All-Star Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers named National League Player of the Week Presented by Chevrolet; Athletics All-Star Brent Rooker named American League Player of the Week Presented by Chevrolet

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has been selected the National League Player of the Wee**k presented by Chevrolet, and Oakland Athletics designated hitter **Brent Rooker has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Rooker earned his second career Player of the Week Award after winning Oakland’s last weekly honors on May 1^st of last year. Ohtani claimed his eighth career honor and first in the NL after previously winning seven times during his tenure with the Los Angeles Angels. He most recently won last season on July 30^th, marking the last of his three awards for the year, after winning twice in both 2021 and 2018. Ohtani joins Hall of Famer Don Sutton as the only players to win a weekly award as a member of both the Dodgers and Angels.

*Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers (*@shoheiohtani)

• The 29-year-old hit .524 (11-for-21) with three homers, seven RBI, three walks, six runs scored, two stolen bases, a .952 slugging percentage and a .583 on-base percentage across five games.
• The Japan native led the Majors in batting average, OBP, OPS (1.535); tied for the Major League lead in total bases (20); ranked second in slugging and hits; and tied for fourth in runs scored.
• The two-time unanimous AL MVP recorded his seventh career four-hit game on Sunday against the Braves. He went deep in the first and eighth innings, marking his 17^th career multi-homer game and first with the Dodgers. Ohtani now has 10 homers this season, which are tied for the Major League lead.
• The 2018 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year hit safely in all of his games last week and has hit safely in 30 of his 35 games this season, marking the most in the Majors. Ohtani has reached in all but three of his games this year, and has reached at least three times in 12 games, including all three games of the Dodgers’ past weekend set with the Braves.
• The three-time All-Star has been on a tear through his first 35 games of the year, pacing Major League hitters in batting average (.364); slugging (.685); OPS (1.111); hits (52); doubles (14); extra-base hits (25); and total bases (98).

Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics (@brent_rooker19)

• The 29-year-old hit .438 (7-for-16) with three home runs, seven RBI, a double, four walks, six runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.063 slugging percentage and a .550 on-base percentage across five games.
• The Tennessee native tied for second among Major League hitters in home runs; tied for second among AL hitters in RBI and total bases (17); and ranked third in runs scored.
• The 2023 All-Star hit two home runs in the third inning on Saturday against Miami, marking his third career two-homer game. He joined Mark McGwire as the only players in Athletics history with two homers in a single inning and became the first Athletic with five RBI in a single inning since McGwire’s two-homer fifth inning on September 22, 1996 at Seattle. Rooker’s five RBI in the game tied a career-high, after he also drove home five runs with a two-homer game last year at Baltimore on April 13.
• The Mississippi State product reached safely in every game last week and had a hit in four of his contests. Over the weekend against Miami, Rooker racked up six hits, with three homers, seven RBI and five runs scored. His seven RBI and five runs scored mark his most ever in a three-game series, while his six hits are tied for the most.
• The 38^th round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft has reached safely in each of his last eight games, tied for the third-longest on-base streak of his career. Over the stretch, he is boasting a .500 on-base percentage with 11 hits and five walks.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar (.522, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, 1 SB, .826 SLG) and their new infielder/designated hitter Luis Arraez (.333, 3 RBI, 4 2B, 6 R); second baseman Luis García Jr. (.563, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG, .611 OBP) of the Washington Nationals; third baseman Christopher Morel (.261, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 6 BB, 4 R, 2 SB, .783 SLG) and starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (1-0, 0.68 ERA, 2 GS, 13.1 IP, 3 BB, 8 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; first baseman Christian Walker (.333, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 4 BB, 5 R, .435 OBP) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; third baseman Nolan Arenado (.364, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 3 R, .462 OBP) of the St. Louis Cardinals; and rookie starting pitcher Jared Jones (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 10 SO) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included Rooker’s teammate outfielder JJ Bleday (.353, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 6 BB, 4 R, 1.000 SLG, .522 OBP) of the Athletics; outfielder Riley Greene (.391, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 R) and starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 14 SO) of the Detroit Tigers; first baseman Jon Singleton (.300, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 5 R, .750 SLG) of the Houston Astros; outfielder Steven Kwan (.467, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 3 R) of the Cleveland Guardians; starting pitcher Dean Kremer (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 5 H, 10 SO) of the Baltimore Orioles; and second baseman Michael Massey (.375, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, .400 OBP) of the Kansas City Royals.

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Back-Handed Grab and Off-Balance Throw to the Plate by Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets

May 4^th at Tropicana Field – Watch It Here

Shortstop Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets earned his first career Play of the Week Award, and the seventh overall honor for the Mets. It is the first win for New York since Jeff McNeil won on April 3^rd of last year. Since the inception of the Play of the Week Award in 2019, the Mets are the only franchise to claim Play of the Week at least once every year. With the bases loaded, the infield pulled in and the score deadlocked, 1-1, Randy Arozarena hit a ball to the hole at third base as Lindor raced back, made a back-handed play and then threw off-balance to get the force out at home plate for the second out of the inning and keep the game tied. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Stuart Fairchild’s home run robbery; Jung Hoo Lee’s running grab; Connor Wong’s sliding grab and spinning throw; and Starling Marte’s pair of outfield assists in extra innings.