MLB’s greatest hitters have been feted Tuesday evening because the 2024 Silver Slugger Award winners have been introduced on MLB Community.
The hitting {hardware}, which is voted on by Main League managers and coaches, is given to the highest offensive participant at every place in every league. That features three outfielders (no matter particular place) and one utility participant in every league.
Fourteen groups have a minimum of one Silver Slugger winner this season. Seven gamers are first-time winners. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, two gamers took dwelling their seventh Silver Slugger, one thing solely 16 gamers have achieved because the award was established in 1980.
Here’s a full rundown of this 12 months’s Silver Slugger recipients.
AL winner: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (second win)A Silver Slugger for Guerrero appeared unlikely when he was batting .231 with a .675 OPS in early Could. However from Could 5 on, he was among the finest hitters within the sport, slashing .348/.414/.597 with 66 extra-base hits over his subsequent 125 video games. His 199 hits general have been the sixth-most in Blue Jays historical past, and his .323 batting common ranked second within the Majors. Vlad Jr. now has as many Silver Sluggers as his dad did via his age-25 season. Vlad Sr. collected eight by the top of his Corridor of Fame profession.
NL winner: Bryce Harper, Phillies (fourth win)The 2024 marketing campaign was Harper’s healthiest since he received his second NL MVP Award in 2021. This previous season, the famous person slugger belted 30 dwelling runs with an .898 OPS in 145 video games for Philadelphia, and he grew to become the primary participant to win a number of Silver Slugger Awards within the outfield after which a minimum of one at first base.
AL winner: Jose Altuve, Astros (seventh win)Altuve’s seven Silver Sluggers are two greater than any participant in Astros historical past and are tied with Corridor of Famer Ryne Sandberg for probably the most for a second baseman. The face of Houston’s franchise earned his newest trophy after notching his sixth season with 20 homers and his third with a minimum of 20 dingers and 20 steals. His 185 hits additionally paced all gamers on the keystone place.
NL winner: Ketel Marte, D-backs (first win)He’s been one of many extra underrated sluggers over the previous few years, however Marte lastly has his first Silver Slugger Award after placing collectively an incredible season on the plate for Arizona. He hit .292/.372/.560, setting profession highs in homers (36), RBIs (95) and OPS+ (155) in 136 video games.
AL winner: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (first win)Witt’s 2024 season was filled with historic firsts en path to his first Silver Slugger. Along with his MLB-best .332 common, he claimed the primary batting title by a Royal since George Brett in 1990. Witt had 32 dwelling runs and 31 stolen bases to turn out to be the primary shortstop in MLB historical past with a number of 30-30 campaigns. And if that’s not sufficient, he additionally grew to become the primary participant to go 30-30 whereas including a minimum of 40 doubles and 10 triples in a single season.
NL winner: Francisco Lindor, Mets (fourth win)Lindor struggled on the plate early within the season, however as soon as he received going, he by no means seemed again. On Could 20, he had a .193/.268/.348 slash line, however from there via the top of the season he posted a .943 OPS with 26 dwelling runs to vault himself into the NL MVP dialog and assist gas the Mets to an NL Championship Collection run. His different Silver Slugger Awards got here in 2017, ’18 and ’23.
AL winner: José Ramírez, Guardians (fifth win)The Guardians’ 162nd regular-season sport was canceled on account of rain, washing out Ramírez’s final probability to hitch the uncommon 40-40-40 membership (solely Alfonso Soriano has performed it): Nonetheless, accumulating 39 doubles, 39 dwelling runs and 41 steals isn’t too shabby. Ramírez ranked second within the AL in RBIs (118) and tied for fourth in whole bases (333). Along with his fifth Silver Slugger, Ramírez breaks a tie with Albert Belle for probably the most by a participant in Cleveland franchise historical past. Solely two third basemen have received extra such awards throughout their profession: Corridor of Famers Wade Boggs (eight) and Mike Schmidt (six).
NL winner: Manny Machado, Padres (second win)Though he received off to a gradual begin on the plate, Machado had a powerful second half to assist get the Padres again to the postseason. After the All-Star break, he slugged .543 with 16 homers to complete with 29 for the season, together with a .797 OPS. His first Silver Slugger Award got here in 2020.
Aaron Choose, Yankees (fourth win)Two years after launching an AL-record 62 dwelling runs, Choose was even higher this 12 months despite the fact that he hit “solely” 58 dingers. With career-highs in on-base proportion (.458) and slugging proportion (.701), Choose produced the most effective OPS from a professional AL hitter since Mark McGwire in 1996. And this occurred regardless of Choose’s gradual begin to the season. In the event you omit his first 27 video games, you’re left with some unbelievable stats: 54 dwelling runs and 131 RBIs in 131 video games with a .354/.488/.777 slash line.
Juan Soto, Yankees (fifth win)If not for Choose, Soto could be the doubtless favourite for AL MVP. His 12 months in New York turned out to be the most efficient of his embellished profession. Soto set private bests over a full season — and ranked among the many high 5 within the AL — with 128 runs, 41 dingers and 76 extra-base hits. Based on the Elias Sports activities Bureau, Soto joins Mike Trout (2016) as the one two gamers to gather their fifth Silver Slugger for a daily season that ended earlier than they turned 26 years outdated. It’s one more instance of why Soto is that this offseason’s high free agent.
Anthony Santander, Orioles (first win)Santander captured his first Silver Slugger Award after authoring among the finest energy seasons by a switch-hitter in MLB historical past. His 44 homers trailed solely Mickey Mantle, Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman for probably the most by a switch-hitter. Santander, a first-time All-Star in 2024, additionally recorded career-highs with 91 runs scored and 102 RBIs.
Jackson Merrill, Padres (first win)Merrill made the membership out of Spring Coaching and after going 2 for his first 14, he hit .366 over his subsequent 21 video games. In mid-June, his energy actually started to emerge — from June 12 via Sept. 16, he launched 21 dwelling runs in 79 video games. He got here via in clutch moments, changing into the youngest participant (21 years outdated) to hit 5 game-tying or go-ahead dwelling runs within the ninth inning or later in the identical season. He was named an All-Star and cemented himself as an NL Rookie of the 12 months candidate. Based on the Elias Sports activities Bureau, he additionally grew to become the fourth-youngest participant to win a Silver Slugger Award, at 21 years and 164 days outdated on the finish of the common season. Solely Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Trout and Alex Rodriguez have been youthful.
Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers (third win)Hernández, after spending most of his profession with the Blue Jays, signed a one-year take care of the Dodgers and was essential to their championship run. The 32-year-old set a profession excessive by slugging 33 dwelling runs and posted an .840 OPS, incomes his second All-Star choice within the course of — and even profitable the Residence Run Derby. Previous to this 12 months, he additionally received a Silver Slugger Award in 2020 and ’21 with Toronto.
Jurickson Profar, Padres (first win)Profar was one of many largest particular person shock tales of 2024. In his eleventh Main League season, he had an .839 OPS with 24 dwelling runs and was named an All-Star for the primary time. His contributions have been key to getting San Diego again to the postseason after lacking it in 2023, particularly when stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. missed time with damage.
AL winner: Salvador Perez, Royals (fifth win)The Royals’ captain is getting old like nice wine. The 34-year-old Perez crushed 27 dwelling runs and led AL catchers in RBIs (104) and OPS (.786). The 13-year veteran now owns two extra Silver Sluggers than every other participant in Royals historical past and trails solely 4 backstops for probably the most at his place: Mike Piazza (10), Iván Rodríguez (seven), Brian McCann (six) and Lance Parrish (six).
NL winner: William Contreras, Brewers (second win)Contreras performed an enormous function in serving to the Brewers run away with the NL Central. He set profession highs with 23 dwelling runs and 92 RBIs and completed with an .831 OPS for Milwaukee.
AL winner: Brent Rooker, Athletics (first win)If 2023 was Rooker’s breakout season, 2024 confirmed to everybody that the 30-year-old slugger is the actual deal. He constructed upon his 30-homer season from final 12 months with 39 clouts. And Rooker did extra than simply slug; he ranked seventh within the AL with a .293 batting common — a 47-point enchancment from 2023 — and had a strong .365 on-base proportion. His .927 OPS was eighth-best in MLB.
NL winner: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (third win)Whereas he couldn’t pitch in 2024 as he recovered from elbow surgical procedure, all of Ohtani’s focus was on the plate, and it confirmed. He grew to become the primary participant in MLB historical past to hit a minimum of 50 dwelling runs (54) and steal a minimum of 50 bases (59) in the identical season, placing him in place to win his third profession MVP Award. He beforehand received the honour in 2021 and ’23 with the Angels.
AL winner: Josh Smith, Rangers (first win)Smith was a bench participant for the Rangers on Opening Day, however as soon as third baseman Josh Jung went down with a fractured wrist within the fourth sport of the season, Smith stuffed in admirably on the sizzling nook. He produced a .285/.381/.454 slash line with 32 extra-base hits in 97 video games earlier than Jung returned to motion on July 30. Smith shifted over to shortstop for a lot of the remaining video games and likewise snuck in 5 appearances within the outfield. He ended his age-26 marketing campaign with 30 doubles, 13 dwelling runs and 11 stolen bases.
NL winner: Mookie Betts, Dodgers (seventh win)Together with Altuve, Betts has probably the most Silver Slugger Awards amongst energetic gamers after profitable his seventh for an additional excellent offensive marketing campaign. He started the season at shortstop after having performed proper discipline for many of his large league profession. On June 18, his left hand was fractured on account of being hit by a pitch, inflicting him to overlook about two months. When he returned to the lineup, he moved again to proper discipline. Regardless of the damage, he completed with an .863 OPS (145 OPS+) with 19 homers in 116 video games. Betts’ 4 Silver Slugger Awards with the Dodgers are the second-most in franchise historical past, behind solely Mike Piazza’s 5.
OFFENSIVE TEAMS OF THE YEAR
This 12 months marked the second time Silver Slugger Awards have been given to the most effective offensive group in every league. The winners — the Yankees within the American League and the Dodgers within the Nationwide League — have been decided by a mix of group offensive statistics. The Yankees and Dodgers led their respective leagues in dwelling runs, OPS and wRC+, amongst different stats. The Dodgers’ three Silver Slugger Award winners this 12 months are probably the most in a season in franchise historical past.
