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Jorge Polanco makes Player of the Week history not seen since 1998

Originally posted on MLB on ClutchPoints
By Russell Steinberg | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 5:27 PM ET

Seattle Mariners veteran Jorge Polanco was named American League Player of the Week for the week of April 26, and he made a little history in the process.

By earning Player of the Week honors, he and teammate Dylan Moore became the first Mariners to win the award in consecutive weeks since Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. did it in 1998.

Entering play on Monday, Polanco has a hit in nine of this last 10 games. He hit .471 with four home runs over the past week, led by a two-home-run day on Saturday in a 14-0 win over the Miami Marlins. Polanco carried that momentum into Sunday, where he went 3-4 with two doubles.

And Polanco has been scorching all season. In 20 games, he’s slashing .377/.405/.739 with seven home runs and a 238 OPS+.

“I was telling him that he’s not hot, he’s the fire,” centerfielder Julio Rodriguez said, per the Seattle Times. “It’s so much fun to watch. Every time he’s at the plate, everybody’s watching. Everybody’s like expecting something to happen, because he’s just that kind of player.”

Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore power resurgent Mariners offense

Seattle Mariners second baseman Dylan Moore (25) fields a throw to second as he prepares to nullify a stolen base by the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Polanco’s honor comes one week after Moore’s explosive week for Seattle. Moore didn’t exactly slow down this week, either. He’s homered twice since then, bringing his season total to six with a 169 OPS+.

The Mariners had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball last year but missed the playoffs due to an anemic offense. Overall, the Seattle batting order isn’t exactly breaking records, but thanks to Polanco, Moore and Cal Raleigh (10 home runs), the Mariners have at least been respectable.

Seattle ranks fifth in MLB with a team OPS of .748 and third with 42 team home runs. They’re still hitting just .237 as a team, but it’s with far fewer dead spots in the order.

Now a game ahead of the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West, manager Dan Wilson summed up his team’s approach in one word.

“Resiliency,” he said, per MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. “That’s the word that keeps coming up.”

This article first appeared on MLB on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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