Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jake Cronenworth's brilliant performances this past week have been rewarded as they were named MLB's Players of the Week on Monday. This is Guerrero's third career Player of the Week award but his first since 2019. Cronenworth, on the other hand, grabbed his first career Player of the Week honor.
Guerrero makes history with record homer pace
Guerrero Jr. cemented his status as one of the league's MVP frontrunners with another fantastic showing for the Toronto Blue Jays this past week. The 22-year-old star dominated at the plate during this period, hitting an astonishing .391 clip with three home runs, seven RBIs, four walks and eight runs scored with an .826 slugging percentage.
Guerrero Jr. homered in three consecutive games from Thursday to Saturday, marking the third time this season that he has accomplished such a feat. Guerrero Jr. now leads the entire majors in the home runs department with 26 long balls recorded thus far this campaign.
His 1.308 OPS during the week was just second in the American League to the numbers posted by Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani. Guerrero Jr. currently leads all American League batters with 96 hits, 66 RBIs, a .446 on-base percentage and 1.130 OPS this season.
Guerrero Jr. made history when he cracked his 26th home run against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. That's the second highest home run tally through 75 games in Toronto Blue Jays history, behind only the great George Bell who blasted 27 homers during that same time frame in 1987.
Guerrero Jr. now has 50 home runs in his career, achieving that hollowed feat in just 258 games. He's the second fastest in franchise history to reach that mark, behind Fred McGriff who accomplished that feat in 229 games. Interestingly, his Hall of Fame father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. also had a blistering homer pace, blasting his 50th long ball in just his 248th career game.
More importantly for Guerrero, his towering performances translated into victories for the Toronto Blue Jays this past week. They won five of their six games against the Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles as they look to keep in touch with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East title race.
Related Article: Shohei Ohtani, Pete Alonso Join 2021 MLB Home Run Derby
Cronenworth blasts his way to NL Player of the Week honors
Jake Cronenworth, on the other hand, wreaked havoc on the offensive end for the San Diego Padres this past week. He blasted home runs in four straight games for San Diego to start the week, including in all three games of their sweep of the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cronenworth led the Majors with a 1.481 OPS for the week after posting a slash line of .391/.481/1.000. Cronenworth's 1.000 slugging percentage was also a Major League best, and the nine runs he drove in last week led the entire National League.
San Diego has been racking up Player of the Week honors this year as Cronenworth is now the fourth Padre to capture the award. Eric Hosmer, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Joe Musgrove have also been named National League Players of the Week in 2021.
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