Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor named Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet

George Springer’s incredible diving grab earns Play of the Week

July 26th, 2021

Outfielder/infielder Kiké Hernández of the Boston Red Sox has been chosen the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and All-Star outfielder/infielder Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Hernández earned his first career Player of the Week Award and is the second Red Sox winner this season, joining his All-Star teammate J.D. Martinez (April 12th). Kiké’s former teammate Taylor similarly claimed his first career weekly award and is the second Dodgers winner in the last three weeks, joining his teammate AJ Pollock (July 12th).

Kiké Hernández, Boston Red Sox (@kikehndez)

• Posted a slash line of .400/1.000/.448 with eight runs scored, 10 hits, four doubles, one triple, three home runs and nine RBI over six games played.

• Led the AL in RBI and total bases (25) for the week while tying for first in hits, runs and doubles. Also ranked second in slugging percentage; third in batting average; and sixth in on-base percentage.

• Hit safely in all six of Boston’s games during the week, leading the Red Sox to a 5-1 mark.

• Recorded three straight games with a double and multiple RBI, driving in three runs on Monday against Toronto, two runs on Wednesday against the Blue Jays and three runs on Thursday against the Yankees. Also homered three times across the three contests.

• Leads the AL with 13 extra-base hits and 47 total bases during the month of July.

Chris Taylor, Los Angeles Dodgers (@ctaylor_3)

• Slashed .414/1.000/.433 with nine runs scored, 12 hits, two doubles, five home runs, six RBI and a stolen base in seven games played.

• Led the NL in runs and total bases (29) and tied for first in home runs. Also tied for second in hits and ranked third in slugging percentage and ninth in batting average.

• Slugged two homers and scored four runs during a three-hit performance in the Dodgers’ 8-6 win over the NL West-rival Giants on Tuesday.

• Homered twice and collected three hits for the second time during the week in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the visiting Rockies.

• Has hit safely in each of his last six games, including four multi-hit contests. Has also hit safely in 18 of 21 July contests, and is batting .354 with six homers, six doubles and 16 RBI during the month.

• His 73 runs scored on the season rank second in the NL behind only Fernando Tatis Jr. (76).

Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included outfielder Randy Arozarena (.304, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 8 R, .778 SLG) and first baseman Ji-Man Choi (.333, 2 HR, 7 RBI) of the Tampa Bay Rays; first baseman Trey Mancini (.417, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, .750 SLG) of the Baltimore Orioles; All-Star first baseman Matt Olson (.318, 4 HR, 6 RBI) of the Oakland Athletics; All-Star pitcher Lance Lynn (1-0, 1.38 ERA, 10 SO, 13.0 IP) of the Chicago White Sox; infielder Jorge Polanco (.400, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 5 R) of the Minnesota Twins; and Hernández’s All-Star teammate Rafael Devers (.273, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R).

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included first baseman Pete Alonso (.370, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R, .926 SLG) of the New York Mets; outfielders Dylan Carlson (.276, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 4 2B) and Harrison Bader (.481, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 13 H, 3 2B, 6 R) of the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. (.360, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 3 2B, 6 R, 1.040 SLG) of the San Francisco Giants; first baseman Joey Votto (.455, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 5 R, .955 SLG, .556 OBP) of the Cincinnati Reds; catcher Daulton Varsho (.474, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 1.053 SLG) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; and pitcher Touki Toussaint (1-1, 1.32 ERA, 15 SO, 13.2 IP) of the Atlanta Braves.

PLAY OF THE WEEK
Outstanding Diving Catch by George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays
July 24th at NYM – Watch It Here

Outfielder George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays earned his first career Play of the Week Award, and became the first Blue Jays player to claim the honor since Jonathan Davis in September 2020. With one out in the third inning of Saturday night’s contest against the New York Mets at Citi Field, Springer raced to deep left-center field to make a spectacular diving catch to take away an extra-base hit from Brandon Nimmo. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Jack Mayfield’s impressive double play; Jurickson Profar’s incredible diving grab; Michael Conforto’s all-out dive to take away a hit from All-Star Bo Bichette; and Matt Chapman’s game-ending grab in deep foul territory.

Chevy Community MVPs of the Month

Meet the dedicated people who’ve kept our communities moving forward over the last year. They’re the real MVPs, or as we call them, Community MVPs. Each month, as MLB recognizes National and American League players for their exceptional on-field performances, Chevy will spotlight a Community MVP who’s stood out for continuously putting others’ needs before their own.

Tenille Garcia from Phoenix, AZ
Tenille has been a substitute teacher the past year and continues to go out of her way to gather food items, clothing, and necessities for those in need. She then delivers the groceries, and other items, to ensure everyone in her neighborhood and community has what they need. During the holidays, she volunteers and passes out meals to families. Tenille never hesitates to put others first, is a great role model to her kids and, strives to involve her family every step of the way (including teaching kids in her community how to bake AND play baseball!)

Eddie Wong from Tampa Bay, FL
Eddie is the Director of Pharmacy Services at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center. Throughout the pandemic, he has worked tirelessly to ensure Saddleback has enough medications to treat patients, striving to achieve the best possible outcomes for those he treats. Over the last several months, Eddie has spearheaded the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to vaccinate physicians, employees and community members at various MemorialCare hosted vaccine clinics throughout Orange County. Most notably, Eddie handled all vaccine-related logistics in the neighboring community Laguna Woods Village (a large 55+ senior community). Thanks to Eddie’s management, diligence, and dedication, MemorialCare has been able to administer tens of thousands of doses to the senior community. Eddie has been an excellent steward of the vaccine allocation, managing the details with precision. He has volunteered so much of his weekend and evening time to help with the vaccine rollout and has been a true MVP!

For a full list of Chevy Community MVPs, please visit here.