Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista has been named of the American League Player of the Week for the period ending August 29th.
Bautista paced the A.L. with a .500 (10-for-20) batting average in his seven games played last week while clubbing four home runs with seven RBI.
The 29-year-old slugger also added three doubles and led the A.L. with nine walks and 27 total bases while finishing second with a 1.350 slugging percentage. On August 23rd, the Dominican Republic native provided all the offense for the Blue Jays with two home runs and three RBI in Toronto’s 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees. Bautista, who hit safely in six of his seven games, hit .538 (7-for-13) in a four-game set against the Detroit Tigers from August 26th – 29th, including three straight multi-hit performances to start the series.
The 20th round selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft (by Pittsburgh) collected his Major League-leading 42nd home run of the season on August 27th in Toronto’s 11-inning, 3-2 win. The 42 home runs are now tied for the fourth-most in one season by a Blue Jay, just five home runs shy of George Bell’s mark of 47 home runs hit in 1987.
In addition, Jose now has 11 home runs for the month of August, tied with Albert Pujols of the Cardinals for the most in the Majors. The 11 home runs are also one shy of Toronto’s club mark for August home runs, set by Jose Cruz, Jr. (2001) and Carlos Delgado (1999). Dating back to September 1st of last season, Bautista leads the Majors with 52 home runs, 11 more than Pujols, who ranks second in that time. This is Bautista’s third career weekly award, all of which have come in 2010 (previously: May 17th and August 2nd).
Other noteworthy performances for the week included Yankees outfielder Marcus Thames (.471, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 1.412 SLG); Detroit Tigers teammates Miguel Cabrera (.357, 2 HR, 5 RBI), Ryan Raburn (.414, 3 HR, 9 RBI) and Rick Porcello (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 14.0 IP, 8 SO); Paul Konerko (.478, 1 HR, 6 RBI) of the White Sox; Boston’s Victor Martinez (.417, 3 HR, 4 RBI); Josh Hamilton (.391,
3 HR, 7 RBI) of the Rangers; and Oakland Athletics left-hander Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP, 11 SO). The Bank of America Presents the American League Player of the Week, Jose Bautista, is awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, which is available at MLB.com.
