San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for August. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor for 23 of 30 MLB clubs, is also
the presenting sponsor of the American League Player of the Month Award.
In 28 games during August, Headley hit .306 (33-for-108) while leading the Majors with 31 RBI and tying for first with 10 home runs. The switch-hitting slugger’s 20 runs scored were tied for sixth among National Leaguers, while his .611 slugging percentage placed eighth and his 33 hits tied for 10th. In addition, his nine go-ahead RBI and five game-winning RBI during the month ranked first and tied for first in the N.L., respectively.
Headley became just the second player in San Diego Padres franchise history to lead the Majors in both home runs and RBI during a month, joining Ken Caminiti, who led the Majors with 14 homers and 38 RBI in August 1996. His 10 homers and 31 RBI were the most by a Padre during the month of August since Phil Nevin also clubbed 10 homers with 31 RBI in August 1999.
The Fountain, Colorado native clubbed his second career walk-off home run on August 21st, a 10th-inning blast to give the Friars a 7-5 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Headley was named National League Player of the Week for the first time in his career for the week of August 6th-12th after posting a league-best 11 RBI with three home runs and 18 total bases. On August 10th, San Diego’s second round selection in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft notched his third career multi-homer game, going 2-for-4 with five RBI en route to a 9-8 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. With 24 homers and 92 RBI on the season, Headley has already set career bests in each category.
The 28-year-old’s 41 RBI since the All-Star break are the second-most in the Majors while his 14 second-half homers are tied for second. This is his first career Player of the Month Award and the first by a Padre since Tony Gwynn won in May 1997.
Other players receiving votes included San Francisco’s Buster Posey (.371, 33 H, 7 2B, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .652 SLG, .482 OBP), Angel Pagan (.342, 32 R, 39 H, 11 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 6 SB, .415 OBP) and Joaquin Arias (.417, 25 H, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .438 OBP, .717 SLG); Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton (.313, 26 H, 10 HR, 22 RBI, .759 SLG, .341 OBP); Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier (.330, 19 R, 36 H, 8 2B, 6 HR, 25 RBI, .393 OBP); Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun (.312, 34 H, 10 2B, 8 HR, 22 RBI, .642 SLG); Luis Cruz (.333, 28 H, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .378 OBP) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Jon Jay (.355, 16 R, 38 H, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 5 SB, .424 OBP) of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for August 2012, Chase Headley, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, in recognition of his accomplishment.
