Because you never know when you might need to sound smart about your favorite MLB team, it's good practice to always keep fun facts in your back pocket.

Here are some you can have for free.

Here, we run through all 30 teams in MLB and touch on one fun fact from their 2024 seasons so far. And the emphasis is on the word "fun." Anything that might make anyone sad about their favorite team is not allowed here.

As an appetizer, did you know the Boston Red Sox have only allowed two earned runs in the first inning all year? It's true, and that's a quarter as many as the next two teams on the list.

Intrigued? Good. Follow me this way, and we'll check off teams three at a time and in alphabetical order by city.

Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta, Baltimore Orioles

Arizona Diamondbacks: They Love Hitting in the 1st Inning

Record: 15-20, 3rd in NL West

Sure, the Philadelphia Phillies have the Diamondbacks beat in runs scored in the first inning. But Arizona's 1.048 OPS in the first frame is the best in MLB, and that's but one of many league-leading batting figures for that department.

The D-backs stand to make history if they can keep this up. The highest OPS a team has ever posted in the first inning across a full season is .988, set by a (notably pre-Albert Pujols) St. Louis Cardinals squad in 2000.

Atlanta: Marcell Ozuna Is on a Tear

Record: 20-12, 2nd in NL East

I thought about noting that Atlanta's defense is the last one that's still in the single digits for errors, but this seemed like a better opportunity to credit Ozuna for what he's done since the start of May 2023.

The 10 homers he's hit this season put him at a total of 48 for his last 158 games. Or exactly as many as he hit in 232 games across 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Baltimore Orioles: Their Offense Is Solar-Powered

Record: 23-11, 1st in AL East

Baltimore's offense is terrifying in general, but its strength is best observed when the sun is out. It has hit 31 home runs in day games, which is 10 more than any other team.

What's more, it's been a satisfyingly democratic effort. A total of 11 different Orioles have homered in a day game, with nine of them doing so at least twice.

Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox

Boston Red Sox: Fastballs? Who Needs 'Em?

Record: 19-16, 3rd in AL East

It boggles the mind how much the Red Sox's pitching has improved from 2023 to 2024. Whereas they had a 4.52 ERA last season, now they sit atop all of MLB with a 2.61 ERA.

The "how" here certainly contains multitudes, but one thing that hasn't played much of a role for Red Sox pitchers so far is the four-seam fastball. At 12.0 percent, their usage of that pitch is the lowest since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008.

Chicago Cubs: Shōta Imanaga's Start Is As Amazing As You Think

Record: 21-15, T-1st in NL Central

So, this Imanaga guy might be pretty good. He's made six starts and only allowed three earned runs over 34.2 innings. That's a 0.78 ERA.

Since earned runs became official, only Imanaga and three other pitchers have begun their careers with a sub-0.80 ERA and 30-plus innings through six starts.

The only other lefty on the list is Fernando Valenzuela, which is as good as company gets in this context.

Chicago White Sox: Michael Kopech Is Really Dialing It Up

Record: 8-27, 5th in AL Central

To say anything positive about the White Sox is not the easiest thing to do these days, but let's grant that Kopech's transition to bullpen work has done the trick of unlocking his fastball.

He's thrown 247 heaters in 2024, and 68 of them have topped 100 mph. Only Mason Miller (97 times) has touched triple digits more often.

Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies

Cincinnati Reds: Elly De La Cruz Is Trying to One-Up Ronald Acuña Jr.

Record: 16-18, T-3rd in NL Central

Pardon me for landing on a topic that's already out there, but it's hard not to look at De La Cruz's eight homers and 19 stolen bases and project outward. If he keeps racking 'em up at this pace, a 40-90 season will be within his reach.

If so, Acuña's 40-70 season from last year will be dethroned as the best power-speed season of all time. If De La Cruz's only gets the 90 steals, well, that would still rule. Nobody has done that since Rickey Henderson in 1988.

Cleveland Guardians: This Bullpen Is Really Hard to Hit

Record: 23-12, 1st in AL Central

There's more than one thing driving the Guardians this year, but let's just say their bullpen is better than even its 2.47 ERA lets on.

Cleveland relievers have been hard to square up, surrendering a league-low six home runs all year. They've also just been hard to hit in general, as their 14.1 swinging-strike percentage is 1.1 percent higher than the next-best team on the list.

Colorado Rockies: Austin Gomber Is Having a Better Year than Nolan Arenado

Record: 8-26, 5th in NL West

Remember when the Rockies traded Arenado to the Cardinals for a package headlined by Gomber and everyone laughed? Well, who's laughing now, huh?

Whereas Arenado has only posted 0.6 rWAR for St. Louis, Gomber is 1.1 rWAR for the Rockies. Score one for the 30-year-old soft-tossing lefty.

Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals

Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene Has Tightened Things Up

Record: 18-17, 4th in AL Central

Greene is having a moment for the Tigers, posting a .935 OPS with a team-leading eight homers. Even more impressive, though, is what's happening when he's not swinging the bat.

No hitter has improved his walk rate from 2023 to 2024 as much as Greene, and we're not talking about a leap from OK to good. This is a leap from good to great, as he is drawing walks more often than even Juan Soto.

Houston Astros: At Least the Hit Parade Is Working

Record: 12-22, 4th in AL West

Not a whole lot is going right for the Astros, but at least they're leading the American League with 305 hits and all of MLB with 16 games with at least 10 hits. That's two more than any other team.

The less good news is that they are only 9-7 in those games, but five of those losses have been of the one-run variety. On a long enough timeline, their luck should even out.

Kansas City Royals: They Have As Many 10-Run Games as the Dodgers

Record: 21-15, 3rd in AL Central

Speaking of 10 as a magic number, the Royals have scored at least that many runs five times already. Only two other teams have also done so, and one of them is the high-powered Dodgers.

The Royals aren't as high-powered, of course, but take this as a warning that any lineup with Bobby Witt Jr. and a hot-hitting Salvador Perez is not to be underestimated.

Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins

Los Angeles Angels: They Really Like Their Changeups

Record: 12-23, 5th in AL West

With 14 losses in their last 17 games and Mike Trout on the injured list for the foreseeable future, the Angels are fully in free-fall mode. But, hey, at least they have a pitching staff with an interesting approach.

Angels pitchers have thrown an MLB-leading 910 changeups, and it's generally been worth their while. Opposing batters are hitting just .214 with four home runs when an Angels pitcher changes it up.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani Are Trying to Make History

Record: 24-13, 1st in NL West

The Dodgers' one-two punch of MVPs has been as advertised and then some. Both Betts and Ohtani are batting over .350 and, more notably, have OPSes over 1.000.

While it's not totally unheard of for an offense to have two regulars with an OPS that high, Betts and Ohtani could be the first duo to get it done out of the top two spots in the lineup. As it is, 1.000 OPSes from either spot are extremely rare.

Miami Marlins: Jazz Chisholm Jr. Leads MLB in Grand Slams

Record: 10-27, 5th in NL East

When you look at the early leaderboard for grand slams, you'll see 27 ones and a single, solitary two. And that belongs to Chisholm.

The record for grand slams in a single season is six, held by Don Mattingly (1987) and Travis Hafner (2006). Chisholm could challenge that at the rate he's going, though how long he'll do so as a Marlin is now an open question.

Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets

Milwaukee Brewers: This Is the Most Improved Offense of 2024

Record: 20-14, T-1st in NL Central

New York Yankees fans might argue this point, and they wouldn't be wrong given that the offense's wOBA has made the biggest leap from 2023 to 2024. The Brewers are right behind them, however, and they've doing it without an addition as seismic as Juan Soto.

It's an even more impressive feat considering Christian Yelich has been sidelined for all but 11 games with a lower back strain. And it all comes down to better contact, as Milwaukee hitters have added a league-high 0.9 mph to their average exit velocity.

Minnesota Twins: They're Still Racking Up 10-K Games

Record: 20-14, 2nd in AL Central

It may be over now, but the 12-game win streak that the Twins went on between April 22 and May 4 is notable for containing as many or more wins than five teams have all season.

It helped, of course, that Twins pitchers notched at least 10 strikeouts in seven of those wins. So it goes for this team, which co-leads MLB with 19 games of at least 10 strikeouts this year and also has an MLB-high 100 such games since the start of last season.

New York Mets: They're Nasty in the Late Innings

Record: 17-18, 4th in NL East

Edwin Díaz blew a save for the first time since 2022 on Sunday, but don't let that cause you to think he and the rest of the Mets' bullpen can't be trusted in the late innings.

Between the seventh, eighth and nine innings, Mets pitchers have a 2.11 ERA and a league-leading 131 strikeouts. Starters Luis Severino, José Quintana and Christian Scott have made some contributions to that, but only 4.2 innings' worth.

New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies

New York Yankees: Be Careful with Those 1st Pitches

Record: 23-13, 2nd in AL East

Yankees hitters aren't being especially aggressive against first pitches. Quite the opposite, in fact, as their 26.4 percent swing rate in 0-0 counts is third-lowest in the league.

They are, however, choosing their spots wisely. What swings Yankees hitters have taken at the first pitch have yielded a league-high .421 batting average, with Juan Soto doing an especially large amount of damage. He's 11-for-20 with two homers.

Oakland Athletics: A Very Democratic Home Run Output

Record: 17-19, 3rd in AL West

This spot should arguably be about Mason Miller, but I let it slip earlier that he's touching 100 mph more often than any other pitcher. And even if it was only on an intuitive level, you probably already knew that anyway.

Instead, let's give the floor to Oakland's offense. It's not a particularly good one in general, but it is the only one in MLB that's gotten multiple home runs from 12 different players.

Philadelphia Phillies: They've Let Their Starting Pitchers Pitch

Record: 25-11, 1st in NL East

Six different starters have taken the bump for the Phillies this year, with their total body of work consisting of 36 starts. And out of those, only two resulted in the starter in question throwing fewer than 80 pitches.

That's the fewest in MLB, and it's hard to argue that manager Rob Thomson should have his guys on a shorter leash. Phillies starters have posted a 2.57 ERA and are ahead of even Boston's starters in fWAR.

Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates: Jared Jones' Start is the 1st of Its Kind

Record: 17-19, 3rd in NL Central

Paul Skenes is the young right-hander everyone wants to see in Pittsburgh right now, but let's not overlook that it already has a budding ace in its rotation.

That's Jones, whose first seven starts have seen him strike out 52 against only five walks. That, believe it or not, is a first for MLB history. And with his stuff and command rating exceptionally well, he would seem to be the real deal.

San Diego Padres: Hitting Breaking Balls Shouldn't Be This Easy

Record: 19-19, 2nd in NL West

The Padres are doing a great job choosing their spots with the long ball. Of the 40 home runs they've hit, 24 have come with at least one man on base.

As impressive as that is, though, I'm more impressed by how San Diego hitters are collectively batting .273 against breaking balls. Even if the records only go back to 2008, that's still the highest such mark recorded.

San Francisco Giants: Jordan Hicks' Velocity Loss Is Paying Off

Record: 15-21, 4th in NL West

No pitcher has lost more velocity off his fastball from 2023 to 2024 than Hicks. Whereas his is down 4.5 mph on average, no other pitcher has so much as suffered a 4 mph decline.

Of course, this can happen when a guy transitions from a relief role into a starting role. And in this case, what we have is a starter with a 1.89 ERA and only one home run allowed through his first seven starts. Velo isn't everything, kids.

Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

Seattle Mariners: They Love Their Fastballs

Record: 19-16, 2nd in AL West

If there's a Bizarro World version of the Red Sox's rotation, it's the Mariners' rotation. It loves fastballs. Loves 'em. So much so that Seattle starters throw fastballs an MLB-high 56.6 percent of the time.

Honestly, why not? All those fastballs average 95.0 mph and have yielded league-best marks with a .211 batting average and a plus-24.8 run value.

St. Louis Cardinals: They're Nailing Save Situations

Record: 15-20, 5th in NL Central

This isn't the start the Cardinals were hoping for after landing in the NL Central cellar last year, but things would be worse if they weren't so good at protecting leads.

Only St. Louis and the Mariners have converted 80 percent of their save opportunities. The Cardinals have also posted a 1.76 ERA in such spots. Which is basically to say that if teams aren't already eyeing Ryan Helsley as a trade candidate, they should be.

Tampa Bay Rays: They're a Solid Bad-Ball Hitting Team

Record: 18-18, 4th in AL East

So, I'm not going to lie here. I spent more time looking for a fun fact for these Rays than I did for any other team. They're just having that kind of year.

They do have 78 hits on swings outside the strike zone, though. That's the most in MLB. And whether we're talking about a 65 mph infield single or a 107 mph home run, they all count.

Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Texas Rangers: Kirby Yates Is Unhittable

Record: 20-16, 2nd in AL West

José Leclerc has had a disappointing follow-up to his breakout in the 2023 playoffs, but the Rangers' bullpen is hanging in there. Contrary to last year, it's actually boosted the team's overall win probability.

Nobody deserves as much credit as Yates, who's handled 15 innings and allowed zero runs on five walks and just three hits. And so it goes, as the .148 average off him is the lowest of any pitcher who's faced at least 300 batters since the start of last season.

Toronto Blue Jays: Nobody Strands 'Em Like José Berríos

Record: 16-19, 5th in AL East

It's been an up-and-down start for the Blue Jays, but they have to like what they see when they look at Berríos and notice his AL-best 1.44 ERA.

He'll only sustain that if he keeps stranding 96.6 percent of the runners he puts on base. That's probably not happening, but it's nonetheless worth noting that it's currently the highest strand rate in MLB history.

Washington Nationals: That's a Good-Looking Middle Infield Duo

Record: 17-17, 3rd in NL East

Even the most optimistic Nationals fan might not have seen this start coming, and there's lots to like about it. Nothing more so, arguably, than the middle infield duo of CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr.

Together, they've put up a .904 OPS, 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases. Individually, both have been at least 60 percent better than the average hitter. Not since Rogers Hornsby and Doc Farrell in 1927 has a team had two middle infielders do that.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.