New York, .- The third baseman Rafael Devers, of the Boston Red Sox, and the initialist Josh Bell, of the Pittsburgh Pirates, were chosen this Monday as May Players of the Month within the American and National Leagues, respectively.
Devers, 22, led the Young Circuit with 40 hits last month and had an offensive line of .351 / .380 / .640 with the Red Sox.
The Dominican slugger also had a streak of 11 games with at least one hit, from May 19 to 31.
Devers hit extra-base hits and scored one run in eight consecutive games from May 20-28 to match a Boston team record set by Dwight Evans in 1982.
For his part, Bell, 26, was on fire last month leading the Major Leagues with 46 hits and 31 RBIs.
In addition, he shared the top in the Major Leagues with 12 homers and was among the first five on average (.390), on-base percentage (.442), slugging (.797) and OPS (1.238).
Bell’s total reached base (94) also set a Pirate record for any month in a season and was the best mark of any batter in May since Willie Mays’ 102 in 1958.
Bell also became the third player in Old Circuit history to hit at least 12 doubles and 12 homers in a month, accompanying Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson, who made it in July 1961.
The Pirates’ slugger leads the Major Leagues with 41 extra-base hits and 94.6 miles per hour average in his strike-off speed puts him second in the Big Top, just below Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers. EFE)
