South Jersey Baseball: Thunder 1B Rifkin Named Player of Week 2nd Thunder Player to Receive Award This Season... Monday, May 24, 2004 By Dan Loney Trenton Thunder Baseball Club The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, and the Eastern League announced today that Trenton Thunder first baseman Aaron Rifkin has been named the Eastern League's Player of the Week for the week ending May 23rd. Rifkin had an excellent week for the Thunder, hitting .462 (12-for-26) with two doubles and three home runs. The 25-year old accounted for almost half of the 49 runs the Thunder scored last week, driving in 13 runs and scoring seven times. Rifkin, a native of Upland, California, is batting .278 with six homers and 26 RBI this season after hitting .269 with 19 home runs and 90 RBI in 137 games with the Thunder last year. The 6’3”, 220 lb. slugger was selected by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the June 2001 draft after hitting .300 with 16 home runs, 62 runs scored and 60 RBI in 65 games during his senior season at Cal State Fullerton. Rifkin was named the Trenton Thunder/ Hamilton Jewelers Fan Favorite Award following the 2003 season. Aaron joins Thunder pitcher Chien-ming Wang as Thunder players to receive a weekly award from the Eastern League this season. Wang was named Pitcher of the week for the week ending April 25. Rifkin's Batting Line for the week ending May 23, 2004: G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R SB BB SLG% 7 .462 26 12 2 0 3 13 7 0 1 .885 Rifkin's Batting Line for the season: G AVG AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R SB BB SLG% 36 .278 126 35 8 0 6 26 18 2 14 .484 The Thunder begin a three-game series with the Harrisburg Senators (Montreal Expos) tomorrow at 7:05 PM at Waterfront Park.

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