Week 25: Elvis Andrus

I had to overlook my hatred of the odious Texas Rangers in making my choice this week. Fortunately for Elvis Andrus his fabulous first name helped me say, "I can pick a Ranger, and 'That's All Right.'"

Last week, Andrus had his competition "All Shook Up" with his .412 batting average and 1.474 OPS, His three home runs, five runs, five RBIs and two stolen bases made him the Rangers' "Good Luck Charm". With a performance like that as the season draws to a close, "It's Now Or Never" to name him my MLBoyfriend.

The Rangers clinched the AL West on Friday night, and Andrus celebrated with "A Little Less Conversation" and a little more action by hitting two home runs in one game for the first time in his career. Andrus will get a chance to "Shake, Rattle & Roll" some more in the playoffs in October.

Week 24: Adam Jones

Adam Jones is having a good year with 27 home runs and a respectable .277 batting average. The Baltimore Orioles are in a tight race for a postseason spot, and Jones' performance is an important if under-appreciated asset to the team. While his batting stats were not the greatest last week, Jones distinguished himself off the field. On Tuesday, September 13th, USA Today published an interview with Jones in which he discussed Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem protests which had begun to spread throughout the NFL. Of Kaepernick, he said:

"He believes in what he believes in, and as a man of faith, as an American who has rights, who am I to say he’s wrong? Kaepernick is not disrespecting the military. He’s not disrespecting people who they’re fighting. What he’s doing is showing that he doesn’t like the social injustice that the flag represents."

Jones then explained that the protests are unlikely to spread to MLB because, "Baseball is a white man's game."

The whole USA Today interview is worth your time, so GO READ THE WHOLE THING.

Jones followed up that interview with an ESPN interview.
UPDATE: Unfortunately the original ESPN interview is no longer available to be posted. You can see it here. In it's place, I have put this interview with Jones after a racist attack he faced at an away game after his USA Today interview.



With those two interviews, Adam Jones clinched the title of my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Week 23: Trea Turner

Yes, Trea Turner is absolutely adorable.

However, it takes a lot more than being Tiger Beat material to become my MLBoyfriend. Last week, Turner put up the numbers to win the title: a .400 batting average, 1.238 OPS, 3 home runs, 5 runs, and 8 RBIs.

On Friday, September 9, Turner had two home runs including a walk-off in the Nationals win against the Phillies.

Week 22: Mike Trout

Mike Trout has been a candidate for my MLBoyfriend almost every week this season--if for no other reason than I just wanted to use this picture.

Last week, he put up the numbers to earn the title. Last week, Trout had a staggering .556 batting average and 1.986 OPS with three home runs, eight runs and six RBIs. He even managed to steal a base. Very impressive numbers for a guy who has slumped in August in the past.

Unfortunately, there was some bad news for Trout last week. He was involved in a car accident on Wednesday in which a a woman was injured. I do not believe in lowering the bar for basic human behavior for athletes or other celebrities. That said, it seems this is not the type of tabloid story we are unfortunately used to with athletes. Trout rushed to help the injured person, cooperated fully with police on the scene and showed no signs of intoxication. Again, none of this is admirable per se; however, when I first saw just the headlines--especially the one in the New York Post--I was afraid it would be a deal-breaker. After "researching" the case (i.e., Googling "Mike Trout car accident"), this doesn't disqualify hm from being my MLBoyfriend. He had the day after the accident off, and was quickly back in form--hitting a home run at his first at bat on Friday.