Young Named AL Player of the Week

Arlington, Texas – Major League Baseball announced that the Rangers’ Michael Young has been named the American League Player of the Week for June 20-26. It is the third career weekly honor for Young.

Young had the majors’ second-highest average last week, batting .481 (13-27) with 3 doubles, 4 homers, 9 RBI, and 5 runs scored in 6 games for Texas. The only player with a higher average was Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez (.500, 13-26), as Young also led all major league players with a 1.037 slugging percentage and 28 total bases, 3 more than any other player. Young ranked among major league leaders in hits (T1st, 13), extra-base hits (T1st, 7), home runs (T2nd, 4), RBI (3rd, 9), and doubles (T3rd, 3).

He has won the honor twice previously: June 16, 2002 and August 24, 2009. He is the first Ranger to win the weekly award since Bengie Molina on July 18, 2010 following his cycle game in Boston.

Young has matched a personal best with home runs in 3 consecutive games in last weekend’s series against the Mets, the 3rd time in his career to accomplish that feat. He had an extra-base hit in all 6 games last week with just one strikeout in 27 at-bats, also going 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Young’s current 12-game hit streak is the 3rd-longest active streak in the A.L., 5th-longest in the majors. He has multiple hits in 5 straight games, one shy of his career best.

For the season, Young is batting .323 with 7 home runs and 53 RBI in 77 games for Texas. He ranks among A.L. leaders in hits (2nd, 100), multi-hit games (3rd, 31), doubles (T4th, 22), average (6th, .323), and total bases (9th, 149), leading all Rangers in each of those four categories. He also ranks 7th in the league with 53 RBI, and ranks 4th with a .381 average with runners in scoring position.