Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox named American League Player of the Week
Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending June 21st. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Betts batted .581 (18-for-31) with eight runs scored, two home runs, three doubles, two triples and seven RBI over seven games to claim his first career AL weekly honor. Mookie paced all Major League hitters in batting average, hits, on-base percentage (.594) and total bases (31). Among AL leaders, he finished first in slugging percentage (1.000), tied for second in triples and tied for fourth in runs scored.
During his stellar week at the plate, the 22-year-old outfielder recorded six multi-hit games and is now enjoying a seasonhigh- tying nine-game hitting streak, dating back to June 11th. Amidst the streak, the Nashville, Tennessee native is hitting .556 (20- for-36) with nine runs scored, four doubles, two triples, three home runs and eight RBI. Six of his nine games have been of the multihit variety and he has collected more than three hits in four contests. On Tuesday, Boston's fifth round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft finished a homer shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. With teammate Brock Holt completing the cycle in the same game, it was the first time a pair of Red Sox hitters hit a single, double and triple in the same nine-inning game since Mo Vaughn and Ivan Calderon did so on May 5, 1993. In Sunday's matinee with the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, the sophomore speedster went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI, while this time finishing a single shy of the cycle. With his current nine-game hitting streak, Betts has raised his batting average by 43 points and is now hitting .277 (74-for-267) on the season, his highest mark since he sat at .500 after Opening Day. Entering play today, the Red Sox lead the Majors for the month of June in batting average (.294), hits (205) and doubles (47).
Other noteworthy performances last week included Jose Bautista (.400, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .950 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; Manny Machado (9 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB) of the Baltimore Orioles; J.D. Martinez (4 HR, 9 RBI, 22 TB, .880 SLG) and Anibal Sanchez (2- 0, 1.69 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO) of the Detroit Tigers; Stephen Vogt (.458, .833 SLG, 3 2B, 11 RBI) of the Oakland Athletics; and Brad Boxberger (3 SV, 3.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays.
In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Mookie Betts will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.