(W)inning is everything! ’16’s top half-frames

It lasted six months, and each of the 30 teams played 162 games with the hope of playing even more.

Still, when it’s all over and the holiday gifts are cluttering the house and we’re thinking of a New Year and the day pitchers and catchers report in February, it seems like the Major League Baseball season went by way too fast.

With that in mind, here’s a new way to remember some of the highlights. We’ve combed through the archives to come up with a “game” comprised of the most unforgettable individual half-innings of the year.

Let’s recall the best of 2016, frame by frame.

TOP OF THE FIRST  Astros at Royals, June 24: How’s this for a brilliant beginning? Houston scored nine runs right away off Edinson Volquez, with George Springer doing historic damage. The Astros right fielder led off the game with a triple and then came up to bat again in the frame and hit a grand slam. He became the first player in the modern era with a bases-loaded homer and three-base hit in the first inning.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRSTMets at Marlins, Sept. 26: Miami’s star pitcher, Jose Fernandez, had died tragically the day before in a boating accident at the age of 24, stunning the baseball world and his teammates. The Marlins had to take the field, however, and they made it an unforgettable night of emotion and honor. Every player wore Fernandez’s uniform number (16) to set a tone of remembrance. And the real became the surreal when the Marlins’ first batter, Dee Gordon, stepped into the box.

Gordon took a pitch right-handed in honor of Fernandez, then turned around to his regular left-handed side and blasted a home run to right field — his first long ball of the season. Gordon began tearing up as he rounded the bases and broke down in the dugout while surrounded by his grieving teammates.

“It was for [Fernandez], because he loved to hit as much as he loved to pitch,” Gordon said. “I thought that was just my way of showing him that, ‘I love you. I miss you. I’m always going to miss you.'”

TOP OF THE SECONDMets at Padres, May 7: “And Bartolo has done it! The impossible has happened! This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball!” Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen’s eruption of joy from the Petco Park booth said it all. The lovable 42-year-old Mets pitcher unloaded on a James Shields pitch and became the oldest player in Major League history to hit his first career homer. WATCH »

BOTTOM OF THE SECONDRays at Yankees, Aug. 13: The Yankees are excited about their future, and the Rays and the rest of baseball got a good glimpse of it in this game. Rookies Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge, both making their big league debuts, hit back-to-back homers in their first career at-bats, becoming the first teammates to go deep in their first Major League at-bats in the same game.

“I don’t think I could’ve asked for anything better,” Austin said. “I think that was pretty awesome.”

TOP OF THE THIRDGiants at A’s, June 30: How good is Madison Bumgarner … at hitting? Good enough to make baseball history. The Giants, playing in an American League stadium, took a stand against convention and for their wildly gifted starter by opting not to use the designated hitter. It’s the first time a team has made this decision since the White Sox allowed starter Ken Brett to hit for himself in 1976, and it’s a good decision. Bumgarner doubles in his first at-bat, sparking a six-run third. WATCH »

BOTTOM OF THE THIRDYankees at Rays, Sept. 21: The Rays got their power stroke going early and often, lighting up New York starter Masahiro Tanaka. Bobby Wilson, Evan Longoria, Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson all hit solo home runs in the frame, setting a franchise record for long balls in one inning. The last three were hit in succession in a game the Rays would go on to lose. WATCH …

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