The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to "coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value". Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. The Silver Slugger was first awarded in 1980 and is given by Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats. The award is a bat-shaped trophy, 3 feet (91 cm) tall, engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver.
In , Major League Baseball began awarding a Silver Slugger Award to utility players (i.e. players who played multiple fielding positions in a given season).
Key Year Links to the corresponding Major League Baseball season AVG Batting average OBP On-base percentage SLG Slugging percentage HR Home runs RBI Runs batted in Ref References * or ** Winner of the most Silver Slugger Awards at his position (** indicates tie) † Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
American League winners Year Player Team AVG OBP SLG HR RBI Ref ** Minnesota Twins .316 .375 .420 8 49 ** Baltimore Orioles .255 .325 .489 28 82 ** Texas Rangers .258 .337 .394 13 62 ** Detroit Tigers .259 .333 .438 12 49
National League winners Year Player Team AVG OBP SLG HR RBI Ref ** Cincinnati RedsSan Diego Padres .263 .320 .492 28 87 ** Chicago Cubs .307 .356 .525 26 97 ** Los Angeles Dodgers .289 .372 .491 19 75 ** Saint Louis Cardinals .290 .343 .459 18 69
See also
List of Gold Glove Award winners as a utility player
References
Inline citations
External links Louisville Slugger – The Silver Slugger Award