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.
Among shortstops, Barry Larkin is the leader in Silver Slugger Awards, with nine wins between 1988 and 1999, including five consecutive awards (1988–1992). Larkin is fourth all-time in Silver Slugger wins among all positions, behind outfielder Barry Bonds, catcher Mike Piazza and third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who won his first seven awards at shortstop before a position change. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. won eight Silver Sluggers as a shortstop from 1983 to 1993. Derek Jeter (2006–2009; 2012) and Xander Bogaerts (2015–2016; 2019; 2021–2022) each won five Silver Sluggers as a shortstop. Francisco Lindor collected four Silver Sluggers as a shortstop, winning two each in the American and National Leagues (2017–2018; 2023–2024) Ian Desmond (2012–2014), Alan Trammell (1987–1988, 1990), Édgar Rentería (2000; 2002–2003) and Corey Seager (2016–2017; 2023) each won three Silver Slugger Awards at shortstop, with Seager winning at least one Silver Slugger across both the American and National Leagues.
Rodriguez's offensive statistics in his seven Silver Slugger-winning seasons lead American League and major league shortstops in most categories; his batting average of .358 and .631 slugging percentage in 1996, .420 on-base percentage in 2000 and 57 home runs in 2002 are records among winning shortstops. The lone category in which Rodriguez does not lead the American League is runs batted in (RBI), where Miguel Tejada is the leader; he batted in 150 runs in 2004. The RBI leader in the National League is Trevor Story, who batted in 108 runs in 2018. In contrast, Rodriguez collected RBI totals over 110 (ranging from 111 in 1999 to 142 in 2002) in all of his Silver Slugger-winning seasons, highlighting the difference in power and production between American League and National League shortstops. Other National League leaders include Larkin and Hanley Ramírez, who led in batting average (Larkin and Ramírez batted .342 in 1989 and 2009 respectively) and on-base percentage (Larkin and Ramírez with .410 in 1996 and 2009 respectively). Fernando Tatís Jr. led National League-winning shortstops in home runs and slugging percentage, hitting 42 home runs and had a .611 slugging percentage in 2021. Though he has never played in the National League, Rodriguez's 40 or more home runs in six of his seven winning seasons at shortstop are greater than any total hit by a National League winner at third base.
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 * Winner of the most Silver Sluggers in Major League Baseball as a shortstop † Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
American League winners
Year Player Team AVG OBP SLG HR RBI Ref † Milwaukee Brewers .293 .321 .519 23 87 California Angels .293 .357 .372 5 33 † (2) Milwaukee Brewers .331 .379 .578 29 114 † Baltimore Orioles .318 .371 .517 27 102 † (2) Baltimore Orioles .304 .374 .510 27 86 † (3) Baltimore Orioles .282 .347 .469 26 110 † (4) Baltimore Orioles .282 .355 .461 25 81 † Detroit Tigers .343 .402 .551 28 105 † (2) Detroit Tigers .311 .373 .464 15 69 † (5) Baltimore Orioles .257 .317 .401 21 93 † (3) Detroit Tigers .304 .377 .449 14 89 † (6) Baltimore Orioles .323 .374 .566 34 114 Detroit Tigers .266 .316 .416 20 96 † (7) Baltimore Orioles .257 .329 .420 24 90 † (8) Baltimore Orioles .315 .364 .459 13 75 Boston Red Sox .298 .399 .533 27 102 Seattle Mariners .358 .414 .631 36 123 Boston Red Sox .306 .342 .534 30 98 (2) Seattle Mariners .310 .360 .560 42 124 (3) Seattle Mariners .285 .357 .586 42 111 (4) Seattle Mariners .316 .420 .606 41 132 (5) Texas Rangers .318 .399 .622 52 135 (6) Texas Rangers .300 .392 .623 57 142 (7) Texas Rangers .298 .396 .600 47 118 Baltimore Orioles .311 .360 .534 34 150 (2) Baltimore Orioles .304 .349 .515 26 98 † New York Yankees .343 .417 .483 14 97 † (2) New York Yankees .322 .388 .452 12 73 † (3) New York Yankees .300 .363 .408 11 69 † (4) New York Yankees .334 .406 .465 18 66 Chicago White Sox .282 .313 .431 18 70 Cleveland Indians .273 .332 .460 25 92 † (5) New York Yankees .316 .362 .429 15 58 Baltimore Orioles .263 .306 .433 25 76 (2) Chicago White Sox .273 .305 .408 15 74 Boston Red Sox .320 .355 .421 7 81 (2) Boston Red Sox .294 .356 .446 21 89 Cleveland Indians .273 .337 .505 33 89 (2) Cleveland Indians .277 .352 .519 38 92 (3) Boston Red Sox .309 .384 .555 33 117 Chicago White Sox .322 .357 .539 10 21 (4) Boston Red Sox .295 .370 .493 23 79 (5) Boston Red Sox .307 .377 .456 15 73 (3) Texas Rangers .327 .390 .623 33 96 Kansas City Royals .332 .389 .588 32 109 (2) Kansas City Royals .295 .351 .501 23 88
National League winners
Year Player Team AVG OBP SLG HR RBI Ref St. Louis Cardinals .319 .342 .417 4 43 Cincinnati Reds .306 .358 .409 5 67 (2) Cincinnati Reds .287 .337 .371 5 53 Houston Astros .286 .341 .457 20 79 (2) San Diego Padres .258 .312 .320 2 35 Montreal Expos .269 .310 .413 13 100 (2) Montreal Expos .340 .388 .569 14 58 † St. Louis Cardinals .303 .392 .383 0 75 *† Cincinnati Reds .296 .347 .429 12 56 *† (2) Cincinnati Reds .342 .375 .446 4 36 *† (3) Cincinnati Reds .301 .358 .396 7 67 *† (4) Cincinnati Reds .302 .378 .506 20 69 *† (5) Cincinnati Reds .304 .377 .454 12 78 Pittsburgh Pirates .310 .392 .437 9 51 Montreal Expos .294 .363 .489 15 63 *† (6) Cincinnati Reds .319 .394 .492 15 66 *† (7) Cincinnati Reds .298 .410 .567 33 89 Atlanta Braves .308 .405 .482 17 70 *† (8) Cincinnati Reds .309 .397 .504 17 72 *† (9) Cincinnati Reds .293 .390 .420 12 75 St. Louis Cardinals .278 .346 .423 16 76 San Francisco Giants .324 .369 .572 37 97 (2) St. Louis Cardinals .305 .364 .439 11 83 (3) St. Louis Cardinals .330 .394 .480 13 100 Pittsburgh Pirates .308 .335 .459 11 59 Cincinnati Reds .291 .352 .486 23 85 New York Mets .300 .354 .487 19 81 Philadelphia Phillies .296 .344 .531 30 94 Florida Marlins .301 .400 .540 33 67 (2) Florida Marlins .342 .410 .543 24 106 Colorado Rockies .315 .381 .568 27 95 (2) Colorado Rockies .302 .372 .544 30 105 Washington Nationals .292 .335 .511 25 73 (2) Washington Nationals .280 .331 .453 20 80 (3) Washington Nationals .255 .313 .430 24 91 San Francisco Giants .256 .321 .462 21 84 Los Angeles Dodgers .308 .365 .512 26 72 (2) Los Angeles Dodgers .295 .375 .479 22 77 Colorado Rockies .291 .348 .567 37 108 (2) Colorado Rockies .294 .363 .554 35 85 San Diego Padres .277 .366 .571 17 45 (2) San Diego Padres .282 .364 .611 42 97 Los Angeles Dodgers .298 .343 .466 21 100 (3) New York Mets .254 .336 .470 31 98 (4) New York Mets .273 .344 .500 33 91 Arizona Diamondbacks .290 .389 .462 20 100
References
Inline citations
External links Louisville Slugger – The Silver Slugger Award