Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for July. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor for 25 of 30 MLB clubs, is also the presenting sponsor of the American League Player of the Month Award.
In 22 games last month, Murphy led the Majors with 11 doubles, 18 extra-base hits and a .744 slugging percentage, while leading the NL with 23 RBI. The two-time All-Star ranked fourth among qualifying NL hitters with a .346 (27-for-78) batting average and collected 58 total bases, which was the League's third-highest mark. His six home runs were tied for 10th in the League and were the most by a NL second baseman during the month of July.
Murphy collected hits in 17 of his 22 games last month and hit safely in 13 straight from July 7th-27th. During that span, the 31-year-old veteran hit .417 with six homers and 19 RBI. Murphy reached the 20-homer threshold for the first time in his eight-year Major League career on July 27th, clubbing a solo shot in the sixth inning of Washington's 4-1 victory over Cleveland at Progressive Field. Murphy, in his first season with the Nationals following seven seasons with the New York Mets, capped his stellar first half by collecting seven hits with a pair of doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI from July 7th-10th in a four-game series against his former club. His four-RBI performance in a 6-1 victory on July 9th marked a season-high for the left-handed-hitting slugger. Murphy currently leads the NL in hitting with a .345 average on the season. His 136 hits and 32 doubles also are the League's top marks, while his 79 RBI are tied for second.
This is his second career Player of the Month Award, with both coming this season, having also won in May. Other players receiving votes included Cincinnati's Joey Votto (.413, 20 R, 31 H, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 25 BB, .627 SLG, .549 OBP) and Jay Bruce (15 R, 8 HR, 21 RBI, .529 SLG), who was traded to the Mets on Monday; rookie Trevor Story (.287, 20 R, 8 HR, 22 RBI, .625 SLG) of the Colorado Rockies; Miami's Giancarlo Stanton (.305, 16 R, 29 H, 7 HR, 20 RBI, .621 SLG); Yasmani Grandal (.324, 22 H, 8 HR, 14 RBI, .691 SLG) and Howie Kendrick (.344, 16 R, 32 H, 9 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .538 SLG) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and July's NL Rookie of the Month Ryan Schimpf (.269, 17 R, 21 H, 9 HR, 17 RBI, .705 SLG) of the San Diego Padres. The Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for July 2016, Daniel Murphy, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishment.