American League:  One of the hardest working and mostly unknown ballplayers is finally going to have his moment in the sun.  Brandon Inge of the surging San Francisco Sea Lions has been awarded the fourth Player Of The Block award for 2006.  Inge raised his batting average from .261 to .320 over the last two weeks, which translates into an eye-popping .510 average over that span.  Add to that his 11 runs scored, nine RBI, and three home runs and the Sea Lion third basemen was a no-brainier for the award.  “I guess I represent all those guys that don’t earn fifteen million dollars a year.  It’s nice to know that the 'everyman' of baseball can win some awards too,”  said Inge.

Honorable Mention:

• Travis Hafner (NYA):  raised BA from .264 to .283, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 13 BB

• Ben Broussard (OAK):  .382 BA, 4 HR, 12 RBI

• Alex Rodriguez (CLE): 6 Homeruns, 15 RBI, 1 SB

National League: Brett Myers, the young hurler for the Kansas City Monarchs is awarded the Player Of The Block award for block four.  Myers won all three of his starts while posting a minuscule 0.83 ERA.  The up-and-coming pitcher has had a great deal of success of late, which has included a personal best six-game winning streak.  Myers responded to the award and the winning streak by saying, “I’ve been locating the ball really well lately and it seems like my pitches are all finally coming together.  Plus, I think it’s helping that I take laps in the fountains in the back of the stadium before games.  It really loosens me up.”

Honorable Mention:

• Johnny Damon (ANA):  .459 BA, 3 HR, 10 RS

• Jimmy Rollins (SEA):  Hit safely in all 13 games, 2 HR, 3 SB

• David Wright (STL):  .375 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 11 RS

- written by Christopher Lecher