Major League Baseball announced its players of the month for May on Tuesday. For the second straight month, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge of Linden, California was the American League player of the month, as Judge was also recognized for his exceptional hitting in March/April. Meanwhile, in the National League, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan was honored.
Aaron Judge
In the month of May, Judge batted .364 with 11 home runs and 18 runs batted in. During 26 games, 117 plate appearances, and 99 at-bats, he scored 25 runs and had 36 hits, eight doubles, one triple, one stolen base, 17 walks, 79 total bases, one sacrifice fly, an on-base percentage of .453, and a slugging percentage of .798. Judge’s triple came in a 3-0 Yankees win over the Tampa Bay Rays on May 2. Judge’s sacrifice fly came in a 11-5 Yankees win over the Seattle Mariners on May 12, and his stolen base came in a 5-2 Yankees win over the Texas Rangers on May 20. Judge had one notable game in the month.
It came on May 11, as he had four hits (three singles and one double) in a 10-2 win over the Athletics. For the season, Judge leads the Major Leagues in batting average (.387), hits (86), on base percentage (.485), slugging percentage (.757), and total bases (168).
Shohei Ohtani
Also this month, Ohtani batted .309 with 15 home runs and 27 runs batted in. During 27 games, 110 at-bats, and 128 plate appearances, Ohtani has scored 31 runs, and had 34 hits, five doubles, one triple, two stolen bases, 17 walks, 86 total bases, one sacrifice fly, an on base percentage of .398, and a slugging percentage of .782. Ohtani’s first stolen base came in a 7-4 Dodgers win over the Marlins on May 5, and his second stolen base came in a 4-3 Dodgers win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 20. Ohtani’s triple came in a 10-1 Dodgers win over the Miami Marlins on May 7.
Ohtani’s sacrifice fly came in a 19-2 Dodgers win over the Athletics on May 15. Also in the game against the Athletics, Ohtani had two home and six runs batted in. Ohtani also hit two home runs in an 8-5 Dodgers win over the Yankees on May 30. Ohtani leads the Major Leagues in home runs (23), runs (64), and the National League in total bases (154) and slugging percentage (.653).
