Players of the Week: Judge, Martinez, Olson honored

Aaron Judge, J.D. Martinez and Matt Olson all had memorable finishes to the 2022 regular season. That’s why they were named the Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet on Thursday. Olson got the nod in the NL while Judge and Martinez shared the AL honors.

Although Judge recorded only six hits over his final nine games, two of those knocks made baseball history. The Yankees star tied the AL single-season home run record with a two-run shot against the Blue Jays on Sept. 28 and then launched his record-setting 62nd dinger against the Rangers in the penultimate at-bat of his amazing season Tuesday. This is his third Player of the Week honor of 2022.

Martinez knows a little something about home runs, too, as he belted four of them over his final nine games, tied for the most among all American League players. Martinez slashed .353/.389/.794 along the way and wrapped up his fifth full year in Boston with an emphatic two-homer afternoon at Fenway versus the Rays on Wednesday. This is his 10th career Player of the Week recognition.

Meanwhile, Olson completed his first regular season with the Braves by leading all players in homers (six), RBIs (11) and OPS (1.416) and tying for first in runs (nine) since Sept. 26. The lefty slugger went deep in four consecutive games during the week, including a homer in each of the Braves’ three wins over the Mets at Truist Park last weekend, which propelled Atlanta to its fifth consecutive NL East championship.

This is the first time Olson has been named Player of the Week during his seven-year career.