Texas Rangers Rookie Josh Jung Earns AL Award
Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung was named the American League Rookie of the Month for April on Wednesday.
Jung promptly went out and hit two home runs in the Rangers' 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Jung is the first Texas player to win the league’s monthly rookie honors since Adolis García did so in May 2021.
It is also the 10th instance of a Texas player winning the AL's monthly rookie award since it was first introduced in 2001. Jung is the first infielder and ninth different Ranger to take the honors.
The only non-pitchers to win the award for the Rangers are Jung, García, Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields and Gerald Laird. In five of the 10 Texas instances, the award winner has taken honors in the first month of a campaign.
Mazara is the only Rangers player to do it twice, and he did it in back-to-back months — April and May — in 2016.
Jung batted .270/.324/.500/.820 (27-for-100) with six home runs, five doubles, and 21 RBI in 26 games through April. His six home runs and 21 RBI are the most by a Texas rookie before the end of April, surpassing the previous highs of five home runs (García in 2021) and 16 RBI (David Murphy in 2008).
He finished the month leading all AL qualified rookies in runs (18), RBI (21), and slugging percentage (.500), tied for first in hits (27), doubles (5) and home runs (6), and second in batting average (.270).
The rookie had a career high-tying five RBI on Sunday against the New York Yankees, including his first career grand slam.
Jung posted his second career multi-homer game on April 24 at Cincinnati and produced a career-high 10-game hit streak from April 11-22.
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