CLEVELAND, Ohio — Guardians third baseman José Ramírez is seeking his sixth career Silver Slugger Award, which would extend his franchise record. Ramírez currently leads all Cleveland hitters with five Silver Slugger Awards, surpassing Albert Belle’s four and Manny Ramirez’s three.
Louisville Slugger announced the American League finalists for the Silver Slugger Awards on Thursday, one day after revealing the National League nominees. The winners will be announced during a two-day reveal, with National League winners announced Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. ET and American League winners following the next night at the same time on The Baseball Insiders stream on YouTube.
Boston’s Alex Bregman and Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero were also named finalists at third base in the AL. Bregman appeared in 114 games and hit 18 home runs while driving in 62 during an injury-plagued season for the Red Sox. Caminero, an All-Star like Ramírez, slugged 45 home runs, nearly eclipsing the Rays franchise record for a single season. His 110 RBIs were fifth in the AL.
Ramírez, meanwhile, had another fine season for Cleveland, slugging 30 home runs and 34 doubles while driving in 85 runs and stealing a career-high 44 bases. His batting average (.283), OPS (.863) and OPS+ (137) were the highest among the three finalists.
Silver Slugger Awards recognize the best offensive players at each position in both leagues. Position finalists and winners are determined by votes from managers and coaches who cast ballots for players at each position in their respective leagues. Each team receives four votes from the manager and three coaches of the team’s choice.
Voting is based on a combination of offensive statistics including OPS, OPS+, home runs, RBI, batting average, total bases and runs, as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value.
The American League finalists span multiple positions, with notable names including Aaron Judge of the Yankees, Cal Raleigh of the Mariners and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals among the favorites at their positions.
New York led all teams with four finalists, while three Athletics players (Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker) appeared on the list.
Louisville Slugger also announced finalists for both the American League and National League Silver Slugger Offensive Team of the Year awards. For the National League team award, the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers earned finalist recognition, while the Yankees, Mariners and Blue Jays are finalists in the AL.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.