Elly De La Cruz

I guess it's not a huge surprise that I'd never heard of Elly De La Cruz before this week. He is a rookie after all, so he hasn't had much time to get on my radar. Also, despite my undying love for Joey Votto, I don't really pay that much attention to the Cincinnati Reds.

I think De La Cruz came to a lot of baseball fans' attention with his amazing performance last week. He had 11 hits in 25 at bats for a .440 average. He had 5 RBI--which double his count for the season. Just to top it all off, he had 2 stolen bases.

De La Cruz had his biggest night of the week on Friday, June 23. That night, he hit for the cycle--meaning he got a single, a double, a triple and a home run in the same game. This is one of the rarest achievements in baseball. It's the first time in 29 years that a player for the Reds has done it.

De La Cruz is having a terrific rookie year. He's the first player since the "World Series Era" began in 1903 to have at least 20 hits, 5 stolen bases, and 3 home runs in their first 15 games. I would also like to point out that he is very handsome and has maybe the best hair in the MLB.

Congratulations, Elly De La Cruz! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. Also, nice job on being named the National League Player of the Week. You richly deserve both titles.

Mark Canha

I had selected an MLBoyfriend for the week and had even started the post. Then, I visited Queerty and saw this headline: "New York Mets outfielder Mark Canha celebrates Pride Night with Madonna, Lady Gaga & Taylor Swift". 

By the time I finished the article, I had ditched my previous choice* and decided Mark Canha clearly earned the MLBoyfriend title this week. I was his adorkable video message before the Mets Pride Night that sealed the deal.

Pride Night is TOMORROW at @CitiField! 🌈@outtadapakmark is excited to celebrate with you all. pic.twitter.com/c0Xx4yr7YQ

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 15, 2023

BTW, shout out to the New York Mets for hosting an amazin' Pride Night this year. They seem to have nailed every aspect of it.

Congratulations, Mark Canha! You are my MLBoyfried of the week.

*Condolences to Shohei Otani. Last week, he led MLB in home runs with 6 and RBI with 12--and notched up a pitching win. In the end, he was the runner-up for MLBoyfriend of the week. I'll post a pic of him as a consolation prize (and because he's super cute).

Corbin Carroll

I love rookie on a hot streak, and no rookie was hotter than Corbin Carroll last week.

Carroll had 11 hits in 22 at-bats for an amazing (and easy-to-calculate) .500 average. In those 11 hits, he had 2 doubles, 1 triple and 3 home runs resulting in a very impressive 1.091 slugging average. As if that weren't enough, he also had 8 RBI and 3 stolen bases.

Carroll had an especially good game on Friday, June 9. He hit 2 home runs including the first grand slam of his career.

I'm not the only one impressed by Carroll's performance last week. He was named the National League Player Of The Week earlier today.

Congratulations, Corbin Carroll! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Liam Hendriks

This was the easiest pick for MLBoyfriend ever. As soon as it was announced that Liam Hendriks was returning to the mound for the Chicago White Sox, he clinched the title. In January, Hendriks announced he had been diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and was starting chemo therapy immediately. On April 20, he announced he had completed his treatments and was declared cancer-free. Amazingly, he was back on the active roster on May 29. 

The Chicago Tribune has a very nice article about Hendriks "journey from cancer diagnosis to his Chicago White Sox return". Also, the White Sox organization posted this tribute to Hendriks. (Keep an eye out for a shot of Liam raising the Pride Flag outside the White Sox ballpark for their Pride Night. I'm guessing either he or his wife Kristi asked for this to be included as they are big allies of the LGBTQIA+ community as I've discussed in my previous MLBoyfriend posts about him.)

Hendriks was called out of the bullpen that very first night.

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Needless to say, the crowd gave him a standing ovation as he ran out to the mound. Then, to top it off, his first pitch was a sizzling strike.

Hendriks ended the week strong. On Sunday, June 4, he got his first win of the season. In a twist so perfect you couldn't make it up, June 4th is National Cancer Survivors Day.

Congratulations, Liam Hendriks! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. It is truly wonderful to see you back where you belong, the pitcher's mound.

PS: I couldn't resist adding this adorable post Liam made shortly after he was declared cancer free.

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