Sliver Slugger
Thursday, November 8
The Silver Slugger Award, recognizing the top offensive performer at each position, will be announced on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. on MLB Network.
The Red Sox have a couple of obvious candidates. Mookie Betts won the batting title with a .346 average and led the league with a .640 slugging percentage. J.D. Martinez was second in both categories, hitting .330 with a .629 SLG. He was also second in home runs with 43 while leading the league with 130 RBI. There needs to be a serious investigation into the voting process if these two don’t win.
Andrew Benintendi may get some consideration in left field for leading the position with a .366 OBP and 41 doubles. He finished a tick behind Cleveland’s Michael Brantley in most offensive categories though. Voters may also be swayed by the home run and RBI totals of New York’s Giancarlo Stanton or Oakland’s Khris Davis.
Boston’s only other viable candidate is shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who led the league at his position with 45 doubles, 103 RBI and a .883 OPS. Francisco Lindor may steal the award based on his inclusion in the MVP race but a late season fade resulted in Cleveland’s shortstop falling behind Bogaerts in most offensive categories outside of home runs.