Bowden Francis

Bowden Francis threw two very good games last week. On Monday, August 12, Francis went 7 full innings against the Angels. He only gave up one hit--unfortunately, it was a home run, so it also scored an earned run. Other than that, he was perfect. He struck out 8 and gave up no walks.

Francis faced the Cubs on Sunday, August 18. He went another 7 full innings. He struck out 7 batters while giving up only one 3 hits and no earned runs. Again, he did not walk any batters.

Francis ended the week with 2 wins, a 0.64 ERA and 0.29 WHIP. Those stats earned him the title of American League Player of the Week.

Congratulations, Bowden Francis! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Whit Merrifield

Whit Merrifield has been close to winning the MLBoyfriend title many times, and this is finally his week.

Merrifield put up some good numbers last week. He had 13 hits in 28 at-bats for a .464 average. He had 6 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI, and 1 stolen base. And he did all that while looking like this:

Congratulations, Whit Merrifield! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Bo Bichette

Bo Bichette had quite the week last week.

On Monday, September 5th, Toronto played a double header against Baltimore. Bichette hit 3 home runs in the second game. He ended the day with numbers most players would be happy to have in a week: in addition to the 3 home runs, he had 3 runs, 7 RBI, 6 hits in 10 at-bats, and an astonishing 2.100 OPS.

Then, on Saturday, September 10th, Bichette hit 3 doubles in one game and had another day with a .600 average.

Bichette ended the week with 16 hits in 32 at-bats for a .500 average, a very high 1.686 OPS, 11 runs, 5 home runs, and a whopping 13 RBI (4 more than any other player in MLB). I haven't followed him closely, but I have to believe that is one of the best weeks of his career--if not the best.

Those stats aren't the only reason I'm picking Bichette this week. There's also the hair. It just looks so good when he's running the bases.

Bo's mane is better than any Breck Girl's.

He knows it too. His Instagram handle is @boflows.

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Congratulations, Bo Bichette! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. 

Alejandro Kirk

It's almost impossible to measure catchers' performances behind the plate, but it's safe to say that Alejandro Kirk was the best catcher at the plate last week. 

Kirk had a whopping .450 batting average and 1.522 OPS with 8 runs and 7 RBIs. He got to wear the Blue Jays' coveted "Barrio Jacket" 3 times last week to celebrate the home runs he hit.

Last week was not a fluke for Kirk. He's coming off an excellent month of May in which he had more extra-base hits than strikeouts.

I'd like to take this opportunity to shame fat-shamers. At 5'8"and 245 lbs, Kirk is officially "obese" according to the body mass index. In fact, his BMI of 37.2 puts him much closer to the "morbidly obese" category than the "overweight" one. This elite athlete, one of the best in Major League Baseball right now, "needs" to lose at least 70 pounds to be his "ideal" weight. For more information on what absolute garbage the BMI is, listen to "The Body Mass Index" episode of the excellent podcast Maintenance Phase.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Congratulations, Alejandro Kirk! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. I'd also like to thank you for giving me a reason to post my favorite baseball photo of the week.

Week 16: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed a 468-foot home run and was named MVP at this year's All-Star Game.

Guerrero returned to Toronto and had a monster game. He hit 2 home runs, scored 3 and had 4 RBIs on July 16.

Talk of Guerrero winning the 2021 American League MVP award may be premature, but it's definitely understandable. Being my MLBoyfriend is long past due for Guerrero.

Congratulations, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. I'm guessing this is the cherry on top of the very good week you've had.

Week 20: Josh Donaldson

Thank goodness Josh Donaldson has finally become MLBoyfriend material this season. He was a regular feature here last season--winning the title in week twelve and then again during the American League Division Series making him my first ever repeat MLBoyfriend. I was fully expecting to select Donaldson at least once this year especially when he showed up at spring training looking like a George Micheal tribute artist and stealing my heart anew.

Josh Donaldson has gotta have faith, faith, faith.

Then, Donaldson spent the better part of April and May on the DL. It took him some time to return to form when he returned to the game. At the end of June, he admitted that, given his numbers for the season, he was not worthy of being selected for the All-Star Game. Things got worse for him on July 1st, when he struck out four times in one game and had to wear a golden sombrero in Toronto on Canada Day. It was a bad omen for the rest of the month.

The rare picture of a sad Josh Donaldson

Like a phoenix from the ashes, Josh Donaldson has emerged in August to put up some very respectable numbers.

Last week, Donaldson earned the title of my MLBoyfriend with a .375 batting average and 1.417 OPS with four home runs, six runs and seven RBIs.

ALDS: Josh Donaldson

Congratulations to Josh Donaldson. He has the double honor of being my first postseason MLBoyfriend and the first repeat winner of the title.

Josh Donaldson is clearly happy with his second go-round as my MLBoyfriend.

Even though I have not once but twice named Texas Rangers as my MLBoyfriend, they are my second-most hated team in baseball. (FYI: The Boston Red Sox are clearly the my #1 most hated team, I am a big enough man to give one of them the title.) I was clearly rooting for the delightful Blue Jays to beat the Rangers. Naturally, I was thrilled when Toronto swept Texas in three games--especially because it was Donaldson who delivered the walk-off run in a dramatic fashion.


There were many Blue Jays who contributed to the sweep of the Ranger and that I as candidates for my MLBoyfriend. José Bautista had one home run, scored three runs and had four RBIs in the series. He also showed some class after his home run with a subdued bat drop as opposed to his epic bat flip that sparked a massive brawl between the Blue Jays and the Rangers early in the season. Also, Bautista is definitely looks handsome on the field.

José Bautista

Some might say that Edwin Encarnación was Toronto's MVP in the series--and there is a good case to be made for him with his two home runs, four runs and six RBIs. He showed a bit more bravado after his home runs than Bautista did, and that's okay with me.

Edwin Encarnación celebrates his homer.

Josh Donaldson had a very good series as well even if he didn't hit any of the Blue Jays ten home runs in the three games. He went 4 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs in the first game. The double he hit to get himself into scoring position in the 10th inning of the final game was awfully impressive. Then, he clinched his place as my MLBoyfriend when he dove home to clinch the series win.

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.