News
Gonzalez named NL Player of the Week
First baseman led the Majors with .633 batting average
By Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com
08/17/09 6:20 PM ET
Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez added some hardware on Monday when he was named the National League Player of the Week presented by Bank of America for the period ending Aug. 16.In six games, Gonzalez batted .633 (19-for-30) with three home runs, five doubles, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored. He also had five multihit games and his 19 hits were a Major League high.
Gonzalez, the first selection of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, also had a .645 on-base percentage and a 1.100 slugging percentage during the week.
His best performance came on Tuesday, when he had a career-high six hits along with three RBIs to help lead the Padres to a 13-6 win over the Brewers at Miller Park. Gonzalez, 27, became the fourth Padres player to have six hits in a game, but the first to do it in a nine-inning game while also becoming the first Padres hitter to go 6-for-6.
Just two days later, Gonzalez reached another milestone when he hit home run No. 30 this season to become the first player in club history to accomplish the feat in three different seasons.
The left-handed slugger enters Monday currently hitting .279 with 21 doubles, 70 runs scored, 32 homers and 72 RBIs.
This marks the third time Gonzalez has won the award in his career and the second time this season, as he also won it during the week ending on June 1.
Other noteworthy performances for the week include Dodgers left-hander Randy Wolf, who posted a 2-0 record while also going 3-for-4 at the plate on Aug. 16, finishing just a triple short of the cycle.
Also considered were Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who hit for the cycle and led the Majors with three triples, and Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who led the NL with 11 RBIs. Reds outfielder Jonny Gomes and Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa were also considered for the award.
For winning the award, Gonzalez gets a luxury Swiss watch from Tourneau, the world's largest watch store.
Rhett Bollinger is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
