Opening Week 2026

Before we get to the boys, a little announcement...

2026 is the 11th season of MLBoyfriend! The focus and format were exactly the same for the first 10 years. As Opening Day approached this year, I wasn't feeling very inspired to do the same thing again.

A decade is a long time to be doing anything. Also, between the gambling scandals and the icky politics of the World Baseball Classic, I'm not feeling so great about Major League Baseball lately. Finally, it is a really rough time to be a Minnesota Twins fan these days--and, while I try to spread the love, there's no denying that the Twins have been a key element of MLBoyfriend since the beginning.

I do still love baseball though. So, let's see where this thing goes this year. Perhaps there will be some coverage of Minor League Baseball (hello, Saint Paul Saints!) and even some Townball (hi, Dassel-Cokato Saints!). Maybe I'll feature some players from the past who would have been named my MLBoyfriend if the award had existed in their careers. Certainly, if a current player catches my attention, they can win the traditional MLBoyfriend title.

With all that said, I easily managed to find not one but two MLBoyfriends from opening week--one old friend and one very new friend.

Mike Trout has appeared on MLBoyfriend quite a few times. He was one of the first players to be awarded the title in 2016. Somewhat shockingly, he hasn't won the award since 2018. Last week, he put some great numbers to end his dry streak. Trout had a very impressive .462 batting average and 1.573 OPS with 2 home runs, 5 runs, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Not bad for an old guy.

Chase DeLauter had a very good first "week" as a Major League ballplayer. The rookie had a .353 batting average and 1.412 OPS with 5 runs scored and 5 runs batted in. Most impressively, he had 4 home runs--the most in MLB last week. Only 2 players had hit 4 home runs in their first 3 career games before DeLauter. DeLauters performance earned him the first American League Player of the Week award of 2026.

Congratulations, Mike Trout & Chase DeLauter! You are the first MLBoyfriends of 2026.

ALCS MLBoyfriend: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

After choosing the NLCS MVP for my MLBoyfriend from that series, it may seem a little obvious to do the same for the ALCS. Oh well, that's exactly what I'm doing. Vladimir Guerroro Jr deserves both the ALCS MVP and MLBoyfriend titles.

Vladdy had a .385 batting average and a 1.330 OPS during the ALCS. He hit three home runs and struck out just twice. He was simply, as the title of this highligh reel says, unstoppable.

His performance on the field was enough to win the MLBoyfriend title; however naming Vladimir Guerrero Jr my MLBoyfriend gives me an excuse to post the cutest picture in the history of baseball: him with his father, Vladimir Guerrero.

Congratulations, Vladimir Guerrero Jr! You are my American League Championship Series MLBoyfriend.

NLCS MLBoyfriend: Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani was already in serious contention for GOAT status, and then, last night, he surpassed the very high expectations of him. He turned in the greatest performance in postseason baseball ever.

Starting with the pitching, Shohei threw 6.0 scoreless innings giving up just 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 10 batters.

As if that pitching performance weren't enough, Shohei also stepped up to the plate in the game.

In 3 at-bats, he hit 3 home runs.

This one game was more than enough to win Ohtani the NLCS MVP Award.

Best of all, he did all this on my birthday, October 17, while wearing number 17!

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani! You are my 2025 National League Championship Series MLBoyfriend.

Division Series MLBoyfriends

American League: Ernie Clement

I definitely overlooked Toronto this year. Not a single Blue Jay won the MLBoyfriend title in 2025. Ernie Clement was impossible to overlook in the Division Series.

Clement went 9 for 14 at the plate in the series for an incredible .643 batting average. He had one double and one home run and ended the series with a 1.554 OPS. He scored 5 runs and batted in 5. 

National League: Tyler Glasnow

Tyler Glasnow came in from the bullpen to pitch 1.2 innings for the first game of the Division Series. He gave up 2 hits, 2 walks and 0 earned runs. He also struck out 2. Then, he was the starting pitcher for the final game of the series. He went 6.0 innings giving up just 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Again, he had no earned runs.

Glasnow ended the series with a perfect 0.00 ERA and a very good 1.17 WHIP. 

Congratulations, Ernie Clement

& Tyler Glasnow

You are my 2025 Division Series MLBoyfriends!

Cam Schlittler

Baseball commentary is prone to hyperbole, but the headlines about Cam Schlittler's performance in the final game of the Yankees vs. Red Sox Wild Card series are deserved. Here are just a few:

• Cam Schlittler’s otherworldly gem sends Yankees past Red Sox and into ALDS

• Rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler etches name in Yankees lore with 12-strikeout night

• Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler makes MLB postseason history with record performance in Wild Card clincher

Schlittler shut out the Red Sox giving up no runs. He threw 107 pitches in 8 full innings, giving up 5 hits, while striking out 12 and walking ZERO. 

Schlittler was definitely the Yankees' MVP for the Wild Card series. I'd say he gave the stand-out performance of all the players from all 8 teams in the Wild Card round.

Congratulations, Cam Schlittler! You are my Wild Card MLBoyfriend.

October Boys

Congratulations to all the 2025 MLBoyfriends who are going forward into the postseason!

Randy Arozarena

William Contreras

Pete Crow-Armstrong

Hunter Greene

Riley Greene

Bryce Harper

Kiké Hernández

Aaron Judge

Max Muncy

Shohei Ohtani

Cal Raleigh

Tarik Skubal

Christian Yelich

Matt Olson

My sincerest apologies to any Detroit Tigers fans out there, but it was clear that an Atlanta player was going to win the MLBoyfriend title this week. The three best batters of the week all play for the Braves.

Rookie catcher, Drake Baldwin, had a .393 batting average and 1.290 OPS hitting 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3 home runs. He scored 9 runs while batting in 10. Very impressive.

Former MLBoyfriend and fashion icon, Ronald Acuña Jr., also put up some very impressive numbers. He had a .423 batting average and 1.225 OPS with 2 home runs, 8 runs and 4 RBI. He also had 2 stolen bases.

In the end, I chose Matt Olson--who, surprisingly, has never won an MLBoyfriend title despite being a very good player for the last 10 years.

Olson had a .400 batting average and a whopping 1.386 OPS last week. He hit 4 doubles, 1 triple and 3 home runs. He scored 9 runs and had 10 RBI. Those numbers were enough to win him the National League Player of the Week Award.

Congratulations, Matt Olson! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.