Hamilton, Colabello earn co-AL Player of Week honors
Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton and Twins first baseman/designated hitter Chris Colabello have been named co-recipients of the American League's first Player of the Week Award of the 2014 season.
The two shared the honor, which was the first of Colabello's career and the third of Hamilton's.
Over six games last week, Colabello hit .391 (9-for-23) with four doubles, one home run, 11 RBIs and four runs scored. He led all AL players in RBIs while ranking second in doubles, tying for third in total bases (16) and tying for fifth in hits and slugging percentage (.696). It's the first weekly honor for a Twins player since Josh Willingham on April 16, 2012.
Colabello doubled twice en route to a career-best six-RBI game on Thursday against the White Sox, and he went 2-for-5 with a double, four RBIs and a run in Sunday's 10-7 win over the Indians. He had two bases-clearing doubles for the week.
Hamilton, who led all Major Leaguers in slugging percentage (.864) and on-base percentage (.560), hit .500 (11-for-22) with two doubles, two homers, five RBIs and five runs last week. He led the AL in batting average and hits while tying for first in total bases (19). He went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs on Friday before going yard on Saturday.
"He's obviously a different player than he was last year," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said this week. "He's back to his playing weight [about 240 pounds]. He has a comfort level in the box that started to come together the second half of last season but never really materialized the way it had before in his last couple years in Texas. Right now, we are seeing it. Hopefully, he's in a better place in the batter's box now and will maintain it for long stretches."
Other players considered for the weekly honor were Seattle's Felix Hernandez (2-0, 1.88 ERA, 14 1/3 innings pitched, two walks, 19 strikeouts) and Justin Smoak (.292 average, two homers, eight RBIs), Chicago's Chris Sale (2-0, 1.76 ERA, 15 1/3 innings, two walks, 14 strikeouts), Toronto's Melky Cabrera (.323, 10 hits, three homers) and Detroit's Torii Hunter (.300, three homers, seven RBIs).