Postseason, Week 3: José Altuve

José Altuve might be the obvious choice for my MLBoyfriend this week, but still, he's the right  one. The American League Conference Series MVP and two-time MLBoyfriend was a powerhouse and a joy to watch in the series.

Altuve hit .348 in the ALCS, with three RBIs and two home runs. It was the second of those home runs--the one the won the series for the Houston Astros--that clinched his status as the MVP. His teammates were literally jumping for joy as he rounded the bases.

Speaking of his the Astros home-run celebration, Altuve kept his teammates from ripping off his jersey, a recent MLB "tradition" that I wholly support. He ended up rounding third in this adorable manner:

Week 23: Kolten Wong

Kolten Wong in literally my favorite baseball photo this week.

Kolten Wong is know for his excellent defense.

Check out this play he made earlier today.



Last week, Wong also put up some really big numbers on offense. He went 11 for 16 at the plate with 3 runs, 6 RBIs, a .688 batting average, and 2.049 OPS. He had 2 stolen bases to boot.

Wong hit "only" one home run last week which was his tenth of the season. This year, when everyone his hitting dingers left and right, it's easy to overlook a player like Wong who is having a very good year at the plate but isn't hitting tons of homers.

We here at MLBoyfriend pride ourselves on recognizing players that other might overlook. Especially when they look like Kolten Wong.

Week 3: José Altuve

I can't believe it's been almost three years since the last time I named José Altuve my MLBoyfrined. He is, after all, a very good baseball player. Plus, he has many other qualities that catch my eye when I'm considering who to pick (see picture below).

Altuve has been off to a great start this season, and he had a monster week last week. He had a .400 average, 1.527 OPS, with  8 runs, 10 RBIs and 6 home runs. To put those 6 homers in perspective, the rest of the Houston Astros roster combined hit 5 home runs--and they are a very good team.

Altuve is the first player this season to hit a home run in 5 consecutive games.

League Championship Series: Christian Yelich & Justin Verlander

I kept putting off naming both Christian Yelich and Justin Verlander my MLBoyfriend this season because I figured I'd always have another chance. With both the Brewers and the Astros eliminated from the postseason last week, it's now or never.

Christian Yelich is very likely to be the National League MVP and has clearly had several great weeks this season. He's also cute as a button.

Yet, somehow, I never selected Yelich as my MLBoyfriend.

Even more shocking, in the three years of this blog, Verlander has never made the cut. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he was especially strong in the first half of this season. He also cuts a fine figure.

Although, to be fair to myself, I have expressed my fondness for Justin Verlander elsewhere.

Congratulations, Christian Yelich! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Congratulations, Justin Verlander! You are also my MLBoyfriend of the week.

All I can say to both of you is: Better late than never.

ALDS: George Springer

Oh, hey there, George Springer. Welcome back to MLBoyfriend. I forgot how good you are in the postseason.

Today, Spinger was definitely in his October form. He may have struck out at your first two at bats, but he more than made up for it with two home runs.



Springer now has the most postseason home runs in the Astros franchise history.

Week 23: Alex Bregman

In the midst of a very good season, Alex Bregman had a very, very good week. He had six runs, three home runs, nine RBIs, a .444 batting average, and a 1.389 OPS.

Bregman was named the MVP at the 2018 All-Star Game, and now there's talk of him being a strong dark horse candidate for the 2018 American League MVP.

However, it's not just what Bregman does on the field that caught my eye. How he celebrates in the dugout is pretty great. After getting high-fives from his teammates, Bregman looks right into the camera and gives his best Blue Steel. This has become know as the "Bregman Stare".

Recently, Alex and the rest of the Houston Astros have taken the Bregman Stare to a whole new level.

Week 14: Dallas Keuchel

Dallas Keuchel did not have a very good week last week. He started in one game in which he gave up seven hits, six runs, and three walks. Since he only pitched 5.1 innings, that left him with a miserable ERA of 10.13. He's had better weeks--like when the Astros won the World Series last year.

