Chase Headley Voted The Budweiser Presents National League Player Of The Month For September

San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for September. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor for 23 of 30 MLB clubs, is also the presenting sponsor of the American League Player of the Month Award.

Headley, who was also voted N.L Player of the Month for August, led the Majors with 30 RBI while his nine homers tied Washington’s Adam LaRoche for the most in the N.L. The 28-year-old ranked third in the N.L. with a .647 slugging percentage and 66 total bases while his 21 runs ranked sixth. Headley hit .324 (33-for-102), collecting at least one hit in all but four games during the month. San Diego’s chief run producer drove in 30 of the Friars’

125 runs last month, accounting for 24.0 percent of the team’s total run production. Headley played a key role in San Diego’s 13 September wins, driving in a Major League-best nine go-ahead RBI. On September 7th, the Colorado native had four RBI and two home runs, including a solo shot in the top of the ninth that gave the Padres a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at PETCO Park.

Headley was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI on September 29th in a 7-3 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants. The three-RBI day marked his 16th game this season with at least three RBI, which is the most in the Majors this year and most by a Padre since Greg Vaughn’s Club record-tying 17 such games in 1998. According to Elias, Headley’s 31 RBI in August, coupled with his 30 RBI in September make him one of only two Major Leaguers to post back-to-back months with 30-or-more RBI since 2000, joining Albert Pujols, who accomplished the feat in April and May of 2006. His 113 RBI this season currently lead the National League and rank third in the Majors. In winning his second career monthly award, Headley becomes the second Padre to win the award twice in a single season, joining fellow Friar third baseman Ken Caminiti. Caminiti also earned the award in consecutive months, winning for August and September of 1996. The only other Padre to win the award multiple times was Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who was voted a winner on five occasions.

Other players receiving votes included Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun (.364, 40 H, 5 HR, 20 RBI, .415 OBP); Washington’s Bryce Harper (.330, 26 R, 7 HR, 14 RBI, .651 SLG) and Ryan Zimmerman (.290, 16 R, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .561 SLG); San Francisco’s Buster Posey (.371, 17 R, 8 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .426 OBP) and Marco Scutaro (.402, 22 R, 41 H, 21 RBI, .418 OBP); and Cincinnati’s Joey Votto (.343, 23 H, 7 2B, .527 OBP).

The Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for September 2012, Chase Headley, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishment.