of the worst starts a champion has ever had after winning it all the season prior. To make their failures even worse, their plethora of early losses were to the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics, two teams that are widely considered to be middle of the road teams. Although it is common for teams that won the championship the year before to start off slowly, this start goes beyond the norm and nobody was expecting it. Thankfully for Red Sox fans, the team has three of the best players in the league, including the 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner, Chris Sale, and 2018 AL MVP, Mookie Betts. Suffice it to say, despite their lethargic start, nobody doubts that the Red Sox will find their stride and become the team they were expected to be.

In complete contrast, the Philadelphia Phillies are off to an solid start with a 12-10 record, at the top of their division and are one of the highest scoring teams in the league. It should not be a surprise that the Phillies have improved due to their aggressive off-season, acquiring several star players, most notably Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura. These players were all 2018 All-Stars with other teams and the new additions are living up to the hype that they brought with them to Philadelphia. Although people thought the team would be better than years past, very few thought the Phillies would be as dominant as they have been in the first two weeks of the 2019 season. In the 2018 season, the Phillies finished with an under .500 record – meaning they lost more than they won – which makes this exceptional start even more unexpected and special.

The theatrics of this season began immediately on Opening Day with the Los Angeles Dodgers belting an Opening Day record EIGHT home runs. This impressive display of hitting, along with the wondrous feeling of Opening Day, left the world of baseball excited for what’s to come. Extraordinary baseball coach, Ryan Smith, who has worked with the Chicago Cubs organization and many professional players, said “It’s an almost exhilarating feeling being around people that are as enthusiastic about the sport as I am. There is just no feeling like Opening Day”.

Finally, it wouldn’t be an opening week of baseball without some impressive starts from All-Stars around the league. Two shining examples of stars off to great starts are Christian Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, and Mike Trout, the widely acknowledged best baseball player in the world. Yelich, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, has lead his team to a 13-11 start, with a monstrous .337 batting average and 13 home runs. This start puts Yelich and the Brewers in a great position going into April and beyond. Likewise, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, who just signed the largest deal in the history of North American sports for a record breaking $430 million, is also off to a sizzling start with an impressive .328 average and 6 home runs, including home runs in four consecutive games. These two outstanding players are off to career best starts and baseball fans are anxious to see what they do next.