Silver Sluggers: Braves trio claim hitting honors for first time

Tom Gatto

Silver Sluggers: Braves trio claim hitting honors for first time image

MLB's most productive hitters for 2019 were recognized Thursday with the announcement of the annual Silver Slugger awards.

The Silver Sluggers, presented by bat maker Louisville Slugger, are regular-season awards voted on by MLB managers and coaches. Criteria include traditional statistics such as batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, and "general impressions of a player's overall offensive value," as Louisville Slugger put it in its press release.

SN AWARDS:
MLB: Player of the Year | Executive
AL: All-Stars | Rookie | Manager | Comeback
NL: All-Stars | Rookie | Manager | Comeback

The National League East champion Braves led with three players: first baseman Freddie Freeman, second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. The teammates were among eight first-time winners. The American League champion Astros (Alex Bregman, George Springer), the AL Central champion Twins (Mitch Garver, Nelson Cruz) and the Red Sox (Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts) also had more than one recipient.

Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich earned a second consecutive Silver Slugger, his second major offensive award this year. He was also named the winner of the Hank Aaron Award; he received that trophy at the World Series.

Astros right-hander Zack Greinke added a Silver Slugger, his second overall, to the Gold Glove he was awarded a week earlier. Greinke was chosen as the National League's top-hitting pitcher (three home runs, .271 average, .883 OPS) despite being traded by Arizona to Houston last July.

MLB 2019 Silver Slugger winners

AMERICAN LEAGUE

POS NAME CLUB
1B Carlos Santana Indians
2B DJ LeMahieu Yankees
SS Xander Bogaerts Red Sox
3B Alex Bregman Astros
C Mitch Garver Twins
OF Mike Trout Angels
OF George Springer Astros
OF Mookie Betts Red Sox
DH Nelson Cruz Twins

NATIONAL LEAGUE

POS NAME CLUB
1B Freddie Freeman Braves
2B Ozzie Albies Braves
SS Trevor Story Rockies
3B Anthony Rendon Nationals
C J.T. Realmuto Phillies
OF Christian Yelich Brewers
OF Cody Bellinger Dodgers
OF Ronald Acuna Jr. Braves
P Zack Greinke Diamondbacks

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.