So, why is Keuchel my MLBoyfriend this week? Because I'm on vacation and don't want to spend a lot of time on this post. Fortunately, ESPN has done the work for me by featuring Keuchel in their annual Body Issue.

Honored to be chosen for the 2018 @espn #BodyIssue ...it was a true team effort. Big thanks to the creative eye behind the lens @kurtiswarienko (link in bio)

A post shared by Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy60) on Jun 24, 2018 at 9:14pm PDT

Week 6: Gerrit Cole

AZcentral.com wrote the perfect headline for why I chose my MLBoyfriend this week: "Astros' Gerrit Cole flirts with no-hitter". Gerrit Cole did throw an amazing game on Friday, May 4th. First, he went nine full innings--which is very rare these days even when a pitcher is doing well. In those nine innings Cole allowed no runs and only one hit and one base on balls. That's not just flirting with a no-hitter; it's flirting with a perfect game.

Cole also struck out 16 batters in the game. That's a lot. It was a career high for him. As a point of comparison, 20 is the most that a single pitcher has struck out in a regular nine-inning game. Here's a look at all 16 strike-threes in just 16 seconds.



There are two things that are notable about that video. The second is how amazingly consistent Cole's form is. If you didn't notice the batter changing, it would look like a loop of the same pitch. With that consistency, Cole has struck out a whopping 77 batters so far this season. (That was the most of any pitcher in MLB until Max Scherzer pass him with 80 on Sunday, May 6th.)

As good as he is at baseball, I wonder if, perhaps, Gerrit Cole isn't playing in the wrong sport. Since I live in Minnesota, I can't help noticing that the he has perfect hockey hair.

World Series MVP: George Springer

Some may say I'm taking the easy route in choosing the player who won the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award to also win the MLBoyfriend World Series Most Valuable Player Award. But, George Springer definitely deserves both titles.

As ESPN pointed out:

Springer was an easy choice for the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award, after hitting .379 (11-for-29) with five home runs and seven RBIs. His eight extra-base hits were the most ever in a World Series, and he is the first player to homer in four straight games within a single World Series...

Springer tied the record for most home runs in a single World Series--only two other players, Reggie Jackson and Chase Utley, have hit five.

All of this is even more impressive considering Springer had been in a slump during the playoffs.

This is a guy who hit .100 without a single extra-base hit in eight postseason games, striking out four times in Game 1 of the World Series, only to come back and hit .478 the final six games. --USA Today

Springer's performance somewhat mirrors the rise of the Houston Astros--a team that went from losing 111 games just four years ago to the best team in baseball today.

Week 14: George Springer

I guess I can't pretend like the Houston Astros aren't really, really good forever--as much as I'd like to. They are going into the All-Star break with 60 wins and are a whopping 16.5 games ahead in the American League West. A team doing that well clearly has a lot of great players on it--including one of my MLBoyfriends from 2016, José Altuve. George Springer is possibly the best Astro of all this season.

If George Springer has been red hot this season, last week, he was on fire. He had a .577 batting average and a 1.625 OPS with three home runs, twelve runs, nine RBIs and two stolen bases (his only two of the season).

As if being arguably the best player on arguably the best team in baseball wasn't enough enough to become my MLBoyfriend, George Springer also has this going for him...

Week 16: José Altuve

José Altuve hit two home runs and had six RBIs yesterday, which was the perfect end to a great week in which he had an amazing .560 batting average and equally impressive 1.513 OPS.

The ESPN Player Rater currently has him rated as the most valuable player in fantasy baseball this season. While that is not necessary a perfect metric it is a pretty good one. In any case, it's undeniable that Altuve is "coming up big in every way" for the Houston Astros. His performance this season has definitely put him on the MVP list.

On June 25th, Altuve almost hit for the cycle, but he tripped on his own helmet rounding second trying for his triple. He had to settle for just a single, a home run and two doubles in one game. He was a good sport about it and was already laughing it off when he went back on his belly to tag second.