Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet; Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets named National League Player of the Week presented By Chevrolet

Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias claims Play of the Week with diving play and quick stretch

August 26th, 2024

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Judge earned his 12th career Player of the Week Award and his third of the season after previously winning earlier this year on May 20th and June 10th. His 12 career awards are tied for fifth-most all-time with Hall of Famer George Brett, J.D. Martinez, Hall of Famer Mike Piazza and Gary Sheffield. The Yankees’ captain is one of 10 players in the AL to win 10 awards after he also won twice in 2023 (May 22nd and September 25th); three times in 2022 (July 25th, August 1st and October 6th); once in 2021 (May 17th); once in 2020 (August 3rd); and twice in 2017 (June 12th and September 25th). Overall, it is the sixth honor for the Yankees this season as Judge joins teammates Anthony Rizzo, who won on April 29th, and Juan Soto, who won on April 1st and June 3rd. Lindor earned his fourth career honor after previously winning once in 2022 (May 31st) and twice in 2018 (May 7th and May 14th). It is the third honor for the Mets this season after Pete Alonso won on April 15th and J.D. Martinez won on June 17th. This marks the first time that both New York teams won Player of the Week since catcher Gary Sánchez (Yankees) and infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera (Mets) won on August 29, 2016.

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (@thejudge44)

  • The 32-year-old hit .381 (8-for-21) with seven homers, 11 RBI, a double, four walks, eight runs scored, a 1.429 slugging percentage and a .519 on-base percentage in six games last week.
  • The California native led the Majors in homers, RBI, slugging, OPS (1.948), extra-base hits (8) and total bases (30); tied for the Major League lead in runs; ranked third in on-base percentage; and ranked eighth in batting average.
  • The 2022 AL MVP hit his 50th and 51st home runs of the season on Sunday against Colorado, putting him on pace for 63 home runs, a mark which would break his AL record of 62, set during the 2022 season. Judge joined Hall of Famer Babe Ruth (four times), Mark McGwire (four times), Sammy Sosa (four times) and Alex Rodriguez (three times) as the only players in history with at least three seasons of 50 home runs.
  • The 2017 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year homered in four straight games from Tuesday through Friday, marking the fourth time in his career that he homered in four straight games and second time this season (also: 5/22-5/25). He is the first player since Joey Votto in 2021 to hit seven home runs over a six-game span, after Votto homered in seven straight games for the Reds, totaling nine longballs. Judge is the first Yankees player with seven homers across a six-game stretch since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
  • The six-time All-Star has recorded at least one hit in 18 of his 21 games this month, including an 11-game hitting streak from August 11th-23rd. During the stretch, he batted .439 (18-for-41) with eight homers, 14 RBI, a .531 on-base percentage and a 1.653 OPS. Overall, he has reached base safely in 20 of his 21 games in August, reaching at least twice in 15 of the games. The Yankees are 61-22 this season in the Major League-best 83 games that Judge has reached base safely at least twice.

Francisco Lindor, New York Mets (@lindor12bc)

  • The 30-year-old hit .345 (10-for-29) with three homers, six RBI, four doubles, two walks, six runs scored, a stolen base, a .793 slugging percentage and a .387 on-base percentage in seven games last week.
  • The Puerto Rico native tied for the Major League lead in hits (10) and doubles (4); ranked second in extra-base hits (7) and total baes (23); led NL hitters in slugging and ranked fourth in the NL in OPS (1.180).
  • The four-time All-Star tallied his 19th career multi-homer game on Saturday at San Diego, driving home five runs, as he hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and a solo shot in the seventh inning. It marked the sixth time in his career that he homered from each side of the plate in a single game. The grand slam was the seventh of his career and fifth since joining the Mets, tied for second-most all-time in Mets’ franchise history (most: Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, 6 grand slams).
  • The three-time Silver Slugger hit his 25th homer of the year on Wednesday against Baltimore, marking his third season of at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases, joining his 2018 season in Cleveland (career-high 38 home runs and 25 stolen bases) and his 2023 campaign (31 home runs and 31 stolen bases). He became the fourth player this season to reach the 25/25 mark and the 18th player in history with at least three 25/25 seasons.
  • The eighth overall selection in the 2011 MLB Draft finished his week on a six-game hitting streak, which featured three straight multi-hit games from Tuesday-Thursday. Lindor leads the Majors with 12 multi-hit games in August and his 45 multi-hit games this season are tied with Shohei Ohtani for fourth-most in Baseball. He has at least one hit in 21 of his 23 games this month and has reached base safely in each of his last 24 games since July 31st.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Jhonkensy Noel (.400, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 8 R, .950 SLG) of the Cleveland Guardians; starting pitcher Bowden Francis (1-0, 1.13 ERA, 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 12 SO) and rookie outfielder Joey Loperfido (.400, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB, 4 R, .900 SLG) of the Toronto Blue Jays; catcher Yainer Diaz (.345, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 6 R, .655 SLG) of the Houston Astros; outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (.429, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, 3 SB, .455 OBP) of the Chicago White Sox; closer Mason Miller (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3/3 SV, 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 SO) of the Oakland Athletics; and rookie second baseman Colt Keith (.385, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 3 R, .429 OBP) of the Detroit Tigers.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included starting pitcher Gavin Stone (1-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 17 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; third baseman Eugenio Suárez (.346, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 R, .615 SLG) and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (.375, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 2B, 3 BB, 5 R, .750 SLG) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; rookie infielder Connor Norby (.375, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2B, 1 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, .792 SLG) of the Miami Marlins; All-Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz (.370, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 8 R) of the Cincinnati Reds; catcher J.T. Realmuto (.412, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 1 BB, 3 R, .882 SLG) of the Philadelphia Phillies; and All-Star starting pitcher Reynaldo López (1.64 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 4 BB, 17 SO) of the Atlanta Braves.

ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Diving Stop and Quick Stretch to Second Base By Jose Iglesias of the New York Mets
August 25th at Petco Park – Watch It Here

Second baseman Jose Iglesias of the Mets earned his first career Play of the Week Award. Overall, it is the ninth honor for New York and its third win of the season after Lindor won on May 6th and Luis Torrens won on June 10th. The Mets and Atlanta Braves are the only two franchises to claim a Play of the Week at least once every year since the inception of the award in 2019. With New York leading 1-0 with no outs in the sixth inning, Jurickson Profar lined a ball back up the middle as Mason McCoy was stealing, forcing Iglesias to dive and make the stop and quickly tap second for the force out. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Joe Musgrove’s sliding stop and glove flip; Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s diving stop and long throw; Luis Guillorme’s incredible diving play; and Jake Meyers’ leaping catch at the wall.