Yankees’ Luke Voit takes top honors after pleading for more playing time

Luke Voit backed up his passionate plea for more playing time with the Yankees as he worked his way to a weekly honor.

After saying last week that he “deserves to play as much as [Anthony Rizzo] fact, ”Voit was named American League Player of the Week ahead of Monday’s game against the Braves in Atlanta.

Voir was not in the lineup despite securing the award hitting 0.476 (10 for 21) with two home runs, 11 RBIs and 1.427 OPS in six games – all wins for the Yankees, who entered that series. with a nine-game winning streak.

“I mean, he’s playing really well,” Yanks manager Aaron Boone said ahead of the game. “I think the most important thing is he’s healthy, and we know what kind of hitter he is when he’s healthy. Obviously he was very successful for us.

“In what has been a great week for us, he was right in the middle of it all. So it’s just good to see. I feel like he’s getting better and better at batting all the time. And just be healthy and we know, again, what he can do when he’s healthy.

After leading the majors in the home circuits in 2020 – with 22 in the pandemic’s shortened 60-game roster – Voit has appeared in just 42 games this season due to three appearances in IL due to knee or oblique ailments .

In his most recent shelve, the Yanks acquired Rizzo from the Cubs before the trade deadline, mostly to play first base. He got off to a good start with three home runs in his first nine games before landing on the COVID-19 injured list on August 8.

However, when Rizzo was scheduled to be activated last week, Voit said, “I’m not going to fall. I want to play and I deserve to play as much as [Rizzo] Do. “That confidence obviously translated well as both players have been on the roster at the same time over the last week.

“I think Luke is confident, even usually when he’s not doing well,” Boone said. “He’s still generally very confident. He knows what he is capable of on the plate.

“When he’s at his best, he controls his zone well and hits the ball hard. It’s a good combination if you are a hitter. But there’s no doubt he’s up to it, I think, because those games have become very important for us.