Awards season continued on Thursday evening as MLB Network announced the winners of the Silver Slugger Awards presented by Louisville Slugger. Here they are.
American League
- Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals (1st career Silver Slugger)
- First base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (7th)
- Second base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (3rd)
- Third Base: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays (2nd)
- Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox (2nd)
- Outfield: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (1st)
- Outfield: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (5th)
- Outfield: Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles (1st)
- Designated hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (7th)
National League
- Catcher: Wilson Ramos, Washington Nationals (1st)
- First base: Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs (1st)
- Second base: Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals (1st)
- Third base: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (2nd)
- Shortstop: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers (1st)
- Outfield: Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies (1st)
- Outfield: Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets (1st)
- Outfield: Christian Yelich, Miami Marlins (1st)
- Pitcher: Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs (1st)
In the National League, Joey Votto and Kris Bryant were snubbed, arguably. It was a close one at shortstop in the AL between Bogaerts and Carlos Correa. In the outfield, one could’ve justifiably picked J.D. Martinez in the AL and Ryan Braun in the NL. And, of course, one could make an argument for Madison Bumgarner over Jake Arrieta for the pitcher’s Silver Slugger.
The Red Sox had the most Silver Slugger winners as a team with three (Bogaerts, Betts, Ortiz). The Cubs, Nationals, and Rockies tied with two each in the National League.
As we saw with Tuesday’s Gold Glove Award winners, there’s lots of fresh blood earning hardware now. 11 of the 18 Silver Slugger Award winners on Thursday earned the award for the first time. In fact, Nolan Arenado was the only National League player who had won the award previously. Another three, including Arenado, earned it for just the second time. I have a feeling most of them will be winning more in the coming years.
