Shohei Ohtani

I kinda feel like I don't have to explain why I chose Shohei Ohtani as my MLBoyfriend on any given week. He's appeared on this blog so many times, I'm not sure I have that much new to say about him. However, I realized that he hasn't been featured so far this year, despite having potentially another MVP season, and I don't want him to think I take him for granted.

Last week, Shohei had 11 hits in 24 plate appearances--including his 1,000th hit as an MLB player--for a a .458 average. He had a 1.469 OPS with 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He scored 9 runs and batted in 4. Along the way, he had 2 stolen bases--although, perhaps, the less talk of stealing bases, the better.

As if the hitting weren't enough, Ohtani also had a very good start pitching. On Wednesday, August 6th, he went 4 full innings giving up 2 hits, 0 walks, and 1 earned run.

Congratulations, Shohei Ohtani! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

William Contreras

After the Minnesota Twins disastrous fire sale at the trade deadline, I'm looking for a new favorite team for the rest of the season. I might as well go with another team from the Upper Midwest--especially when it's the best team in baseball right now. So, congrats to the Milwaukee Brewers, my new squad for 2025--and probably 2026 the way things are going.

To celebrate the Brew Crew's ascendance, I've chosen William Contreras as my MLBoyfried of the week.

Contreras had a .464 batting average and a 1.357 OPS with 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He scored 11 runs and batted in 5. Also, he has this whole thing going for him...

And, Contreras can definitely give Cal Raleigh some real competition for another title in baseball.

Congratulations, William Contreras! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Nick Kurtz

Did Nick Kurtz have the best offensive game in the history of Major League Baseball? Probably.

On Friday, July 25, Kurtz went 6-for-6 at the plate with 4 home runs and 8 RBI! He is the first rookie ever to hit 4 homers in one game.

With a game like that, it's no surprise Kurts put up some great stats. For the week, he had a .600 batting average and 2.043 OPS with 5 doubles and 5 home runs. He scored 9 runs while batting in 11.

Congratulations, Nick Kurtz! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

All-Start Game Break & Mini Week Standouts

It's tricky selecting an MLBoyfriend the week of the All-Star Game. A week later, the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game seem like old news. Then, the shortened week following doesn't allow players to build up really impressive stats. So, this year, I'd like to showcase a few past MLBoyfriends who did something to catch my eye last week.

Cal Raleigh

The Big Dumper won the Home Run Derby! It's a life-long dream come true.

Elly De La Cruz

For a couple of years, I did a top ten countdown of my favorite looks on the ASG Red Carpet. If I had done that this year, Elly De La Cruz would have taken the #1 spot.

Ronald Acuña Jr.

On Saturday, July 19, Ronald Acuña Jr. made one of the best throws from the outfield ever. Seriously, check this out:

Joe Ryan

After pitching a perfect full inning at the ASG, Joe Ryan threw a hell of a game for my beleaguered Twins on Sunday, July 20. He went 7 full innings giving up just 5 hits, 0 walks, and 1 earned run while striking out 11 batters.

Luis Robert Jr.

If I were forced to pick an MLBoyfriend for the abbreviated week following the ASG, it would have been the handsome Luis Robert Jr. He did put up some very good numbers going 4 for 14 at the plate with a 1.302 OPS. He scored 7 runs, batted in 5 and stole 3 bases. Again, very good, but not quiet the wow factor an MLBoyfriend should have.

Nice work, boys! We'll be back to business as usual next week.

Byron Buxton

Byron Buxton secured this week's MLBoyfriend title on Saturday, July 12, when he hit for the cycle on his bobblehead day. 

Buxton is an MLBoyfriend long-time favorite. I don' think there's anything another player could have done last week to keep him from his second win of this season after his performance on Saturday--especially after the Twins posted this pic of Buxton holding the home-run ball the completed the cycle:

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Going 5-for-5 and hitting for the cycle in one game can really bump up a player's stats for the week. Buxton had a .588 batting average and a 1.691 OPS for the week!

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

MLBoyfriend All-Stars 2025

Congratulations to the 2025 MLBoyfriends who have been selected for the All-Star Game!

Cal Raleigh

Riley Greene

Aaron Judge

Tarik Skubal

Randy Arozarena

Byron Buxton

Ketel Marte

Pete Alonso

Pete Crow-Armstrong

Randy Arozarena

I have been sleeping on Randy Arozarena, but my eyes are open now. 

Arozarena hit his 100th career home run on Monday, June 30. He went on to hit another later in that game, and ended the week with 6 homers--the most in MLB last week.

Arozarena had a .346 batting average and 1.371 OPS for the week. He scored 6 runs and batted in 9. 

Even with those great stats, Arozarena had to battle off some fierce competition for the MLBoyfriend title this week:

• Trevor Story who had an excellent week with a .480 batting average and 1.460 OPS would have been the sentimental pick because he was the first MLBoyfriend ever;
• The NL Player of the Week, Michael Busch, put up some truly incredible numbers with a .565 batting average and 1.789 OPS; and
• On Sunday, July 6, Zach Wheeler pitched a complete game that was one hit away from being a perfect game.

So, what do I do when several players have really good weeks? How do I pick an MLBoyfriend? I'll put it this way: I choose the player that will give me the best pics to post.

Congratulations, Randy Arozarena! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.

Max Muncy

I've been waiting for Max Muncy to have an MLBoyfriend worthy week because he has one of the best stories of the season. More one that later... Let's start with last week.

Muncy started the week very strong. On Saturday, June 22nd, he hit two home runs and had 7 RBI. Three days later, he homered twice again and had 6 RBI.

By the end of the week, Muncy had a .417 batting average and 1.420 OPS. He hit 2 doubles and (the aforementioned) 4 home runs. He scored 9 runs and batted in 17.

Here's what's fantastic about Muncy's season: It started out really bad--awful, actually. In March and April his batting average was a miserable .194 and his OPS was a slightly more respectable, but still not good, 0.610. On April 29th, things were looking bad. Then, on April 30th, he hit his first home run of the season.

April 30th just so happens to be the day Max started wearing glasses while playing due to an astigmatism. In May, his batting average was a respectable .250 and his OPS was an equally respectable .851, and he hit 5 home runs. His numbers went up again in June to a .333 batting average, 1.113 OPS with 7 home runs. Muncy isn't willing to credit the glasses with all that improvement, but he says it's "hard to deny" that they are a major factor.

It doesn't hurt that Max Muncy is on trend and looking good during this Summer of Slutty Little Glasses.

Congratulations, Max Muncy! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week.