Braves' Freddie Freeman named National League Player of the Week

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending September 25th. The announcement was made yesterday on MLB Network.

In six games last week, Freeman hit .500 (11-for-22), tying for the top mark in the Majors. The 27-year-old also ranked among NL leaders with 11 hits (1st), a .593 on-base percentage (1st), 20 stolen bases (T-1st), a .909 slugging percentage (2nd) and seven RBIs (T-3rd). Freeman also had five runs scored last week, swiped a pair of bases, and clubbed three doubles and two home runs, helping the Braves go 5-1 during the week. Freeman homered and drove in three in Atlanta's 7-3 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field on Monday. He had a pair of hits in Wednesday's series finale between the two clubs as the Braves completed a three-game sweep with a 6-3 victory. On Friday, the California native doubled and walked twice in a 3-2 victory at Miami. With the two-bagger, Freeman became just the second Atlanta Braves player (since 1966) to tally 80 extra-base hits in a single season, joining Chipper Jones, who had 87 in his NL MVP-winning 1999 season. The left-handed-hitting slugger had two hits, including his 32nd homer of the season, in a losing effort on Saturday. With the pair of hits, Freeman extended his hitting streak to 28 consecutive games, which is the longest hitting streak by an NL batter this season, and the longest by a Braves player since his former teammate Dan Uggla hit safely in 33 straight games in 2011. Freeman has now reached base safely in a career-best 44 consecutive contests dating back to August 6th. He has a .384 batting average and a .502 on-base percentage in that span, along with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs. This is his fifth career NL Player of the Week honor and third this season, also winning this year for the weeks of June 13th-19th and August 29th-September 4th. 

Other noteworthy performances last week included Asdrubal Cabrera (.370, 5 R, 10 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .741 SLG, .452 OBP) of the Mets; Philadelphia's Maikel Franco (.360, 5 R, 9 H, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .720 SLG, .448 OBP); Jon Lester (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 12 SO, 13.2 IP) of the Chicago Cubs; and Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 SO, 13.0 IP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Freddie Freeman will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.

Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves named National League Player of the Week

Freddie Freeman.

Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending September 4th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

In six games last week, Freeman paced the Senior Circuit with an .850 slugging percentage, while batting .400 (8-for-20), which was the sixth-highest mark in the NL. The 26-year-old also ranked among NL leaders with a .600 on-base percentage (2nd), seven runs scored (T-2nd), seven RBI (T-4th) and 17 total bases (T-5th).

Freeman capped his week with a 2-for-4 performance in a 2-0 win at Philadelphia on Sunday. The left-handed hitting slugger clubbed his career-high 29th home run of the season in the victory, helping the Braves sweep the three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Freeman's previous career-best home run total was 23, which he set in both 2012 and 2013. The California native helped the Braves earn an extra-inning victory in Saturday's tilt against the Phillies, singling with a man on and the score knotted at four in the 10th inning before coming around to score the sixth run of the day in the 6-4 win. Freeman broke up a scoreless tie in the third inning of Thursday's series finale against the San Diego Padres with a two-run shot, which gave the hot Braves a lead that they would not relinquish as they completed the three-game sweep of the Padres with a 9-6 victory. Freeman's 29 homer currently are tied for fourth in the NL on the season, while his 73 extra-base hits are the most by a NL hitter. His 72 RBI are the second-most on the Braves behind Nick Markakis' 75 RBI. This is the fourth career Player of the Week honor for Freeman, who also won the for the weeks ending June 19, 2016; May 6, 2012; and April 22, 2012.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Freeman's Atlanta teammates Adonis Garcia (.407, 9 R, 11 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .704 SLG, .467 OBP), Ender Inciarte (.432, 5 R, 11 H, 4 RBI, .500 OBP) and Julio Teheran (2-0, 1.38 ERA, 15 SO, 13.0 IP); New York's Curtis Granderson (.286, 6 R, 6 H, 3 HR, .762 SLG, .407 OBP) and Seth Lugo (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 8 SO, 13.0 IP); Miami's Christian Yelich (.423, 11 H, 4 RBI, .500 OBP); and Chicago's Jon Lester (1-0, 1.00 ERA, CG, 4 SO, 9.0 IP).

Freddie Freeman will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.