CLEVELAND — Major League Baseball announced their April award winners Monday afternoon for Player, Pitcher, Rookie and Reliever of the month.
Good news for Cleveland Guardians fans, there are a few faces in the list you'll recognize.
Superstar third baseman José Ramírez has been named the American League Player of the Month. Ramírez started off his season hot before ever picking up a bat in a regular season game, signing a 7-year contract extension. He then went on an absolute tear at the plate and hasn't looked back.
In April, Ramírez hit .342 with 7 home runs, 28 RBI, 7 doubles, 9 walks, a .722 slugging percentage and a blistering 1.133 OPS.
Ramírez also became the fifth player in Major League history to record 20-or-more RBI in his team’s first 11 games of a season, joining Manny Ramírez (1999) and Hall of Famers Willie Mays (1964), Lou Gehrig (1927) and Bobby Doerr (1941).
Meanwhile, Guardians breakout rookie Steven Kwan was named American League Rookie of the Month after a storybook start to the 2022 campaign.
Kwan batted .354 with five doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBI, 9 walks, 10 runs scored and a .500 slugging percentage in 15 games played. Kwan missed 5 games while in the league concussion protocol before returning to the lineup on April 30.
While Kwan's quick start has surprised many, including himself, it was hard to imagine anyone else in the American League beating him out for Rookie of the Month.
Kwan started his MLB career on openeing day of the 2022 regular season and proceeded to reach base 18 times in his first five career games, setting a new MLB record for number of times reaching base in each of his first five games. The previous record was set in 1901.
UP NEXT
The Guardians are off today as they travel back to Cleveland for game 1 of their two-game set against the San Diego Padres tomorrow night (May 3).
Former Guardian Mike Clevinger takes the hill for the Padres against former teammate and friend Zach Plesac with first pitch slated for 6:10 p.m.
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