Yikes, the day is almost over and I haven't met my completely arbitrary, self-imposed deadline. I'll get right to the point: Robert Luis Jr. is this week's MLBoyfriend.
Luis Robert Jr. also happens to be very easy on the eyes.
Showing posts with label Chicago White Sox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago White Sox. Show all posts
Monday, July 3, 2023
Luis Robert Jr.
Luis Robert Jr. also happens to be very easy on the eyes.
Monday, June 5, 2023
Liam Hendriks
This was the easiest pick for MLBoyfriend ever. As soon as it was announced that Liam Hendriks was returning to the mound for the Chicago White Sox, he clinched the title. In January, Hendriks announced he had been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and was starting chemo therapy immediately. On April 20, he announced he had completed his treatments and was declared cancer-free. Amazingly, he was back on the active roster on May 29.
Hendriks was called out of the bullpen that very first night.
Needless to say, the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he ran out to the mound. Then, to top it off, his first pitch was a sizzling strike.
Hendriks ended the week strong. On Sunday, June 4, he got his first win of the season. In a twist so perfect you couldn't make it up, June 4th is National Cancer Survivors Day.
Congratulations, Liam Hendriks! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. It is truly wonderful to see you back where you belong, the pitcher's mound.
Monday, April 3, 2023
Liam Hendriks
I'm starting off 2023 with an unconventional pick. It's not that Liam Hendriks isn't a very good player--he's one of the best closing pitchers in the game. He's also really fun to watch because he's very passionate and animated on the mound. One of the highlights of the 2022 All-Star Game was when Hendriks was "Mic'd Up" although I'm guessing the network wished they had muted him.
Hendriks is a favorite of LGBTQ+ baseball fans for his very vocal allyship. That was a big part of why he won the MLBoyfriend title last year during Pride Month.
So, Hendriks seems like a natural choice to be the first MLBoyfriend of 2023. Except he didn't pitch at all during the opening week for the worst reason. In January, Hendriks announced that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and would be starting treatment.
Being the beast that he is, Hendriks managed to show up for spring training while he was undergoing his cancer treatments. The good news is that Hendriks has started his last round of chemotherapy today.
A special message from Liam Hendriks: pic.twitter.com/kSE1bjBkZD
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 3, 2023
Another encouraging sign is that the White Sox have placed Hendriks on the 15-day IL rather than the 60-day IL. While it doesn't seem likely he'll be back on the mound in two weeks, it sure would be great to see him pitching in May. In the meantime, you can help Liam and his wife Kristi raise funds for the Lymphoma Research Foundation by clicking here and buying one of his "Close Out Cancer" shirts--I just got one for myself.
Congratulations to Liam Hendriks! You are my first MLBoyfriend of 2023 because what you're doing off the field is much more important that anything that happened on the field this week. That said, I can't wait to see you pitching again.
Monday, June 20, 2022
Liam Hendriks
This is definitely a first for MLBoyfriend: I have selected a player who did not actually play at all last week. Liam Hendriks has been on the 15-day IL. So why is he my choice for the week? Well, some news broke about him. Here's another first for the blog, I'm using People as a source. This is the headline that caught my eye: MLB Pitcher and LGBTQ Ally Made Liam Hendriks Made Sure White Sox Had a Pride Night Before Joining the Team.
Hendriks raised the Pride Flag at the White Sox ballpark before last year's Pride Night and will do so again this year. He says of his allyship:
“For me, it’s just being a decent human being. You are going to have people you just don’t get along with purely based on personality, but race, sexual orientation or anything like that should never come into it. They should never be part of the equation of why you have a disdain for somebody, and that’s something that I think the more people talk about, hopefully it gets more normalized.”
In my research on Hendriks (a.k.a. Googling "Liam Hendriks"), I discovered that he publicly stood up for his teammate Tim Anderson in the wake of the Josh Donaldson incident. Long story short: A month ago, Donald made comments to Anderson that were at best disrespectful and some would say racist on the field. Donaldson was fined and suspended, but the whole thing has remained in the news because he appealed the suspension. Donaldson has been trying to rehabilitate his image with some lame explanations for his behavior. Hendriks called Donaldson's excuse, and I'm quoting here: COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
Another aspect of my "research" for these posts is checking out the player's Instagram account. Hendriks has a good one. Two posts stood out to me. First, this one in which he participates in an effort to raise awareness of gun violence:
Then, there was Hendriks' latest Instagram post from a White Sox event at Chicago's Field Museum. Sure, he's super cute in the pic, but his wife, Kristi, is clearly the star. Every gay at the party wants to hang out with that girl.
Congratulation, Liam Hendriks! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. Quite an achievement considering you didn't spend one minute of the week on the field.
Monday, April 19, 2021
Week 3: Carlos Rodón
Throwing a no-hitter does not guarantee winning the MLBoyfriend title--just ask Joe Musgrove. However, Carlos Rodón really caught my eye when he threw a no hitter on Wednesday, April 14.
Of course, every no-no is special, and White Sox fans can make the case that this one was extra special because of Rodón's history. I think what made it so great to watch was Rodón's style--swagger, if you will. To be honest, it was unbuttoned jersey collar that really sealed the deal for me.
Cogratulations, Carlos Rodón! By throwing 20th no-hitter in the franchises history, you have become the first ever Chicago White Sox MLBoyfriend. You have so much to celebrate this week.
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