It is too easy to use the national pastime as some sort of microcosm of society to prove a point in some larger morality play.

And yet . . .

As Major League Baseball enters the second half of its season, there are just as many cautionary tales of arrivals as career revivals. Of renaissance and returns to normalcy. Of underdogs scratching and clawing their way to the top and the well-heeled re-assuming their mantles of supremacy.

In other words, baseball is again mirroring the real world, albeit in a back-to-the-future kind of way.

Not only will $200 million buy you a World Series, it can get you the best record in baseball the next (half)season while putting you on pace for 104 victories.

And yet, a team with less than a fifth of that payroll entered last weekend with the best record in the National League.

Individually, a potential Hall of Famer on his seeming last legs last season rediscovered his game-changing swing and is en route to joining Don Baylor in 1979 as the only designated hitter to win an MVP. Meanwhile, a National League Cy Young Award candidate is threatening to become the first pitcher to win 30 games since 1968, the last “Year of the Pitcher.”

What’s that about the more things change the more they stay the same? My midseason baseball awards, then, with appropriate statistics (All stats entering Thursday’s games):e_SClBAmerican League

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers DH

Key stats: .319 average, 20 HRs, 75 RBIs.

Two to consider: New York Yankees 2B Robinson Cano (.351 road average), Detroit Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera (77 RBI).

Spring training pick: Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira.

The skinny: You could say Guerrero’s teammate Josh Hamilton is having a better statistical season, plus, he plays the field. But while Hamilton has been a constant in the Metroplex, it is Guerrero’s arrival and personal revival that have sparked the Rangers to the top of the A.L. West. Call it a similar intangible but Guerrero did the same thing in Anaheim in 2004, leading the Angels to a division crown after arriving as a free agent from Montreal. Oh yes, he was the league MVP that season. And while Cano is having a breakout season for the defending champs, he has too much help with a $205-million payroll. Cabrera, meanwhile, has matured and is a threat to win the A.L.’s first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Cy Young Award: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays LHP

Key stats: 12-4, 2.42 ERA.

Two to consider: Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester (2.78 ERA), Los Angeles Angels right-hander Jered Weaver (137 Ks).

Spring training pick: Seattle Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez.

The skinny: It really is a toss-up but the left-handed Price, leading the league in victories in his first full season, gets the nod for now. Mostly because he is 6-0 against his own division to keep the Rays in the wild card lead. Opponents were batting a league-low .203 against Lester and Weaver entered the break leading the majors in strikeouts.

Best rookie: Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers LF

Key stats: .345, 12 HRs, 49 RBI.

Two to consider: Tigers CF Austin Jackson (14 stolen bases), Cleveland Indians RHP Mitch Talbot (8-8).

Spring training pick: Baltimore Orioles LHP Brian Matusz.

The skinny: The AL Central has become a haven for rookies, especially in Detroit’s outfield. Boesch, who played college ball at Cal, is leading league rookies in the triple-crown categories while Jackson is a Tigers catalyst. The youngsters have not only rejuvenated Detroit’s old-school manager, Jim Leyland, but have jump-started the Tigers after last season’s epic fold.

Best manager: Ron Washington, Texas Rangers

Two to consider: White Sox’s Ozzie Guillen, Detroit Tigers’ Jim Leyland.

Spring training pick: Minnesota Twins’ Ron Gardenhire.

The skinny: The spring training revelation that Washington failed a drug test the previous July for cocaine seemed a death knell to his career. He had offered to resign at the time but Rangers President Nolan Ryan stuck by him and the team has rallied around him, both on and off the field. Ryan has provided a more well-rounded roster than previous seasons and Washington’s touch has them surprisingly leading the AL West.e_SClBNational League

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds 1B

Key stats: .315 average, 22 HRs, 60 RBI.

Two to consider: San Diego Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez (.538 slugging), Atlanta Braves 2B Martin Prado (.332).

Spring training pick: Colorado Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki.

The skinny: His manager said he was “a bad dude” in a league full of “bad dudes” at his position. No wonder Votto was lost in the shuffle and was the biggest snub for the All-Star Game before sanity prevailed thanks to the final fan vote. No player has meant more to his team’s success in the league than the left-handed hitting Votto, who led the N.L. in OPS (1.014) and on-base percentage (.421), was tied for first in homers and slugging percentage (.593), third in runs scored (59) and was fourth in total bases (179) and walks (53). Votto has also played a Gold Glove-level first base with a .997 fielding percentage. Guys that do it for playoff-caliber teams earn extra credit since they are, inevitably, more valuable.

Cy Young A ward: Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies RHP

Key stats: 15-1, 2.20 ERA.

Two to consider: Florida Marlins RHP Josh Johnson (1.70 ERA), Philadelphia Phillies RHP Roy Halladay (1.05 WHIP).

Spring training pick: Giants RHP Matt Cain.

The skinny: This used to be the playground of two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. But Jimenez is the owner of some of the filthiest “stuff” this side of Doc Gooden, and has already won as many games this season as he did in all of 2009, despite a rough patch in which he gave up 17 earned runs over three starts. He also has a no-hitter already this season.

Best rookie : Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves RF

Key stats: .251, 11 HRs, 45 RBI.

Two to consider: Washington Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (1.01 WHIP), Giants C/1B Buster Posey (.350).

Spring training pick: Heyward

The skinny: Heyward made an immediate impact, homering in his first big-league at-bat, but he has an injured left thumb that has slowed him. Strasburg has made only seven starts since being promoted in early June but is the real deal. So is Posey, who is leading NL rookies in batting.

Best manager: Bud Black, San Diego Padres

Two to consider: Cincinnati Reds’ Dusty Baker, Atlanta Braves’ Bobby Cox.

Spring training pick: Baker.

The skinny: The no-name Padres were supposed to be one of the worst teams in baseball and thus, full-fledged sellers by now. Instead, Black had guided the team with the second-lowest payroll in baseball ($40 million) to the best record in the league for most of the season. Will they fall back to the pack? Probably. But with a pitching guru in Black at the helm, pitching will remain the Padres’ strength.