Aaron Judge & J.D. Martinez Voted Players of the Month

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been voted the Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month for September, as well as AL Rookie of the Month for the final month of the regular season. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder J.D. Martinez has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for September. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Judge posted a slash line of .311/.463/.889 with 29 runs scored, 28 hits, seven doubles, 15 home runs, 31 RBI, 28 walks and two stolen bases over 27 games played to claim his second career AL Player of the Month Award (also June 2017), as well as his fourth rookie honor of the season. Aaron is the first AL player to earn four rookie honors in a single season since All-Star outfielder Mike Trout accomplished the feat during his AL Rookie of the Year Award-winning 2012 campaign. Among qualified AL leaders, the 25-year-old finished the month first in runs scored, home runs, RBI, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and matched All-Star infielder José Ramírez of the Cleveland Indians for the most extra-base hits (22).

On September 20th against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium, Judge went 1-for-3 with a homerun and his 100th RBI of the season. The Fresno State University product became the second rookie in Major League history to record at least 100 runs scored, 100 RBI and 100 walks in a single season, joining Hall of Famer Ted Williams (1939). In addition, the slugging outfielder became the eighth Yankee in team history to accomplish the feat, joining Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, as well as Charlie Keller, Jason Giambi, Bernie Williams and George Selkirk. Against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 22nd, the Linden, California native notched his second home run in as many days as part of a multi-hit effort. The first-inning solo shot extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one run scored to 12 contests, dating back to September 9th. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other rookies in the past 65 years have posted a longer such streak - eventual Rookie of the Year Albert Pujols (13) of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001 and Trout (15) in 2012. Additionally, Judge logged the longest such streak by a Yankees hitter since Johnny Damon's 12-game streak in 2007. Posting a career-high 15 home runs in the final month of the 2017 regular season campaign, the AL MVP candidate finished his outstanding rookie season with 52 round-trippers, establishing a new Major League record for home runs hit by a rookie in a single season.
                      
The aforementioned Ramírez (.393, 21 R, 12 2B, 9 HR, 21 RBI) also posted a strong month of September for the AL Central Division Champion Indians. The 2017 All-Star finished his breakout season with 56 doubles and 29 home runs on the season, becoming just the sixth player since at least 1901 to reach both of those marks in a single season, joining Garret Anderson (2002), Todd Helton (2000) and Carlos Delgado (2000), as well as Hall of Famers Joe Medwick (1937) and Chuck Klein (1930). Others receiving votes for AL Player of the Month included outfielder Mitch Haniger (.365, 17 R, 15 XBH, 14 RBI) of the Seattle Mariners and third baseman Nicholas Castellanos (.368, 11 2B, 7 HR, 25 RBI) of the Detroit Tigers.

Martinez batted .404 (40-for-99) with 26 runs scored, eight doubles, 16 home runs, 36 RBI and a stolen base over 24 games to claim his first career Player of the Month Award, and the first for a Diamondbacks position player since Martín Prado in August 2013. Earlier this month, the 30-year-old became the first player since MLB began awarding Player of the Week in 1973 (1975 in the AL) to claim four weekly awards in a single season, following his back-to-back weekly honors for the periods ending September 11th and September 18th. Among qualified NL hitters, Martinez finished his award-winning month first in batting average, extra-base hits (24), runs scored, home runs, RBI and slugging percentage (.970); second in hits; fourth in on-base percentage (.439); and tied for sixth in doubles.

On September 14th against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field, Martinez went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and a solo home run. With the productive contest, Martinez tallied at least one RBI in seven consecutive games dating back to September 8th. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his impressive streak was the longest active streak in the Majors, as well as the third-longest streak in Club history. Luis Gonzalez (June 2002) and J.D.'s All-Star teammate Paul Goldschmidt (June 2013) posted eight-game streaks to share the team record. Over a 12-game span from September 1st-14th, Martinez hit .451 (23-for-51) with 18 runs scored, 10 homers and 20 RBI. The right-handed-hitting slugger became the fifth player in MLB history to post that many runs, homers and RBI across a 12-game stretch, joining Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg (1940), Willie Mays (1958) and Frank Robinson (1962), as well as Bryce Harper (2015). In Arizona's road tilt against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park on September 17th, the seven-year veteran notched his 40th round-tripper on the season. Per Elias, the 2015 AL All-Star became the fifth player in Baseball history to post a 40-homer season while playing for multiple teams, joining Greg Vaughn in 1996 (Milwaukee Brewers/San Diego Padres), Mark McGwire in 1997 (Oakland Athletics/St. Louis Cardinals), David Justice in 2000 Cleveland Indians/New York Yankees) and Adam Dunn in 2008 (Cincinnati Reds/ Arizona). Additionally, with 16 homers, J.D. matched Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner (1949) for the most home runs hit in the month of September in NL history.

Others receiving votes for NL Player of the Month included two-time All-Star first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (.329, 13 R, 13 XBH, 20 RBI) of the Washington Nationals and three-time All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado (.333, 18 R, 11 XBH, 19 RBI) of the Colorado Rockies.

The Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month, Aaron Judge, and the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month, J.D. Martinez will each receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments.