The heavy hitters showed off in 2020, bringing us bat flips, grand slams and historic numbers for a shortened season, and they were rewarded when the Silver Slugger Awards were announced on Thursday night on MLB Network.
Both the Braves and the White Sox were well-represented, with four Atlanta players and a trio of Chicago sluggers taking home hardware. First-time winners included young stars Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr., while seeing Mike Trout’s name on the list was no surprise. He won his eighth Silver Slugger Award and now trails only Barry Bonds for the most all time.
See all the winners in both leagues below.
• All-time Silver Slugger Award winners
FIRST BASE
AL winner: José Abreu, White Sox (third win)
A finalist for the 2020 AL MVP Award, Abreu has quietly been one of the most consistent hitters since entering the league in ’14. He led the AL in hits (76) and slugging percentage (.617) this season, while leading all players with 60 RBIs — in 60 games. Abreu’s 19 homers and 60 RBIs would have had him on pace for 51 home runs and 162 RBIs over a 162-game season.
NL winner: Freddie Freeman, Braves (second)
A finalist for the NL Most Valuable Player Award, Freeman takes home his second consecutive Silver Slugger after hitting .341 with 13 home runs, 53 RBIs and a 1.102 OPS. The Braves superstar led MLB with 37 extra-base hits, three more than any other player.
SECOND BASE
AL winner: DJ LeMahieu, Yankees (second)
LeMahieu continues to establish himself as one of the game’s top hitters with his second consecutive Silver Slugger. He took home his second batting title (also 2016) after leading all players with a .364 average, while also pacing the AL with a .421 OBP and 1.011 OPS.
NL winner: Donovan Solano, Giants (first)
Solano picked up right where he left off following his breakout season with the Giants in 2019. After posting a .330/.360/.456 hitting line over 81 games last season, the 32-year-old infielder put up a very similar .326/.365/.463 line over 54 games in ’20.
SHORTSTOP
AL winner: Tim Anderson, White Sox (first)
After taking home the AL batting title in 2019, Anderson claimed his first career Silver Slugger in ’20. The White Sox shortstop helped set the table for one of the league’s top offenses by hitting .322 with 10 homers and 11 doubles while scoring an AL-best 45 runs.
NL winner: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres (first)
Though he cooled off a bit after his blistering start, Tatis Jr. led all shortstops in home runs (17), RBIs (45) and runs (50) this season. The 21-year-old superstar also led all players — regardless of position — in average exit velocity (95.9 mph), hard-hit balls (102) and hard-hit percentage (62.2 percent), according to Statcast.
THIRD BASE
AL winner: José Ramírez, Indians (third)
After earning back-to-back Silver Sluggers in 2017 and ’18, Ramírez took a step back with a disappointing ’19 campaign. He responded with an incredible bounceback performance this season, posting a career-best .993 OPS while racking up 17 homers and 10 stolen bases — numbers that would have him on pace for 45 home runs and 27 steals in a 162-game season.
NL winner: Manny Machado, Padres (first)
A four-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and finalist for the 2020 NL MVP Award, Machado can add a Silver Slugger to his list of accomplishments. He hit .304 with 16 homers, 47 RBIs, six stolen bases and a .950 OPS while playing in all 60 games for the Padres.
CATCHER
AL winner: Salvador Perez, Royals (third)
After missing all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery, Perez put together arguably the best season of his impressive career. The 30-year-old catcher hit .333 with a .986 OPS that included a .633 slugging percentage — well above his previous career high of .495.
NL winner: Travis d’Arnaud, Braves (first)
d’Arnaud had a sensational breakout year at the plate, hitting .321 with a .919 OPS — that’s exactly 200 points higher than his .719 career OPS entering this season. The 31-year-old catcher chipped in nine home runs and 34 RBIs while hitting in the middle of Atlanta’s potent lineup.
OUTFIELD
AL winners:
Mike Trout, Angels (eighth)
Add another Silver Slugger to Trout’s collection. His eight Silver Slugger Awards are tied with Manny Ramirez for the second-most all-time among outfielders, trailing only Barry Bonds (12). Trout posted a .993 OPS with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs in 53 games this season for the Angels.
Teoscar Hernández, Blue Jays (first)
Hernández broke out in a big way this season, crushing 16 homers in 50 games for the Blue Jays. He hit .289 with a .919 OPS, while his average of 11.9 at-bats per home run was the fourth best in the AL behind only Luke Voit (9.7), Nelson Cruz (11.6) and Trout (11.7).
Eloy Jiménez, White Sox (first)
After a promising rookie season in 2019, Jiménez took another step forward with an impressive ’20 campaign. He helped anchor Chicago’s potent lineup, hitting .296 with an .891 OPS to pair with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs.
NL winners:
Juan Soto, Nationals (first)
No surprise here, as Soto takes home his first career Silver Slugger after leading the Majors in on-base percentage (.490), slugging percentage (.695) and, obviously, OPS (1.185). The 22-year-old phenom also took home the NL batting title with a .351 average to go with 13 homers in just 47 games.
Mookie Betts, Dodgers (fourth)
A switch to the NL certainly didn’t slow down Betts, who won his third straight Silver Slugger and fourth in the past five years. He hit .292/.366/.562 while crushing 16 homers and swiping 10 bases in 55 games for the Dodgers.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves (second)
Acuña picked up his second consecutive Silver Slugger after posting a .406 on-base percentage and .581 slugging percentage — both the best of his young career. Along with his .987 OPS, the 22-year-old roped 14 homers and swiped eight bases in just 46 games.
DESIGNATED HITTER
AL winner: Nelson Cruz, Twins (fourth)
It does not appear as if the 40-year-old Cruz has any plans of slowing down, as he took home his third Silver Slugger in the past four years — and fourth overall. He hit .303 with 16 homers and a .992 OPS in just 53 games this season. Cruz’s 395 home runs since 2009 are 37 more than any other player during that span.
NL winner: Marcell Ozuna, Braves (second)
Ozuna proved to be one of the most valuable additions in 2020, pacing the NL in both homers (18) and RBIs (56) while hitting .338 with a 1.067 OPS. He was rewarded with his second career Silver Slugger after having previously won the award in 2017 as a member of the Marlins.
Paul Casella is a reporter/editor for MLB.com based in Philadelphia. Follow him on Twitter @paul_casella.
