A Mariners hitter is AL Player of the Week for 2nd week in a row

Want a good sign about the Seattle Mariners’ offense? It just accomplished something that hasn’t been done since a memorably hard-hitting version of the team 27 years.

Jorge Polanco was named American League Player of the Week on Monday, following a week where the same honor went to another M’s hitter, Dylan Moore.

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The last time there were back-to-back AL Player of the Week awards going to Mariners hitters was on June 27 and July 4, 1998, with the winners being a pair of all-time greats: Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.

Polanco, 31, went 8 for 17 at the plate for the week of April 21-27 for a .471 average with four home runs, two doubles, eight RBIs, five runs scored, 22 total bases and a 1.844 OPS.

Polanco did most of his damage on Saturday and Sunday, going a combined 5 for 8 with two home runs, two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored in a pair of high-scoring Mariners wins over Miami. That includes a two-homer game Saturday that started with him going back-to-back with Julio Rodríguez in the bottom of the first inning.

Making those numbers all the more impressive is Polanco has been playing with a side injury that has limited the switch-hitter to only batting from the left side, which has meant he has not been available to face left-handed pitchers other than six at-bats in the early going of the season. That has also limited him to designated hitter or pinch-hit duties since April 7.

On the year, Polanco has a .377/.405/.739 slash line for a 1.145 OPS with seven homers, four doubles, 10 runs scored and 20 RBIs in 20 games. Those are well above his career-best numbers, and have come as a welcome surprise since he scuffled after coming to Seattle in a key offseason trade ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Polanco, who returned to Seattle for 2025 late in free agency, has had a big hand in a strong offensive turnaround for the Mariners this season. As of Monday afternoon, Seattle is third in baseball in home runs (42), fifth in team OPS (.748), and seventh in runs scored (138). A season ago, they finished 12th in homers, 22nd in OPS (.687) and 21st in runs.

As of now, the Mariners’ lineup is looking a lot more like the one in 1998 that was first in homers and sixth in runs than the one in 2024.

The AL West-leading Mariners (16-12) are off Monday, then begin a two-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels (12-15) at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday. Radio coverage on Seattle Sports will start at 5:30 with the pregame show.

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