Week 12: Charlie Blackmon

I don't just automatically hand out the MLBoyfriend title to the best batter of the week. However, Charlie Blackmon was the best hitter in the MLB last week by a country mile. 

Blackmon's stats for last week are pretty unreal. He went 21 for 37 for a .568 average and 1.784 OPS. He had 12 runs, 6 home runs, and 15 RBIs. Blackmon's nearest competition, Ketel Marte of the Arizona Cardinals, had almost as many runs (11) and home runs (5) but only 6 RBIs, and while his average was a very impressive .448, that's still over 100 points below Blackmon's.

It was a foregone conclusion that Blackmon would be named the NL Player of the Week--and he was. However, before I crown him my MLBoyfriend, we must address the elephant in the room--or should I say the woolly mammoth?

Week 11: Cole Hamels or Max Scherzer?

I realized I have been neglecting pitchers this year. We're a third of the way through the season, and I've only chosen one pitcher as my MLBoyfriend so far. So, I had my eyes peeled for a hurler who could win my heart.

On Friday, June 7, Cole Hamels threw a great game for the Cubs. He pitched 8 innings giving up just two hits, one base on balls and no earned runs. Hamels ended with game with 10 strikeouts, a 0.50 WHIP, a 0.00 ERA, a quality start and a win.



It seemed Hamels would win the MLBoyfriend title again after a two years since he was lasted named.

Then, the very next day, Saturday, June 8, Max Scherzer threw a heck of a game.

Scherzer went scored a win and a quality start by going 7 complete innings for the Nationals with 1 base on balls, 6 hits, 9 strikeouts, and zero earned runs. That gave him a 0.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP for the game.



Now, the stat heads out there have certainly noticed that Hamels stats are little better than Scherzer's. You might think that would earn Hamels the title. However, we know that my MLBoyfriend is not just about stats.

Week 10: Trevor Story

Since the American League Player of the Week was my MLBoyfriend last week, it seems only fair that the National League  Player of the Week win the honor this week. Welcome back, Trevor Story. It's always nice to see the first ever MLBoyfriend back on the blog.

Last week, Story went 11 for 21 at the plate giving him an amazing .524 batting average. He had a 1.631 OPS, 9 runs,7 RBIs, 2 home runs, and 2 stolen bases.

Story had a monster night on Friday, May 31--he hit both of his home runs and had all seven of his RBIs in that one game.

Week 9: Max Kepler

The Minnesota Twins won their last six games in a row and now have the best record in the MLB. They have a 10 game lead in the American League Central, and have a .692 win percentage compared to the .648 of team with the next best record, the Houston Astros. Leading the charge for the Twins last week was Max Kepler, their MVP at the plate. Kepler was not just the Twins' best batter; he was arguably the most valuable offensive player in baseball last week.

Kepler had 10 runs, 10 RBIs, a .571 average and 1.790 OPS. Those are some really big numbers. How big? Of all players last week, Kepler had the most runs and was tied with four other players for the most RBIs. 

Compared to players with 10 or more at bats, Kepler had the second best OPS and the third best best average. The two players with better averages, Justin Turner and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., had 15 and 10 at bats respectively. Kepler had 21.

Week 8: Byron Buxton

There's no doubt that the Minnesota Twins have had a great start to the season. They currently have the second best record in the MLB and are on top of the AL Central. It's early days, but it looks like the Twins might be real contenders if their players keep up this pace. The team's MVP of last week was also it's most improved hitter, Byron Buxton.

Buxton, had six runs, three home runs, a .269 average, and 0.999 OPS. Most mpressively, he had eleven RBIs--the most of all MLB players last week.

Of course, a grand slam always helps build the RBI count, and he hit the second of his career on May 18th.

Week 7: Kiké Hernández

I usually start off these posts with some stats that help make the case for the week's MLBoyfriend selection. However, this week's winner, Kiké Hernández, put up some pretty mediocre numbers this week. He had a measly .130 batting average and an equally unimpressive .483 OPS with just one run and three RBIs. He did hit one home run in his only good game of the week.

However, it really doesn't matter what his numbers were. Hernández clinched the MLBoyfriend title on Monday, May 6, when he posted this on his excellent Instagram account @kikehndez:

View this post on Instagram

Captain America in Endgame: “That is America’s ass” Me: Hold My Beer! #PuertoRicosAss

A post shared by Kike Hernández (@kikehndez) on May 6, 2019 at 6:19pm PDT

Needless to say, the gays definitely noticed and heartily approved. His "bend and snap" even got the ultimate seal of approval from Elle Woods herself.

He hit it out of the park 😂 https://t.co/j0nnXOeZsj

— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) May 7, 2019

Week 6: Adalberto Mondesi

Good players on bad teams don't get enough love. Adalberto Mondesi is a very good player on a pretty bad team. Despite Mondesi's decent numbers, Kansas City currently had the second worst record in baseball. Headlines like this tell the story: "Mondesi heroics unable to overcome awful bullpen as Royals lose 5-4 in extras".

Mondesi put up some good stats last week batting .286 with a .998 OPS six runs, one home run, eight RBIs and three stolen bases. Speaking of stolen bases, Mondesi has the second most so far this season with 10--just one fewer than the leader, Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox. I know the value of stolen is questionable, but they sure are one of the most fun  parts of baseball.

Oh, and Mondesi also has this going for him...