The All-Star Game Break

I'm never quiet sure what to do about the All-Star Game here at MLBoyfriend. This year, I'm just going to hit you with a few odds and ends from the week.

The Home Run Derby
I got to watch the Home Run Derby. I was glad because it actually had an exciting final show down between Kyle Schwarber and Jordan Walker.

Congratulations, to Jordan Walker! As much as I love Kyle Schwarber, Walker was amazing in his last at-bat, and it's always fun to see the underdog win.

The Pre-Game Red Carpet

This year's Red Carpet looks were pretty boring compared to previous years. As was pointed out in the extensive coverage on Go Fug Yourself, a lot of the outfits were "giving Fraternity Formal". Still, there were a few interesting entries. Here are my five favorite in alphabetical order. (Apparently, players with last names that start with "A" are the most stylish.)

CJ Abrams

Ozzie Albies

Randy Arozarena

Byron Buxton & His Adorable Family

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

The Big Game

I did not get to watch the All-Star Game this year. However, I think that's okay, because it doesn't look like it was very exciting. I was glad to see Cody Bellinger won the ASG MVP Award (even if it was just for "a lousy single") for several reasons. First, Bellinger and his family showed up on the Red Carpet looking very cute.

The family adorableness continued Bellinger's daughters joined him on the field after the game...

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...and at the press conference.

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Since it's baseball, Bellinger's ASG MVP Award has to represent some sort of milestone or record. Here's what it is: Cody Bellinger is the first player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year, League Championship Series MVP, League MVP, a World Series ring, and All-Star Game MVP.

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Finally, Cody Bellinger is dreamy. The one time he was named MLBoyfriend, I posted an excessive number of pictures of him. I'll restrain myself this week with just one more.

Elsewhere in the baseball world...

I think more posts about the Portland Pickle's "Heated Riv-Dill-ry" promotion showed up in my feed than All-Star Game posts.

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The algorithm knows me too well.

Byron Buxton

When one of my all-time favorite players has a very good week, the selection of MLBoyfriend is easy.

Six-time MLBoyfriend winner, Byron Buxton, was on fire last week. He had a .345 batting average and a 1.303 OPS with 6 runs and 7 RBIs. He hit 5 home runs--the most in all of Major League Baseball. He also had 2 stolen bases.

Those stats were enough to win him the American League Player of the Week award. As I've probably mentioned 6 times before, he also gets bonus points around here for being very handsome.

Congratulations, Byron Buxton! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week--for the 7th time!

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

Byron Buxton

My hometown team, The Minnesota Twins, usually dominate my MLBoyfriend picks. This year, their mediocre start has kept them out of contention. However, they have turned things on in the past week--winning 8 straight games--so, it's finally time to give one of them the honor.

Byron Buxton really shined last week and reminded me why he has wound up on this blog so often. But, before I get to him, I'd like to mention Jhoan Duran was a strong runner-up for the title. The Twins' closer pitched in 4 games last week and scored 1 win and 3 saves. He struck out 6 batters and gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk. For the week, Duran had a 0.50 WHIP and a 0.00 ERA.

As great as Duran was, I think Buck was the catalyst that really got the Twins offense going.

Last week, Buxton had .286 batting average, a 0.880 OPS. Of his 6 hits, he had 1 double, 1 triple and 2 home runs. He scored 6 runs. All very respectable, but not the usual MLBoyfriend level of hitting stats. 

The number that won Buxton the title was that he had 8 RBI. For the 2025 season, the Twins have been in the lower-middle of the rankings for runs scored (18th) and RBI (17th). Last week, they were 8th in both stats. When a team starts batting in and scoring more runs, generally, they win more.

Congratulations, Byron Buxton! You are my MLBoyfriend of the week. It's nice to see you celebrating with your teammate and runner-up MLBoyfriend, Jhoan Duran.

Byron Buxton

After last week's post, I began to wonder if there are other players I've been sleeping on. Byron Buxton, that's your cue.

I chose Buxton as this week's MLBoyfriend, and then went to the blog to see when he was last featured. I was shocked to discover he's only won the title once and that was 7 years ago. That's a long drought for one of my favorite players on my favorite team.

Buxton put up stats last week that couldn't be overlooked. He went 8 for 19 at the plate for a .421 average. His OPS was a whopping 1.455 with 2 doubles and 3 home runs. He scored  7 runs and batted in 9. He had an especially good game on Saturday, June 29, when he went 2-for-4, homered and had 4 RBI.

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

PS: This week, another Twin won an honorable mention. Pablo López happened to be the starting pitcher in the only Twins game I was really able to pay attention to this week. On Saturday, June 29, López went 6 full innings, giving up just one earned run and 1 walk. He earned a win. It's always nice to have a reason to feature this cutie on the blog.

2022 All-Star Game Red Carpet

My Top Ten Favorite MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Looks

Werk it, boys!

10. Trea Turner. A grey suit might not be the boldest fashion statement--that's why it's #10 on this list. However, Trea Turner looks great in it--that's why it made the list.

9. Jazz Chisholm Jr. Bringing Bahamian chic to the All-Star Game.

8. Tony Gonsolin. I have a soft spot for hipster dandies. Since he was one of the few players to fly solo on the red carpet, I went to see if he's single (he's not?), and something fun popped up. If you Google "Tony Gonsolin" the top choice for the next word is "cats". That explains the pocket square and emblem. 

7. Mookie Betts. In theory, I don't like this outfit, but somehow he's making it work. That's the magic of Mookie Betts. I named him my MLBoyfriend twice when he played for the hateful Boston Red Sox, and I naming him one of the best dressed on the ASG red carpet in a boarderline douchey outfit.

6. Dansby Swanson. He's a good looking guy in a nice suit, but this is really Dansby Swanson's consolation prize for being runner up for MLBoyfriend multiple times this summer but never winning the prize.

5. Jose Trevino. You had me at metallic brocade suit. Chef's kiss for the child's matching sports coat.

4. Byron Buxton. MLBoyfriend favorite, Byron Buxton did my hometown team proud on the ASG red carpet. Plus, that is one beautiful family.

3. Ronald Acuña Jr. Sparkle, Ronald Acuña Jr, sparkle!

2. Starling Marte. It's been a year since he's been on MLBoyfriend, but Starling Marte and his wife's matching décolletages brought him roaring back.

1. Martín Pérez. He took home the MLBoyfriend crown two months ago, and now, Martín Pérez is--hands down--my pick for best dressed on the MLB All-Star Game red carpet. From head to toe--literally, the sunglasses and the kicks are both fantastic--just a fabulous look. Bonus points for outstanding coordination (without being overly matchy-matchy) as a family.