NewsNew faces may unseat Silver Sluggers
Top hitters at each position to be revealed on Thursday
By Doug Miller / MLB.com
11/11/09 10:00 AM EST
When it comes to putting up huge offensive numbers over the course of a baseball season, Silver doesn't stand for second place.The Silver Slugger Awards have been given annually to the best offensive player at each position as selected by the Major League Baseball managers and coaches since 1980, and on Thursday, the 2009 winners will be announced.
The rules are simple. Managers and coaches are not allowed to vote for a player on their own teams, and a lot of great hitters will be honored. Here's a rundown of what to expect:
In the American League, there should be a plethora of new faces, but there's also a good chance that the catcher and shortstop positions will be locked up by the same players who took home the hardware in 2008.
Behind the plate, Minnesota's Joe Mauer, a favorite for the AL MVP award, should cruise to his second straight Silver Slugger after leading the league in batting average at .365 and adding a career high in home runs (28) and RBIs (96). Mauer is a good bet to outlast Boston's Victor Martinez (.303, 23 HRs, 108 RBIs) and Yankees veteran Jorge Posada (.285, 22 HRs, 81 RBIs).
And at shortstop, Derek Jeter once again shined for the World Series champions, hitting .334 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs, which could put him just a cut above Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett (.320, 14 HRs, 66 RBIs) and Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera (.308, 6 HRs, 68 RBIs) for his fourth straight Silver Slugger.
Around the rest of the infield, the AL did not have a shortage of big boppers at first base, and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira has serious Silver Slugger credentials after hitting .292 with an AL-high-tying 39 homers and a league-best 122 RBIs.
Teixeira will get tough competition from the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera (.324, 34 HRs, 103 RBIs), Kendry Morales of the Angels (.306, 34 HRs, 108 RBIs), Carlos Pena of the Rays (39 HRs, 100 RBIs) and last year's winner, Justin Morneau of the Twins (.274, 30 HRs, 100 RBIs in 2009).
At second base, defending Silver Slugger winner and last season's AL MVP Dustin Pedroia (.296, 15 HRs, 72 RBIs in 2009) of the Red Sox has his hands full in a particularly strong year at the position in the AL.
The front-runner from a statistical standpoint is Toronto's Aaron Hill, who enjoyed a breakout year by hitting .286 with 36 homers and 108 RBIs, and he's no shoo-in when compared to New York's Robinson Cano (.320, 25 HRs, 85 RBIs), Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist (.291, 27 HRs, 91 RBIs), Texas' Ian Kinsler (.253, 31 HRs, 86 RBIs) and Seattle's Jose Lopez (.272, 25 HRs, 96 RBIs).
Third base belonged to Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees in two of the past three seasons, but a late start because of hip surgery might end up costing him the Silver Slugger. Although A-Rod hit .286 with 30 homers and 100 RBIs, Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (.281, 33 HRs, 113 RBIs) might take the Silver Slugger, or it could go to Michael Young of the Rangers, who hit .322 with 22 homers and 68 RBIs.
Last year's Silver Slugger-winning outfielders in the AL were Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin and Grady Sizemore, but because of injuries and underperformance, there will likely be a new trio this year.
Boston's Jason Bay (.267, 36 HRs, 119 RBIs), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.352, 11 HRs, 46 RBIs) and Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer (.276, 32 HRs, 94 RBIs) have good chances, as do Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo (.300, 20 HRs, 86 RBIs), all three Angels outfielders (Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera), Baltimore's Nick Markakis (.293, 18 HRs, 101 RBIs), Nelson Cruz of Texas (.260, 33 HRs, 76 RBIs) and New York's Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon.
At designated hitter, Toronto's Adam Lind has a very good shot at his first Silver Slugger after batting .305 with 35 homers and 114 RBIs in his first full big league season. He'll get competition from Minnesota's Jason Kubel (.300, 28 HRs, 103 RBIs), New York's World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (.274, 28 HRs, 90 RBIs) and Boston's David Ortiz (.238, 28 HRs, 99 RBIs).
The National League's most scintillating battle comes in the loaded category of first basemen, where it will be tough to deny probable league MVP and defending Silver Slugger winner Albert Pujols, who hit .327 with a Major League-high 47 homers plus 135 RBIs. Then again, it'll be tough for voters to look past Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (.299, 46 HRs, 141 RBIs), Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (.279, 45 HRs, 141 RBIs), San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez (.277, 40 HRs, 99 RBIs), Chicago's Derrek Lee (.306, 35 HRs, 111 RBIs) or Cincinnati's Joey Votto (.322, 25 HRs, 84 RBIs).
Second base shouldn't be as contentious, with Chase Utley of Philadelphia (.282, 31 HRs, 93 RBIs) in cruise-control mode for his third straight Silver Slugger over Milwaukee's Felipe Lopez (.310, 9 HRs, 57 RBIs).
At the hot corner, David Wright's banged-up 2009 campaign likely means he'll give up his '08 crown to a newcomer. It could be Arizona's Mark Reynolds (.260, 44 HRs, 102 RBIs), San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval (.330, 25 HRs, 90 RBIs) or Washington's Ryan Zimmerman (.292, 33 HRs, 106 RBIs) in what's shaping up to be a stocked category.
The same could be said for the NL outfield, where reigning Silver Slugger winner Ryan Braun of Milwaukee (.320, 32 HRs, 114 RBIs) should headline a deep field of contenders that also includes Washington's Adam Dunn (38 HRs, 105 RBIs), Philadelphia's Jayson Werth (.268, 36 HRs, 99 RBIs) and Raul Ibanez (.272, 34 HRs, 93 RBIs), the Dodgers' Andre Ethier (.272, 31 HRs, 106 RBIs) and Matt Kemp (.297, 26 HRs, 101 RBIs) and Houston's Carlos Lee (.300, 26 HRs, 102 RBIs).
NL shortstop might be the biggest no-brainer of all the Silver Slugger winners, with Florida's Hanley Ramirez (NL-leading .342 average, 24 HRs, 106 RBIs) a virtual lock for a repeat win over Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki (.297, 32 HRs, 92 RBIs) and Houston's Miguel Tejada (.313, 14 HRs, 86 RBIs).
Atlanta's Brian McCann (.281, 21 HRs, 94 RBIs) has a great chance to repeat, but he'll have to beat the Molina brothers. Bengie (.265, 20 HRs, 80 RBIs) was solid for the Giants while Yadier (.293, 6 HRs, 54 RBIs) continued to star for the Cardinals.
In the category of pitchers, Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs might have done enough to defend his Silver Slugger title of 2008, hitting four homers, driving in 11 runs and putting up a respectable .689 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He'll get a run for his money from Cincinnati's Micah Owings (.259, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, .818 OPS) and Florida's Josh Johnson (3 HRs, 10 RBIs).
Doug Miller is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
