Silver Slugger Award: Winners and Snubs
MLB just announced the 2017 Silver Slugger Awards in both leagues. Which players are the rightful winners and who are the snubs?
Some awards are complicated. To wit, everyone has a different definition of “most valuable.” Others seem more straightforward, such as the Silver Slugger Award. Defense and team success doesn’t matter. To win, all you have to do is mash opposing pitching as hard as possible.
Simple enough, right? Well…not exactly. Does OBP matter more than SLG? Are counting stats, such as HR, more important than rate stats, such as OPS? What about WAR (what is it good for?) How about advanced stats like wRC+ and WOBA? What about players who missed time with an injury like Mike Trout and Carlos Correa?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind maker-upper to make up his mind. -Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
Okay, so maybe it’s a little more complicated than it appears. Nevertheless, here’s a look at the winners from both leagues at each position, as well as one opinion on who should’ve won.
Catcher
Silver Slugger Award: Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees and Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Who deserved to win? Sanchez and Posey
Only four catchers in baseball had enough PA to qualify for rate stats: Sanchez, Posey, J. T. Realmuto, and Yadier Molina. That’s not a prerequisite to winning a Silver Slugger, but it shows how few catchers receive regular playing time by the standards of other positions.
The offensive landscape for catchers is bleak at the moment. Only 12 catchers in baseball with 350 PA or more had at least league average production by wRC+. No more than 6 sported a 120 wRC+ or better.
Having been said, Sanchez and Posey were both easy calls for this award. Sanchez led all catchers with a .531 SLG, 130 wRC+ and 33 HR. He became the first Yankees catcher ever to hit 30 HR in a season. Most team positional records don’t mean much, but Yankees catchers include Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson, Elston Howard, Jorge Posada, and other stars. It’s noteworthy when someone tops that list of players in any statistical category.
Posey continued on his Hall of Fame career arc by slashing .320/.400/.462. He finished fifth in the NL in BA and ninth in OBP. His 11.6 K% was the second-best in baseball among catchers, trailing only Jonathan Lucroy.
First Base
Silver Slugger Award: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals and Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
Who deserved to win? Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox and Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
Hosmer versus Abreu is as close competition as there can be. Abreu has a razor-thin edge in wRC+ (138 to 135) and wOBA (.377 to .376). Despite this, they got there in different ways. Hosmer made more contact and reached base more often, slashing .318/.385/.498.
Abreu rarely walked but featured more extra-base power, posting a .305/.354/.552 slash line. Honestly, this is a pick ’em, but Abreu has a slight advantage in more categories.
Goldschmidt and Votto are both NL MVP finalists, so Votto may yet laugh last (or maybe Giancarlo Stanton will). That’s a debate for another day, but Votto bettered Goldschmidt with the bat alone.
His wRC+ was substantially better (165 to 142), and all the slash line stats were higher (.320/.454/.578 to .297/.404/.563). Votto led the NL in BB, OBP, and OPS. The only area in which Goldschmidt was better was SB (18 to 5). Does base running matter for Silver Slugger awards? Apparently so.
Second Base
Silver Slugger Award: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros and Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals
Who deserved to win? Altuve and Murphy
This award was never in doubt for Altuve. The presumptive favorite for the AL MVP led the league in H, BA, and bWAR. 2017 was the fourth consecutive year he led the league in hits and the third time he was tops in BA. He also tied a career-high with 24 HR. His wRC+ was 160 while no other AL second basemen were higher than 125.
The NL award was almost as much of a laugher as the AL, if only for lack of competition. Murphy topped all NL second basemen in BA (.322), OBP (.384), SLG (.543), wRC+ (136), and wOBA (.385). He led all NL players in doubles for the second consecutive year with 43.
Third Base
Silver Slugger Award: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians and Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
Who deserved to win? Ramirez and Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
Ramirez notwithstanding, it was a sad state of affairs at the hot corner in the AL. Josh Donaldson Adrian Beltre suffered through injuries. Manny Machado slumped badly at the plate. This forced a changing of the guard at the position, with Ramirez emerging as the standard-bearer. He slashed .318/.374/.583 and was named an AL MVP finalist for his efforts. Still, even his taking home the trophy is somewhat controversial. He played almost as many games at second base (71) as he did at third (88).
