On Thursday, Major League Baseball handed out the 2018 Silver Slugger awards. The award goes to the players deemed the best hitter at each position by MLB coaches and managers. (Note that the outfield is not broken down by left, center, and right designations.) Louisville Slugger is, naturally, the sponsor to the award.
This year's award featured an interesting wrinkle, as J.D. Martinez won two -- one for his work at DH, one for his less-appreciated work in the outfield (he played 57 games in the field). He is the first player to ever win two Silver Slugger awards in one season.
Here are rest of the 2018 Silver Slugger winners:
American League
- Catcher: Salvador Perez, Royals
- First base: Jose Abreu, White Sox
- Second base: Jose Altuve, Astros
- Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Indians
- Third base: Jose Ramirez, Indians
- Outfield: Mike Trout, Angels; Mookie Betts, Red Sox; J.D. Martinez, Red Sox
- Designated hitter: Martinez
National League
- Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Marlins
- First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
- Second base: Javier Baez, Cubs
- Shortstop: Trevor Story, Rockies
- Third base: Nolan Arenado, Rockies
- Outfield: Nick Markakis Braves; David Peralta, Diamondbacks; Christian Yelich, Brewers
- Pitcher: German Marquez, Rockies
The other major MLB awards, including the Cy Young and MVP will be announced next week. Here are the finalists.
