Outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Su¨¢rez has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Judge won his 13th career weekly honor, which are now tied with Alex Rodriguez for third-most in American League history, and tied with Rodriguez and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan for sixth-most all-time. Previously, the Yankees¡¯ captain won three times in 2024 (May 20th, June 10th and August 26th); 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). Su¨¢rez won his first career honor and is the first Diamondbacks player to win the award since his teammate Corbin Carroll won last season on September 3rd.
Su¨¢rez and Judge became the 12th and 13th players respectively in Major League history with at least four home runs in their club¡¯s first three games of a season, joining: Adri¨¢n Gonz¨¢lez (5 HR in 2015 with LAD); Robinson Can¨® (4 HR in 2016 with SEA); Trevor Story (4 HR in 2016 with COL); Vernon Wells (4 HR in 2010 with TOR); Chris Shelton (4 HR in 2006 with DET); Barry Bonds (4 HR in 2002 with SF); Frank Howard (4 HR in 1969 with WSA); Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews (4 HR in 1958 with MLN); Carl Furillo (4 HR in 1955 with BRO); Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr (4 HR in 1941 with BOS); and Dolph Camilli (4 HR in 1935 with PHI).
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (@thejudge44)
- The 32-year-old hit .545 (6-for-11) with four homers, 11 RBI, two doubles, three walks, eight runs scored, a 1.818 slugging percentage and a .643 on-base percentage across three games.
- The California native led the Majors in RBI, slugging, OPS (2.461), extra-base hits (6), total bases (20) and runs; tied for the Major League lead in homers; and ranked second in batting average and on-base percentage.
- The 2022 and 2024 AL MVP went 4-for-6 on Saturday against Milwaukee, hammering three home runs with a career-high eight RBI. In the first inning, he followed teammates Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger with a homer on the first pitch he saw, marking the first time in franchise history that New York hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to lead off a game and the 10th time in Major League history. The MVP-winning trio became the first in Major League history to hit back-to-back-to-back home runs on the first three pitches of a game.
- The 2017 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year followed up his first inning blast with a grand slam in the third inning, a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-run double in the sixth inning to cap off his third career three-homer game and 40th career multi-homer game. Judge became the third Yankee in franchise history with at least a trio three-homer games, joining Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig (4 G); Alex Rodriguez (3 G); and Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio (3 G). His 40 career multi-homer games are second-most among active players, trailing only San Diego¡¯s Manny Machado (43 multi-HR G).
- The six-time All-Star closed out Opening Weekend by reaching base four times on Sunday, including a home run in his first at-bat, followed by three walks. After going 0-for-3 in his first three at-bats of the year, Judge has reached base safely in nine of his last 11 plate appearances.
Eugenio Su¨¢rez, Arizona Diamondbacks (@eugenio_suarez7)
- The 33-year-old hit .286 (4-for-14) with four homers, seven RBI, two walks, five runs scored, a stolen base, a 1.143 slugging percentage and a .412 on-base percentage across four games.
- The Venezuela native tied for the Major League lead in homers; ranked second in RBI; tied for second in extra-base hits (4) and runs scored (5); ranked third in total bases (16); ranked sixth in slugging; and ranked seventh in OPS (1.555).
- The All-Star third baseman homered in each of his first three games, hitting a home run in his first at-bat on Opening Day, followed by a pair of home runs on Friday and a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday. His longball on Opening Day marked his second career Opening Day homer after he also went deep on April 1, 2021 as a member of the Reds.
- The two-homer game on Saturday marked the 12-year veteran¡¯s 17th career multi-homer game and his first since September 11th of last year. It was the eighth game in which he hit at least two home runs and tallied at least four RBI, marking his first such game since July 30th of last season.
- Since July 1, 2024, Su¨¢rez leads in the Majors in RBI (76) and ranks third in home runs (28), trailing only Judge (31 HR) and Shohei Ohtani (30 HR). His 280 career homers rank fifth all-time among Venezuelan-born players, behind Miguel Cabrera (511), Andr¨¦s Galarraga (399), Magglio Ord¨®?ez (294) and Bobby Abreu (288).
Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Wilyer Abreu (.700, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 5 BB, 5 R, 1 SB, 1.500 SLG, .800 OBP) of the Boston Red Sox; first baseman Tyler Soderstrom (.467, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 R, 1.133 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Athletics; designated hitter Kyle Manzardo (.455, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 3 R, 1.273 SLG, .571 OBP) of the Cleveland Guardians; Judge¡¯s teammate third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.417, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 5 R, 1.167 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Yankees; starting pitcher Jos¨¦ Soriano (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels; and infielder Jordan Westburg (.462, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 R, 1.154 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Baltimore Orioles.
Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (.467, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 5 R, 3 SB, .529 OBP), outfielder Jackson Merrill (.462, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 R) and starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 SO) of the San Diego Padres; starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 13 SO), catcher Keibert Ruiz (.500, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, 1.200 SLG, .545 OBP) and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (.462, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 3 R, 1.000 SLG) of the Washington Nationals; and shortstop Mookie Betts (.500, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 4 R, 1.250 SLG, .556 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Home Run Robbery by Griffin Conine of the Miami Marlins
March 29th at loanDepot park ¨C Watch It Here
Miami Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine, the son of ¡°Mr. Marlin¡± Jeff Conine, earned his first career Play of the Week Award, marking just the third award for Miami after Jes¨²s S¨¢nchez won on June 20, 2023 and September 27, 2021. With the game tied at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning, Pittsburgh¡¯s Jack Suwinski hit a ball to deep left field as Conine ranged back and leapt at the wall to bring back the potential go-ahead homer. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Dansby Swanson¡¯s heads-up game-ending play; Nick Martinez¡¯s behind the back grab to end the inning; Josh Smith¡¯s running stop and throw to first; Jeremy Pe?a¡¯s leaping grab; Allen Roden¡¯s full-extension diving grab; and Matt Chapman¡¯s tag and throw for the inning-ending double play.