The 2018 Silver Slugger Awards were announced on Thursday, with the top offensive players at each position in each league were recognized by MLB. Chaos reigned in the results, thanks to J.D. Martinez.
J.D. Martinez is the first to win 2 Silver Slugger Awards in one year
Red Sox slugger was voted Silver Slugger at both DH & the outfield
Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images
The Red Sox star had a fantastic season, hitting .330/.429/.629 with 43 home runs, 37 doubles and a major league best 130 RBI. By all accounts Martinez was excellent with the bat, and deserved a Silver Slugger Award.
But he got two Silver Slugger Awards.
Martinez was voted as both the best designated hitter in the American League, and one of the three best outfielders, technically making him the first player ever to win two Silver Sluggers in one year. You’d think there would be a technicality that wouldn’t allow such a thing, especially since only 249 of Martinez’s plate appearance came as an outfielder, with 400 as DH.
This faux pas is on the major league managers and coaches, who vote on the Silver Sluggers, as they have since the inaugural honors in 1980.
Among the other single winners were Mike Trout, earning his sixth Silver Slugger in the AL outfield, Jose Altuve winning his fifth straight Silver Slugger at second base, and a pair of National League four-timers in Paul Goldschmidt at first base and Nolan Arenado at third.
Silver Slugger Award winners
Pos | AL player | Team | Pos | NL player | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Salvador Perez | Royals | C | J.T. Realmuto | Marlins |
| 1B | Jose Abreu | White Sox | 1B | Paul Goldschmidt | Diamondbacks |
| 2B | Jose Altuve | Astros | 2B | Javier Baez | Cubs |
| 3B | Jose Ramirez | Indians | 3B | Nolan Arenado | Rockies |
| SS | Francisco Lindor | Indians | SS | Trevor Story | Rockies |
| OF | Mookie Betts | Red Sox | OF | Christian Yelich | Brewers |
| OF | Mike Trout | Angels | OF | David Peralta | Diamondbacks |
| OF | J.D. Martinez | Red Sox | OF | Nick Markakis | Braves |
| DH | J.D. Martinez | Red Sox | P | German Marquez | Rockies |
Swing and a miss
German Marquez was named the top-hitting pitcher in the National League. In a year that saw the 23-year-old right-hander break out on the mound, Marquez was very good with the bat too, hitting .300 with a home run while leading the majors in hits by a pitcher (18). He was third among pitchers with a .650 OPS (minimum 20 plate appearances).
Michael Lorenzen had a rightful claim to the Silver Slugger Award at pitcher, even as a reliever. Lorenzen led all major league pitchers with four home runs and 10 RBI, hitting .290/.333/.710. He had more total bases (22) in his 34 plate appearances than Marquez had (21) in his 65 PA.
First-timers
There were six first-time Silver Slugger winners this season, all in the National League — Marquez, Javier Baez, Trevor Story, J.T. Realmuto, David Peralta and Nick Markakis.
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