Anthony Santander

I'll get to the stats in a moment, but I don't want to bury the lede. These two pics taken last week are the main reason Anthony Santander is the latest MLBoyfriend:

While those pics might be the main reason for this week's pic, they aren't the only reason. Santander put up some excellent number last week.

Santander had 12 hits in 27 at-bats for an amazing .444 average. He had 7 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs. and 9 RBI.

Santander had his best day at the plate on Friday, May 5th. That night, he hit 2 home runs including a grand slam.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Baltimore Orioles (@orioles)

Congratulations, Anthony Santander! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

PS: This photo of Anthony Santander from last week didn't really fit with text of this post, but I couldn't help myself--I had to include it.

Week 6: John Means

I said it earlier this year, and I'm amazed I have to say it again so soon, but.... Throwing a no-hitter doesn't automatically earn you the title of MLBoyfriend (sorry, Wade Miley); however, it does help a lot. On May 5th, John Means not only threw not just a no-hitter, but also went nine full innings with no walks. 

Unfortunately, Means put a player on base with a third-strike wild pitch, so it wasn't a perfect game. Still, he threw a beautiful game.

I have a soft spot for the Baltimore Orioles, and it was great to see them have something to celebrate. Means threw was the first solo no-hitter for the Orioles since Jim Palmer threw his in 1969. (Side note: many gay men of a certain age, including myself, are big fans of Jim Palmer's work off the baseball field.)

Congratulations, John Means! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. Also, thanks for the great pictures of the celebration of your achievement.

I'm a big fan of the catcher leaping into
the pitchers arms in celebration...

...and of group hugs on the mound.

Week 18: Asher Wojciechowski

 

Sure, last week's MLBoyfriend had a long, difficult last name. However, most baseball fans know how to pronounce Yaztrzemski even if there's not a chance in Hell that they could spell it. I decided to really up the ante this week with Asher Wojciechowski. Actually, I chose him because he pitched to great games for the Baltimore Orioles last week.

On Sunday, July 21, Wojciechowski pitched 7.1 innings against the formidable Boston Red Sox. He struck out 10 batters but gave up just 1 hit, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs. He was scored with both the win and a quality start. Impressively, he had a no–hitter into the seventh inning.



Wojciechowski pitched another gem seven days later on Friday, July 26.  He went 7 full innings against the Los Angeles Angels. In that game, he gave up 3 hits, one walk and just 2 earned runs while striking out 6. He had his second quality start and win for the week.

So, in one week, Wojciechowski pitched 14.1 innings, and had a very low 1.26 ERA and 0.49 WHIP. 

Those two wins were almost enough for Asher Wojciechowski to win the MLBoyfriend title. However, I have to say, his name really did put him over the top for a couple of reasons.

Week 4: Manny Machado

It was only a matter of time before Manny Machado became my MLBoyfriend. In fact, it's a bit odd that he's never won the title since he's been an outstanding player for the past few years. He's also pretty easy on the eyes.

The time has finally come. Machado had a .500 batting average and 1.833 OPS with seven runs, eight RBIs and five home runs last week.  He hit two of those home runs on Sunday, April 22, to cap off a great week.



Machado has now hit eight home runs this season--only Mike Trout has more with nine. His defense has been on-spot too. Check out this nice play he made on Friday, April 20.

Misters October

Fifteen of my MLBoyfriends made it into the postseason. This gives us a great opportunity to take another look at them.

Week 2: Eduardo Núñez, San Francisco Giants
The first entry on this list is bittersweet. I chose Eduardo Núñez as my MLBoyfriend when he was with the Minnesota Twins. As a Twin, he was the best player on a terrible team--but it's my hometown team and they have a special place in my heart. In July, he was traded to the Giants where he has been a very good player on a very good team. Even though he's not on San Francisco's wild card play-in game roster, the move definitely gave Núñez a shot at some postseason play.

Week 3: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Here's hoping Bryce Harper will be bringing his best hair game to the postseason.

Week 4: Michael Conforto, New York Mets
Michael Conforto's season has been a bit of a roller coaster, but his towards the end earned him a spot on the Mets playoff roster.

