Josh Reddick of the Oakland Athletics named the American League Player of the Week

Oakland Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending September 2nd. This is Josh’s first career weekly honor and the third for the Athletics this season, joining Brandon Moss (week ending June 17th) and Yoenis Cespedes (week ending July 15th). The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Reddick batted .387 (12-for-31) with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and six runs scored in seven games to help the Athletics post a perfect 7-0 record during the week. Among league leaders, the 25-year-old finished first in RBI, second in total bases (23), tied for second in homers and fifth in slugging percentage (.742).

In Monday's series-opener against the Cleveland Indians, the Savannah, Georgia native went 2-for-4 with a homer and backed up A's starter Brett Anderson with a strong defensive play in right field as Oakland topped the Tribe, 3-0, at Progressive Field. Reddick, acquired by the Athletics in a five-player swap with the Boston Red Sox last December, led off the second inning with a solo blast – his 26th of the season – and later made a diving grab in the right-center field gap to rob Jason Donald of a hit in the Oakland victory. On Wednesday, the left-handed-hitting Reddick went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored to guide Oakland to an 8-4 victory over the Indians. In the final game of the four-game set with Cleveland on Thursday, the Middle Georgia College product collected three hits, including a homer and three RBI as Oakland topped the Indians, 12-7, to complete the sweep. Josh’s three-hit effort was his 10th of the season and his third in five games. On Friday, the 17th round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft (by the Red Sox) launched a grand slam in a nine-run seventh inning against his former club as the Athletics defeated Boston, 20-2, in Oakland. It marked just the fourth time the A’s scored 20 runs in a game since moving to Oakland in 1968, and it was their second such occurrence against Boston (21 runs on June 14, 1969).

Entering play today, Reddick is batting .260 (130-for-500) with 25 doubles, five triples, 28 homers, 75 RBI and 72 runs scored in 128 games. He leads the squad in runs, hits, doubles, homers, RBI, slugging percentage (.498), extra-base hits (58) and total bases (249). The Athletics (76-58), who are currently atop the A.L. Wild Card standings, are 4.0 games back of the A.L. West-leading Texas Rangers.

Other notable performances last week included Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (.478, 3 HR, 7 RBI); Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Reynolds (.318, 4 HR, 7 RBI); Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar (.391, 4 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI); and outfielder Torii Hunter (.542, 13 H, 3 2B) of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Josh Reddick will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.