It's kind of shocking that I'm twenty-two weeks into the third season of MLBoyfriend and Clayton Kershaw is winning the title for the first time. He is, after all, one of the best pitchers in the MLB. And then there's this:
Kershaw certainly has been very good on the mound recently. On Sunday, August 19, he scored his 150th career win. In that game, he pitched seven full innings and gave up just one run for a 1.29 ERA and his WHIP was a very impressive 0.71 with four hits and one walk and seven strikeouts.
Then, on Saturday, August 26, Kershaw had his second quality start of the week. In eight full innings he gave up seven hits and zero walks (0.80 WHIP) with nine strikeouts. Three runs were scored against him (1.80 ERA) in that game.
So, for the week Kershaw had a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, sixteen strikeouts, two quality starts, and one win. However, the real reason I chose Kershaw this week was not for his stats on the field--impressive as they may be. It was because he got his hipster groove on and played ping pong.
Clayton Kershaw hosted is annual Ping-Pong for a Purpose benefit at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, August 23. The event raises funds for a variety of charities most notably the International Justice Mission which works to end all forms of slavery around the world.
Acuña had eleven runs, four home runs, nine RBIs, three stolen base, a .464 average, and 1.523 OPS last week. He had an amazing home run streak that ended on Tuesday, August 14. He hit homers in five consecutive game and--even more impressively--he hit lead-off home runs in three consecutive games. Speaking of his Rookie of the Year possibilities, at the age of just 20, Acuña is the youngest player to hit home runs in five consecutive games in over a hundred years and the youngest ever to hit three lead-off home runs.
UPDATE 3/26/19: I wrote this before J.D. Martinez posted something very problematic on social media that is in direct opposition to my values. He has a right to express political opinions, but words have consequences. In this case the consequence is that I no longer think he's hot--in fact, he's the opposite of hot. NRA propaganda is deal breaker for me.
According to the (admittedly problematic) ESPN Player Rater, the top two players in fantasy baseball last week were #1. Mookie Betts and #2. J.D. Martinez--both of the Boston Red Sox. Both are also former MLBoyfriends. Betts won the title earlier this season; Martinez was crowned last season. I couldn't decide who was more worthy of a respeat, so I decided to go with the rare tie.
Mookie Betts put up some amazing stats last week. He had ten runs, one home run, five RBIs, two stolen bases, a .448 batting average, and 1.418 OPS.
The highlight of this great week was clearly Thursday, August 9. Mookie Betts accomplished the rare feat of hitting for the cycle. He hit a single, a double, a triple and a home run in one game which is a glorious thing to watch even if it was for the hateful Red Sox.
Betts did all this while remaining his usual adorable self.
So it seems that Mookie Betts should have this week's MLBoyfriend in the bag. However, there's a strong case to be made for J.D. Martinez...
Last week, Martinez had seven runs, four home runs, eleven RBIs, a .464 average, and 1.603 OPS.
For those keeping track, Martinez actually had more home runs and RBIs than Betts as well as a higher batting average and OPS. So why does Betts rank higher on the Player Rater? It was almost certainly Betts' two stolen bases (which system probably weights too heavily) that made the difference. Martinez arguably had the better week.
Martinez has something else going for him: He's on my fantasy baseball team, the Lake Washington Gillygoofangs. I clearly pay more attention to and place more value on his performance.
Also, I have a confession to make. I feel bad that I did not name J.D. Martinez my MLBoyfriend the week he hit four home runs in one game last year. If hitting for the cycle is the batting equivalent of pitching a no-hitter, then hitting four home runs in one game is pitching perfect game. Only eighteen players have done it in major league baseball history. Martinez is the last one to do on September 4, 2017. (Ironically, that week, I had the first ever co-winners of the MLBoyfriend title.)
Martinez also give Betts a run for his money in the cute department.
There are currently many articles and blog posts pitting Mookie Betts against J.D. Martinez in the race for American League MVP. I'm not going to fall into that trap. First, it seems strange to describe teammates as rivals especially when they consistent act as a fantastic duo on the field.
Also, as I mentioned in my post about Betts, they have a legit friendship. Who am I to split up such a fine bromance?
Click here to see a video of Martinez and Betts taking a friendship quiz.
And so, this week, we have the extremely rare tie in baseball. Congratulations Mookie Betts & J.D. Martinez! You are my Co-MLBoyfriends of the week!
Jake Cave only hit one home run last week, but it was a big one. It was a grand slam that contributed four of the Twins' six runs in their victory of the Royals on Sunday, August 5.
Speaking of the the Minnesota outfield, I also chose Jake Cave because there is an endless supply of adorable pictures of him with fellow Twins outfielders and former MLBoyfriends, Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler.