Week 6: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
Max Scherzer is the Nats' go-to starter--as witnessed by the fact that he will be pitching in their first game of the postseason.

Week 7: Jackie Bradley Jr., Boston Red Sox
The fact that I chose Jackie Bradley Jr. as my MLBoyfriend despite my longstanding hatred of the Boston Red Sox is a testament to his talent. However, my personal good feelings towards him have a limit, and I hope not to see him on the field for very long in October. Of course, I'd be more than happy to see him elsewhere.

Week 8: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Congratulations, to Buster Posey for joining the 1,000 Hits Club on September 27th--and doing it in style with a home run.

Week 9: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
It's no surprise Madison Bumgarner is pitching in the Giants Wild Card play-in game against the Mets. His pitching has outstanding in October.

Week 12: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
Since I'm a posting after the playoffs have begun, we've already gotten to see Josh Donaldson perform in the postseason--and he was a key contributor to the Blue Jays 11th inning defeat of the Orioles.

Week 13: Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
Another player with an inconsistent season at the plate, veteran Danny Espinosa comes into the postseason having just broken a cold streak--and is hoping to keep the hitting going in October.

Week 15: Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
Unfortunately, Jacob deGrom underwent surgery in September and will not be able to pitch for the Mets in the playoffs. We look forward to seeing his famous locks back on the mound in 2017.

Week 19: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers
Yu Darvish won the last game of the regular season in an impressive showing--a quality start with twelve strikeouts and giving up only one run in six innings. Unfortunately, I simply cannot route for his team, the hateful Texas Rangers. Sorry, Boo.

Week 20: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
It's been 112 years since the Cubs win a World Series--which is a really long time--but they are the favorites to win this year. Kris Bryant--a very strong candidate for the National League MVP--is a key player in the Cubs quest to break The Curse of the Billy Goat.

Week 23: Trea Turner, Washington Nationals
Trea Turner inspired my favorite sports headline of the past week: Nobody puts baby-faced Trea Turner in a corner. Not anymore. Could he be the missing piece the Nationals needed to make it into their first World Series? Quite possibly.

Week 24: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
Unfortunately, Baltimore is already eliminated, so we won't be seeing any more of Adam Jones in October. After the game, he showed his heart in calling out a Toronto fan who threw a full beer at fellow Oriole, Hyun Soo Kim, saying "That's as pathetic as it gets." He's a class act.

Week 25: Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
Elvis Andrus just had the best season of his career; however, I'm hoping his postseason is a repeat of last year (see Yu Darvish, above). While my hatred of the Rangers may be somewhat irrational, I also can't help still liking Elvis.

Thanks to all my MLBoyfriends for a great inaugural season of this blog. Congratulations to the fourteen who made it into the playoffs. Keep an eye out as I will be naming more MLBoyfriends as -the postseason progresses--culminating with my very own Mr. October.

Week 24: Adam Jones

Adam Jones is having a good year with 27 home runs and a respectable .277 batting average. The Baltimore Orioles are in a tight race for a postseason spot, and Jones' performance is an important if under-appreciated asset to the team. While his batting stats were not the greatest last week, Jones distinguished himself off the field. On Tuesday, September 13th, USA Today published an interview with Jones in which he discussed Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem protests which had begun to spread throughout the NFL. Of Kaepernick, he said:

"He believes in what he believes in, and as a man of faith, as an American who has rights, who am I to say he’s wrong? Kaepernick is not disrespecting the military. He’s not disrespecting people who they’re fighting. What he’s doing is showing that he doesn’t like the social injustice that the flag represents."

Jones then explained that the protests are unlikely to spread to MLB because, "Baseball is a white man's game."

The whole USA Today interview is worth your time, so GO READ THE WHOLE THING.

Jones followed up that interview with an ESPN interview.
UPDATE: Unfortunately the original ESPN interview is no longer available to be posted. You can see it here. In it's place, I have put this interview with Jones after a racist attack he faced at an away game after his USA Today interview.



With those two interviews, Adam Jones clinched the title of my MLBoyfriend of the week.