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:

Postseason, Week 2: Howie Kendrick

The Washington Nationals weren't even supposed to make it to the postseason much less defeat the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers in the the National League Division Series. Yet, they did both. And there's no better representative of their improbable journey than Howie Kendrick.

This headline tells the story: Howie Kendrick goes from postseason zero to hero for the Washington Nationals with one swing. To say Kendrick's postseason had been lackluster would be an understatement. He made some key mistakes. Then, in game 5 of a tied series, he did this in the 10th inning:



That's right, a grand slam. In this picture, you can see that Kendrick's grand slam had on of his teammates literally jumping for joy.

Howie Kendrick is 36 years old and a 14-year veteran of Major League Baseball. He said in an interview after the game that it was "probably the best moment" of his career. There's no "probably" about it; this is how Kendrick will be remembered in baseball history.

Postseason, Week 1: Ryan Helsley

Ryan Helsley is my MLBoyfriend of the week because he had the courage to speak out against racism. I worked on this post for about half an hour, and realized I was going to bury the lede way too deeply.* So, let me put this upfront, Ryan Helsley, a member of the Cherokee Nation, got my attention and won my heart when he had this to say about the Atlanta Braves' horrible "Tomhawk Chop":

“I think it’s a misrepresentation of the Cherokee people or Native Americans in general. [It] just depicts them in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren’t intellectual. They are a lot more than that. It’s not me being offended by the whole mascot thing. It’s not. It’s about the misconception of us, the Native Americans, and it devalues us and how we’re perceived in that way, or used as mascots. The Redskins and stuff like that. ...That’s the disappointing part. That stuff like this still goes on. It’s just disrespectful, I think.”

Ryan Helsley is a rookie who just played his first postseason game. He showed a lot of strength and civility in what has to be a both a very exciting and stressful time. That makes his stand all the more impressive.

Congratulations, Ryan Helsey! You are my MLBoyfriend.  Before this season began, I said I would keep an eye out for "My Ethical MLBoyfriend", and you definitely fit the bill. Plus, you're super cute.

UPDATED 10/9: I didn't include the Atlanta team's official response to Ryan Helsley's comments in this post. I was skeptical, to say the least, that they "appreciate and take seriously Mr. Helsley's concerns". I was equally leery of MLB Commisioner Rob Manfred saying that the ball team has "taken steps to take out" the Tomahawk Chop chant. The headline of Deadspin's post on Sunday about the chant and Helsley's response to it summed up my feelings: "Braves Give Lie To Rob Manfield's Insistence That The 'Tomahawk Chop' Is Being Discouraged". In short, I didn't think Helsley's comments would have any effect.

I am happy to report that I was wrong. Ryan Helsey's criticism has actually caused the Atlanta organization to make some positive changes. 

Misters October 2019

MLB's regular season has ended, but my work here goes on. Let's take a look and see which of my MLBoyfriends made it to the postseason this year.

The Milwaukee Brewers

Christian Yelich

Yelich actually won't be playing in the postseason, but, despite his injury,
he just won the NL Batting Title. He definitely deserves credit for helping
the Brewers win a wild card spot.

The Washington Nationals

Anthony Rendon

Max Scherzer

The St. Louis Cardinals

Dakota Hudson

Kolten Wong

The Houston Astros

José Altuve

The Los Angeles Dodgers

Cody Bellinger

Kiké Hernández

Joc Pederson

The New York Yankees

Masahiro Tanaka

GleyberTorres

And finally, it's not surprising that my hometown team has the most MLBoyfriends of the year. Here they are....

The Minnesota Twins

Byron Buxton

Due to injury, Buxton will not be playing in the postseason;
however, he's such a favorite of mine, I still had to include him.

Nelson Cruz

Ryan LaMarre

Eddie Rosario

If you haven't seen this amazing catch Rosario made last week,
go check it out here.

SPECIAL POSTSEASON BONUS
Although, I haven't chose Brian Dozier as my MLBoyfriend this year (it's been two years since he won the title), I couldn't pass up the chance to give him a shout out this week. I kind of hate the pre‐planned locker room celebrations. They are just so generic. However, when the Nationals clinched a wild card spot, Brian Dozier found a way to kick things up several notches, and I really appreciate it.

Check out the video of his celebration--complete with twerking--in this tweet:

Brian Dozier.

We're speechless.

We're without speech.pic.twitter.com/Dh5UdQm4gk

— Cut4 (@Cut4) September 25, 2019

Congratulations to all my MLBoyfriends going into the postseason! I look forward to seeing you all on the field in the next month.

Week 26: Ryan LaMarre

The Twins have new player to help them finish out the season. Ryan LaMarre was actually on the Minnesota roster last year before he was traded to the White Sox, and now he's come back just in time to go to the postseason.

LaMarre didn't have a lot of plate appearances last week, but he did well with the ones he had. He went 3 for 8 with a .375 average and 1.194 OPS. He even had one home run which also gave him his only run and only RBI for the week.



However, none of that is the reason I'm choosing LaMarre as my MLBoyfriend today. The real reason is that I went to my last regular season home game at Target Field on Thursday, August 19, and got to see Ryan play in person. Here are a couple of photos I took of him at the plate.

First of all, I really appreciate that he's wearing the traditional pantaloons and stockings. I've made my peace with the fact that most players wear full-length pants on the field. But, I really love it when guys kick it old school.

Still, that's not even my favorite thing about LaMarre. He won my heart with his choice of walk-up music. Turn up the volume on this video I shot.

That's right, LaMarre chose "Bad At Love" by Halsey! I love that song. Plus, Halsey is openly bisexual and the lyrics of the song reflect that. I not saying LaMarre is sending some secret queer message with the song. It's just really cool of him to pick it.

Week 25: Kris Bryant

Holy cow! Has it really been three years since Kris Bryant was named my MLBoyfriend the first and until today only time? That's just bonkers.

I mean, KB is very good at baseball, and he's very good looking. That's a combo I usually reward more often.

Am I the only one digging the tan lines?

Bryant also happens to wear #17 which is my favorite number. He should definitely get some bonus points for that.

Kris Bryant is half of my favorite baseball bromance: BRYZZO. The other half is three-time MLBoyfriend, Anthony Rizzo.

So, picking Bryant as my MLBoyfriend gives me an excuse to post this adorable video.




Speaking of stuff to post, do you have any idea how may GIFs there are of Kris Bryant being cute? A lot, that's how many. Here's a small sampling of what's out there.

Week 24: Christian Yelich

Sure, Christian Yelich had a very good week last week.  He had 4 runs, 2 home runs, 5 RBIs, a .381 average, 1.298 OPS, and 4 stolen bases too boot. He's also a strong contender to win the NL MVP Award again this season.

But if I'm being honest, the real reason Yelich is my MLBoyfriend this week is because I'm lazy. See, the ESPN Magazine Body Issue came out last week, and Christian Yelich got all naked for a photo shoot featured in it.

I look forward to the Body Issue every year for many reasons, but mostly because it makes this blog incredibly easy to "write".  Let's face it,  no one is reading this text anymore.

Although I'm a little mad at ESPN Magazine because last year they featured two MLB players, Dallas Keuchel and Yasiel Puig, in the Body Issue giving me two weeks of blog content instead of just one. Still, I ca't complain too much when they give me pictures like this:

Oh, and also video of how that picture was shot:

Congratulations, Christian Yelich! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. I strongly encourage everyone to check out the rest of the ESPN Magazine Body Issue spread that won the title.