Shohei Ohtani

I kinda feel like I don't have to explain why I chose Shohei Ohtani as my MLBoyfriend on any given week. He's appeared on this blog so many times, I'm not sure I have that much new to say about him. However, I realized that he hasn't been featured so far this year, despite having potentially another MVP season, and I don't want him to think I take him for granted.

Last week, Shohei had 11 hits in 24 plate appearances--including his 1,000th hit as an MLB player--for a a .458 average. He had a 1.469 OPS with 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He scored 9 runs and batted in 4. Along the way, he had 2 stolen bases--although, perhaps, the less talk of stealing bases, the better.

As if the hitting weren't enough, Ohtani also had a very good start pitching. On Wednesday, August 6th, he went 4 full innings giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 1 earned run.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Max Muncy

I've been waiting for Max Muncy to have an MLBoyfriend worthy week because he has one of the best stories of the season. More one that later... Let's start with last week.

Muncy started the week very strong. On Saturday, June 22nd, he hit two home runs and had 7 RBI. Three days later, he homered twice again and had 6 RBI.

By the end of the week, Muncy had a .417 batting average and 1.420 OPS. He hit 2 doubles and (the aforementioned) 4 home runs. He scored 9 runs and batted in 17.

Here's what's fantastic about Muncy's season: It started out really bad--awful, actually. In March and April his batting average was a miserable .194 and his OPS was a slightly more respectable, but still not good, 0.610. On April 29th, things were looking bad. Then, on April 30th, he hit his first home run of the season.

April 30th just so happens to be the day Max started wearing glasses while playing due to an astigmatism. In May, his batting average was a respectable .250 and his OPS was an equally respectable .851, and he hit 5 home runs. His numbers went up again in June to a .333 batting average, 1.113 OPS with 7 home runs. Muncy isn't willing to credit the glasses with all that improvement, but he says it's "hard to deny" that they are a major factor.

It doesn't hurt that Max Muncy is on trend and looking good during this Summer of Slutty Little Glasses.

Congratulations, Max Muncy! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Kiké Hernández

The last time Kiké Hernández won the MLBoyfriend title, it was not because of his performance on this field but because of his flirtatious social media posts. 

This week, Hernández won the title with the worst batting stats an MLBoyfriend has ever had. In 10 at-bats, he had a 0.00 batting average--literally the worst possible. 

Hernández also stepped in as a relief pitcher last week, but the less said about that, the better.

Social media is again reason Kiké won the title this week. However, this time it's not because he was being silly and sexy. Instead, he was serious when he spoke about about the terrible impact ICE raids are having on Los Angeles. (Be sure to scroll through and read his message.)

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A post shared by Dodger Matt (@dodgermatt_)

Congratulations, Kiké Hernández! You are my MLBoyfiend of the week.

Mr. October: Kiké Hernández

The World Series may seem like a distant memory, but I decided it's not too late to crown my postseason MLBoyfriend. Freddie Freeman was the obvious choice, but I decided to go with someone who caught my eye both on and off the field: Kiké Hernández. Of course, this wasn't the first time Kiké caught my eye--he has won the MLBoyfriend title before--but this postseason reminded of just how much fun he brings to all aspects of the game.

Hernández has earned his reputation as being a solid postseason player over the past nine years.

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This year, Hernández continued to do well at the plate with 15 hits--including a triple and 2 home runs--11 runs, and 6 RBI. He had a respectable .294 batting average in October.

But, I'll be honest, it was what Kiké did to celebrate the Dodgers victories over this postseason that won him the MLBoyfriend title.

Here's just a few things that came up in my Instagram feed.

Kiké showing up for a game dressed in Barbicore:

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A post shared by MLBFITS (@mlb.fits)

Kiké doing a post-game interview shirtless:

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A post shared by SportsNet LA (@sportsnetla)

Kiké celebrating the Dodgers World Series win draped in the Puerto Rican flag:

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A post shared by MLB Puerto Rico (@mlbpuertorico)

Kiké celebrating the Dodgers World Series win shirtless in the locker room (click through for all the pic):

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A post shared by MLB Puerto Rico (@mlbpuertorico)

And, finally, Kiké at the Dodgers' celebration parade with teammate Anthony Banda--both shirtless:

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A post shared by Never Ending Horror (@never_ending_horror)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say I wasn't the only gay who noticed how often Kiké Hernández was photographed/videoed wearing no shirt this past month. 

Congratulations, Kiké Hernández! You are my MLBoyfriend for October 2024!

Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani clinched this week's MLBoyfriend award 4 days ago. On September 19, he became the first player in MLB history to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season. To put that in a little perspective, only 6 players are in the "40-40 Club"--with 40 homers and steals in one season.

Ohtani didn't just set that record in that game, he smashed it.

Yes, Ohtani went 6 for 6 at the plate with 3 home runs, 5 extra base hits, 10 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. Here's his Instagram post celebrating the night--be sure to scroll through to see all the adorableness.

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A post shared by Shohei Ohtani | 大谷翔平 (@shoheiohtani)

I know baseball commentators are very prone to hyperbole; however, that is literally the best game by a hitter in baseball history.

And that was just Thursday. Ohtani kept going over the weekend. He ended the week with a .500 batting average and 1.641 OPS. He had 12 runs, 6 home runs, 4 doubles, 19 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. That's bonkers.

By the way, there are still 6 games left this season. Ohtani currently has 53 home runs and 55 stolen bases. While he's unlikely to establish the 60-60 Club this year, it is certainly possible that he will.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. 

Shohei Ohtani

I think I've been taking Shohei Ohtani for granted. He is literally in contention to be my MLBoyfriend almost every week. Then, I'm all like "Shohei will have plenty of other chances--let's give it to someone else this week". Suddenly, it's been three years since he's won the title, and you also realize, that even though he's been mentioned a few other times, he's only ever won the title twice.

It seems almost unjust that a player about whom there has been much serious discussion about whether or not he is the GOAT has gotten so little attention on this blog. It's even worse because Shohei is so cute.

And he wears 17--which is my favorite prime number.

That ends today. Shohei's weekly stats are almost always great, but last week, they were amazing. He went 11 for 24 at the plate giving him a .458 average. He had a monster 1.650 OPS with 3 doubles and 4 home runs. Along the way, he scored 8 runs and batted in 11 runs. 

Shohei ended the week especially strong. In the two-game series against his former team, he dominated at the plate. Let's take a look.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.