The NL Silver Slugger for third base is a classic debate between rate stats and counting stats. Arernado’s counting stats won the day; he led the league in doubles (43), finished second in RBI (130), and third in HR (37). By rate stats, Bryant, Justin Turner, and Anthony Rendon were all superior. Each had OBP over .400 and wRC+ over 140 (Arenado’s were .373 and 129). Arenado did have the most PA, but Bryant wasn’t far behind, so he as the best grievance for being snubbed.
Shortstop
Silver Slugger Award: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians and Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers
Who deserved to win? Carlos Correa, Houston Astros and Seager
Correa was without a doubt the best hitting shortstop in baseball in 2017. His .315/.391/.550 slash numbers were all bests by any shortsop. No one even came close to his 152 wRC+. Lindor was the next closest in the AL with 118. However, he missed a month and a half of action due to injury, allowing Lindor to take the hardware with his 33 HR.
Seager also outlasted a serious challenger. Zack Cozart put up a .297/.385/.548 slash line against Seager’s .295/.375/.479. However, Seager had 106 more PA than Cozart which appears to have made the difference. Also, it’s a little hard to reconcile with Cozart being an offensive threat. He only had a .289 OBP through six seasons entering 2017. Sometimes it’s hard for voters to overcome inertia when a soft hitter suddenly starts doing damage.
Left Field
Silver Slugger Award: Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers/Los Angeles Angels and Marcell Ozuna, Miami Marlins
Who deserved to win? Upton and Ozuna
When the rebuilding Tigers traded Upton at the deadline, he boasted a .279/.362/.542 slash line. In Los Angeles, he continued to rake at a ..245/.357/.531 clip. With an opt-out looming, the Angels signed him to an extension to keep him in town. The Silver Slugger is well deserved for Upton in a weak year overall at the position.
There were only three regular left fielders in the NL that qualified for the batting title: Ozuna, Tommy Pham, and Adam Duvall. (Unless you include super-utility Chris Taylor, who played more innings in left than any other position.) While Duvall posted only average numbers, Ozuna and Pham both excelled offensively. Pham has a small edge in wRC+ (148-142), but far fewer PA than Ozuna (679-530). Hence the easy win for the Marlin.
Center Field
Silver Sluggers Award: George Springer, Houston Astros and Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
Who deserved to win? Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels and Blackmon
To qualify for rate stats, a player needs 502 PA. Trout cleared that mark with 5 to spare. Having done so, he led the AL with a .442 OBP, .629 SLG, 1.071 OPS, and 181 wRC+. He finished fifth in the league in bWAR despite missing 48 games. With a full season, he would’ve almost certainly won another MVP award. Springer’s 140 wRC+ in 629 PA is impressive, but 75% of Trout is still superior to 100% of any other center fielder.
The NL Silver Slugger is much less contentious. Blackmon led all National Leaguers in BA (.331), TB (387), H (213), R (137), 3B (14), and PA (725). No other center fielder was even close to him in any offensive category.
Right Field
Silver Slugger Award: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees and Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
Who deserved to win? Ben Gamel, Seattle Mariners and Nick Markakis, Atlanta Braves (KIDDING!)
Aaron Judge hit 52 of these:
Giancarlo Stanton hit 59 of these:
Moving along.
Designated Hitter and Pitcher
Silver Slugger Award: Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners, and Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
Who deserved to win? Cruz and Tyler Glasnow, Pittsburgh Pirates
Cruz was a natural choice for the DH Silver Slugger. He crushed 39 HR and led the AL with 119 RBI. His .924 OPS handily beat Edwin Encarnacion‘s .889, who was his only real challenger. Also, Cruz was sufficiently scarce on defense, playing only five games in the outfield.
Glasnow was obscenely awful on the mound this year, allowing 61 runs in 62 IP. He didn’t spend much time in the majors. Consequently, he had only 23 PA, but somehow managed five singles, four walks, and an HBP, good for a .455 OBP! That’s crazy on its own merits, but now consider that he’s 6’8″ tall. With a strike zone that big, how does a pitcher earn a 17.4 BB%?!?
Ok, Wainwright had a full season with 50 PA, hitting .262 with a pair of homers. But honestly, is that as much fun as Glasnow walking as often as Matt Carpenter? If an award given to the best hitting pitcher can’t be fun, what’s the point in having one?
Next: Gold Glove award winners and snubs
Wasn’t that fun reliving some of the 2017 mashers in MLB? Did your favorite player and team get some love? If so, don’t worry, there is always next season for your favorite player to win the Silver Slugger Award.