Pete Alonso of the New York Mets named National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet; Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet 

First baseman Pete Alonso has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Los Angeles Angels designated hitter/starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Alonso earned his third career selection after previously winning the award on June 24, 2019 and September 26^th last year. His selection last September was the last time a Mets player earned Player of the Week honors. Ohtani earned his seventh career award and his third of the 2023 season after previously winning on June 20^th and July 3^rd. He is the only Angels player to win the award this season and his seven career honors are tied for most in Angels history with Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

Pete Alonso, New York Mets (polarpete20)

• The 28-year-old hit .304 (7-for-23) with four home runs, 12 RBI, two walks, an .826 slugging percentage and a .370 on-base percentage.

• The Tampa, FL native led all of MLB in RBI, was tied for the NL lead in home runs, and ranked second in total bases (19), fourth in slugging and sixth in OPS (1.196).

• The three-time All-Star hit two home runs on Tuesday and Friday, marking his 16^th and 17^th career multi-home run games, and his 17 such games are tied for third-most all-time in Mets franchise history. Since entering the league in 2019, Alonso’s 17 games with two-or-more home runs are tied with Kyle Schwarber for second-most in the Majors behind Aaron Judge’s 24 multi-homer games.

• The 2019 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year recorded three hits and five RBI on Tuesday and hit the first of back-to-back home runs with Daniel Vogelbach, during the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium.

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (shoheiohtani)

• The 29-year-old phenom hit .300 (6-for-20) with three home runs, four RBI, one double, six walks, six runs, a stolen base, and a .800 slugging percentage.
• On the mound, the Oshu, Japan native tossed his first career complete game and first career shutout in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against Detroit, allowing just one hit with three walks and nine strikeouts.
• The three-time two-way All-Star ranked third among AL hitters in OPS (1.281), fourth in slugging, tied for fourth in walks (6) and tied for eighth in total bases (16). The right-hander led AL pitchers in opponent average (.038), tied for first in ERA (0.00) and ranked second in WHIP (0.44)
• The 2021 AL Most Valuable Player recorded his 16^th career multi-homer game in the nightcap of Thursday’s doubleheader, becoming the first player in MLB history to throw a shutout in one game of a doubleheader and homer in the other, per Elias.
• The 2018 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year hit safely in his final four games of the week and has reached safely in each of his last six starts as the designated hitter. He recorded two intentional walks on Saturday and Sunday, becoming the first player since Travis d’Arnaud in 2014 to be issued multiple intentional walks in back-to-back games.

Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included infielder Bobby Witt Jr. (.423, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 R, .808 SLG) and starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 6 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; infielder Bo Bichette (.480, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, .720 SLG, .519 OBP) and infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield (.464, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, .750 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; infielder/outfielder Brandon Lowe (.474, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, .974 SLG, .524 OBP) of the Tampa Bay Rays; infielder José Ramírez (.310, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 6 R, .759 SLG) and starting pitcher Aaron Civale (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 9 SO) of the Cleveland Guardians; outfielder Julio Rodríguez (.345, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, .759 SLG) and catcher Tom Murphy (.400, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 R, 1.000 SLG) of the Seattle Mariners; Ohtani’s teammate outfielder Hunter Renfroe (.478, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 3 R, .870 SLG, .519 OBP) of the Los Angeles Angels; and outfielder Chas McCormick (.364, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 R, .682 SLG) of the Houston Astros.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included outfielder Lars Nootbaar (.444, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 7 BB, 6 R, 1.000 SLG, .577 OBP), starting pitcher Steven Matz (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 8 SO) and catcher/first baseman Andrew Knizner (.412, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, .941 SLG) of the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielder Marcell Ozuna (.368, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 7 R, 1.105 SLG), infielder Orlando Arcia (.471, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 R, .529 SLG, .526 OBP) and first baseman Matt Olson (.368, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, .842 SLG) of the Atlanta Braves; infielder Ha-Seong Kim (.500, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 6 R, .833 SLG, .609 OBP) starting pitcher Blake Snell (2-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 13 SO) and catcher Gary Sánchez (.400, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, 1.133 SLG, .500 OBP) of the San Diego Padres; starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (1-0, 1.00 ERA, 1 GS, 9.0 IP, 7 SO) of the Miami Marlins; relief pitcher Adbert Alzolay of the Chicago Cubs (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 3.1 IP, 4 SO); starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 13 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana (.278, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 5 R, 1.000 SLG, .409 OBP), who was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Pittsburgh Pirates this week; and Justin Verlander (2-0, 0.79 ERA, 2 GS, 11.1 IP, 11 SO) of the New York Mets, who earned his 250^th career win on Sunday.

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Game-Ending Home Run Robbery by Mike Tauchman of the Chicago Cubs

July 28^th at Busch Stadium – Watch It Here

Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman earned his second career Play of the Week Award and the first by the Cubs this season. This marks the third Play of the Week Award overall for the Cubs since the award was introduced in 2019 (also Albert Almora Jr. in July 2020 and Javy Baez in May 2021). In the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday with two outs and the tying run on third base, pinch hitter Alec Burleson hit a fly ball to center field that Tauchman reached over the wall and brought back to end the game. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Manny Machado's full extension dive and throw from his backside; Justin Turner's diving stop and glove flip to second; Seiya Suzuki's grand slam-robbing catch; Atlanta's triple play against Boston; Nolan Arenado's dive towards the line and throw to first for the out; and James Outman's home run robbery.