Week 20: Cody Bellinger

 

I chose Cody Bellinger to be my MLBoyfriend on Monday simply because it was bizarre that I hadn't done so earlier. He didn't have a particularly good week last week, but he has been having an amazing season--especially in the spring.

Then, life got in the way, and I didn't get around to writing this post until tonight which is Thursday. I'm glad I waited because he made a good case for himself just a couple of hours ago: Cody Bellinger became the first player to hit 40 home runs this season.  He did it style with a monster, three-run blast.



Not entirely coincidentally, this happened:

Cody Bellinger is the new MLB home run leader, setting a career high with his 40th of the year. The Dodgers are also the first team since at least 1908 to hit 4+ homers in four straight games. https://t.co/46MuOs89N0

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) August 15, 2019

I don't really have much to add to that except to say that I really enjoyed doing my "photo research" on Cody Bellinger. So, now, I'm just going to post some pics of Bellinger with little-to-no comment.

Cody Bellinger is really pretty.

He also has a really pretty swing.

Bellinger is an outfielder,
and I'm a sucker for pics of leaping catches.

It took two security guards to pry this teen girl off Bellinger
after she got onto the field and hugged him. Even though she
was arrested, she said it was the best day of her life.
She is my new hero.

I mean... come  on...

Week 19: Nelson Cruz

It may seem that I'm a little late in selecting Nelson Cruz as my MLBoyfriend since he was named the American League Player of the Week last week. His stats may have been a bit better the week before, but his 5 runs, 4 home runs, 10 RBIs, .500 average, and 2.267 OPS last week are still really great numbers.

On Saturday, August 3, Cruz had a hell of a game that showed why he's the head of the Twins Bomba Squad. He hit 3 home runs in the Minnesota's win over Kansas City.



That was not only Cruz's second 3-home-run game of the season, it was his second 3-home-run game in 10 days.

Cruz big night was historic for a few reasons. He is the first Twin to hit 3 home runs in two games in one season, and, at 39, the oldest player to do so in MLB history.

On top of all that, his 3rd home run that night was the 30th Cruz hit this season. The Twins tweeted out this fact about his pretty amazing career.

Nelson Cruz has 6 straight seasons with 30 home runs. Only 3 other active players are on the list:

Albert Pujols (12, 2001-12)
Miguel Cabrera (7, 2007-2013)
Edwin Encarnacion (8, 2012-present) #CruzControl pic.twitter.com/sZwVqQ2anZ

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 4, 2019

So, yeah, that was a pretty great night for Nelson Cruz.

Week 18: Asher Wojciechowski

 

Sure, last week's MLBoyfriend had a long, difficult last name. However, most baseball fans know how to pronounce Yaztrzemski even if there's not a chance in Hell that they could spell it. I decided to really up the ante this week with Asher Wojciechowski. Actually, I chose him because he pitched to great games for the Baltimore Orioles last week.

On Sunday, July 21, Wojciechowski pitched 7.1 innings against the formidable Boston Red Sox. He struck out 10 batters but gave up just 1 hit, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs. He was scored with both the win and a quality start. Impressively, he had a no–hitter into the seventh inning.



Wojciechowski pitched another gem seven days later on Friday, July 26.  He went 7 full innings against the Los Angeles Angels. In that game, he gave up 3 hits, one walk and just 2 earned runs while striking out 6. He had his second quality start and win for the week.

So, in one week, Wojciechowski pitched 14.1 innings, and had a very low 1.26 ERA and 0.49 WHIP. 

Those two wins were almost enough for Asher Wojciechowski to win the MLBoyfriend title. However, I have to say, his name really did put him over the top for a couple of reasons.

Week 17: Mike Yastrzemski

When I saw the news that rookie Mike Yaztrzemski hit his first walk-off home run in the majors yesterday, I thought, "How cool that Carl Yaztrzemski has a son playing baseball." 

It took a while to sink in that a player that I can easily remember playing—I was able to drive when he retired—has a grandson playing for the San Francisco Giants. 

Yaz was famously old for a baseball player (a whopping 44!) when he retired, but still...

Special All-Star Break Edition

Welcome to the first All-Star MLBoyfriend Tournament.

This year, I'll be picking my  All-Star MLBoyfriend from the Home Run Derby participants. There are three reasons for this. First, I saw a lot more of the Home Run Derby than I did the actual All-Star game, so I can make a better informed choice. Second, there's a more manageable pool to select from. Finally, MLB nicely created this very handy bracket for me to use.

Week 15: Andrew Heaney

Andrew Heaney showed what he's made of with just one pitch last week. This isn't about athletic ability although he certainly has plenty of that. What Heaney displayed was pure heart.

Heaney's teammate, fellow pitcher and friend, Tyler Skaggs died on Monday, July 1st. Heaney pitched for the first time after that on Saturday, July 6th. His first pitch was a slow curveball, Skaggs's signature pitch.



Prior to the pitch, Heaney had written "45", the number Skaggs wore, on the mound.

Week 14: Joey Votto

HAPPY CANADA DAY! I'm so happy my favorite Canadian player, Joey Votto, is on a hot streak, so I can name him my MLBoyfriend. Last week, Votto had four runs, one home run, and two RBIs. He had a .368 average and .955 OPS. He even had a stolen base--his second of the season.

Votto's biggest night of the week came on Friday, June 28. He had four hits in the Reds' victory over the Cubs--and one of those hits was the 1,800th of his career.

Joey Votto singles in a run for career hit No. 1,800! The @Reds veteran's bat is scorching 🔥

Don't miss Cincinnati baseball on FSO & FOX Sports GO: https://t.co/MoMgktwwsD pic.twitter.com/HiALtT5w3X

— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) June 29, 2019

Best of all, Joey Votto did all this while continuing to be what the kids today call a "zaddy".