Jackson Merrill

Can anyone explain to me why three of the youngest MLB players are all named Jackson? Sure, it seems like a very early-2000's boys' name. However, it was only the 30th most popular in 2003 when Jackson Merrill and Jackson Holliday were born. It did move up in 2004 when Jackson Chourio was born--but only to 23rd.

For what ever reason, that name must have magical baseball powers. The three rookie Jacksons were literally slugging it out for my attention last week.

As good as Holliday and Chourio were, I had to give it to Jackson Merrill who had a monster week at the plate last week.

Merrill went 10 for 24 for a .417, but it was the extra-base hits that really set him apart. He had 1 double, 1 triple and 4 home runs giving him a slugging percentage of 1.042--that's really, really big. Oh, along the way, he scored 9 runs, batted in 8 and stole base twice. He definitely earned the National League Player of the Week Award he was given today.

Congratulations, Jackson Merrill! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

José Ramírez

I am ambivalent towards this week's MLBoyfriend. On the one hand, José Ramírez definitely had a great week. He started off strong on Monday, July 29, when he went 3-for-4 at the plate with 2 home runs and 3 RBI.

Ramírez ended the week with some great stats with a .391 batting average and 1.515 OBP. He had 9 runs, 2 doubles and 5 home runs, 11 RBI and 2 stolen bases.

However, Ramírez did all this for the Cleveland Guardians, the team that currently leads the American League Central ahead of my Minnesota Twins. Worse yet, the two teams are facing off for in a four-game series later this week. So, this is the first time I want my MLBoyfriend to cool off before the end of his reign.

Still, I have to give credit where credit is due... Congratulations, José Ramírez! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. 

Dylan Cease

Dylan Cease became the front-runner for MLBoyfriend last week when he threw a no-hitter on Thursday, July 25. 

The no-hitter was enough to earn Cease the title of National League Player of the Week. 

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However, throwing a no-hitter does not guarantee winning the MLBoyfriend title (sorry, Ronel Blanco). So, what put Cease over the top?

Honestly, it was Dylan's mustache that clinched the MLBoyfriend title for him.

Congratulations, Dylan Cease! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Joe Mauer: MLB & MLBoyfriend Hall Of Fame

Yesterday, Joe Mauer became the first former MLBoyfriend to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

I was originally going to post the video of the induction ceremony, but, honestly, it's not that exciting. So, instead, let's look at this one I came across of some of Joe's greatest defensive plays. It's much more fun to watch.

Similarly, the pictures from Cooperstown didn't really catch my eye. Instead, here's a few of Joe looking super cute at various times in his career.

Congratulations, Joe Mauer! You are the first inductee into the MLBoyfriend Hall Of Fame!

Rece Hinds

Rece Hinds put up some monster numbers last week. He went 11 for 26 at the plate for a .423 batting average. His OPS was even more impressive 1.656--with 1 triple, 3 doubles and 5 home runs. He scored 7 runs and batted in 11.

As if that weren't impressive enough, it was Hinds first week playing Major League Baseball. He started off scorching hot. He is the first player in MLB history to hit 5 extra-base hits in his first two games.

Then, just a couple of days later, Hinds hits the first grand slam of his career.

This was all enough to earn Rece Hinds the National League Player of the Week Award. If you add in how handsome he is, it's more than enough to win him the MLBoyfried of the Week Award as well.

Congratulations, Rece Hinds! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week!

José Miranda

If you couldn't have predicted that José Miranda was going to be my MLBoyfriend this week, you haven't been paying attention to baseball or this blog. ICYMI, let's go to the videotape.

That's right, Miranda had 12 hits in 12 consecutive at-bats. That ties an MLB record that only 3 other players have achieved--and the last time it was done was over 70 years ago (no offense to the mid-twentieth century, but pitching has gotten a lot better since then).

Not surprisingly, Miranda was named American League Player of the Week. That makes my job easier because they make this handy graphic with his stats for the week.

It goes without saying that a .700 batting average is really, really amazing.

Congratulations, José Miranda! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Byron Buxton

After last week's post, I began to wonder if there are other players I've been sleeping on. Byron Buxton, that's your cue.

I chose Buxton as this week's MLBoyfriend, and then went to the blog to see when he was last featured. I was shocked to discover he's only won the title once and that was 7 years ago. That's a long drought for one of my favorite players on my favorite team.

Buxton put up stats last week that couldn't be overlooked. He went 8 for 19 at the plate for a .421 average. His OPS was a whopping 1.455 with 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He scored  7 runs and batted in 9. He had an especially good game on Saturday, June 29, when he went 2-for-4, homered and had 4 RBI.

Congratulations, Byron Buxton! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

PS: This week, another Twin won an honorable mention. Pablo López happened to be the starting pitcher in the only Twins game I was really able to pay attention to this week. On Saturday, June 29, López went 6 full innings, giving up just one earned run and 1 walk. He earned a win. It's always nice to have a reason to feature this cutie on the blog.