Puig Wins His First Award

This isn't a surprise, is it?

It has just been announced that Yasiel Puig won this past week in the National League.  He has been named the NL Player of the Week, from June 3rd to 9th.

May there be more weeks like this in the future.

From the Dodgers press release:

In his first week in the Major Leagues, Puig led baseball with 27 total bases and was tied for the Major League lead with four home runs. His .964 slugging percentage was second-best in the Majors and was the top mark among National Leaguers. The 22-year-old native of Cienfuegos, Cuba also ranked among league leaders with a .464 (13-for-28) batting average (2nd), 10 RBI (3rd), 13 hits (3rd), and a .483 on-base percentage (7th). Puig had multi-hit efforts in five of his seven games during the week.

Some key notes:

• Puig became the first Dodger to record a multi-hit performance in his first big league game since Russell Martin went 2-for-4 in his debut on May 5, 2006. 
• According to Elias Sports Bureau, Puig joined Dino Restelli as the only players in Major League history to have recorded a two-homer, five-RBI game within the first two games of his career. Restelli accomplished the feat on June 15, 1949 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. 
• Puig became just the second player since 1900 to hit four home runs in his first five games, joining Mike Jacobs of the 2005 New York Mets (Elias Sports Bureau). 
• On Friday, his solo shot gave Puig 10 RBI through his first five career games, tying a Major League record (also: Washington’s Danny Espinosa in 2010 and Pittsburgh’s Jack Merson in 1951). 
• With his first Player of the Week honor, Puig becomes the first rookie to win for his debut week since Baltimore’s Manny Machado (A.L.) (August 6-12, 2012). 
• Puig is the first Dodger rookie to win the award since Andre Ethier (July 3-9, 2006).

Pic Credit Above: Dodgers on Tumblr

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