J-Ram wins 5th career Silver Slugger Award

MLB’s best hitters were feted Tuesday night as the 2024 Silver Slugger Award winners were announced on MLB Network.

The hitting hardware, which is voted on by Major League managers and coaches, is given to the top offensive player at each position in each league. That includes three outfielders (regardless of specific position) and one utility player in each league.

Fourteen teams have at least one Silver Slugger winner this season. Seven players are first-time winners. On the other end of the spectrum, two players took home their seventh Silver Slugger, something only 16 players have achieved since the award was established in 1980.

Here is a full rundown of this year’s Silver Slugger recipients.

FIRST BASE

AL winner: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (second win)A Silver Slugger for Guerrero seemed unlikely when he was batting .231 with a .675 OPS in early May. But from May 5 on, he was one of the best hitters in the sport, slashing .348/.414/.597 with 66 extra-base hits over his next 125 games. His 199 hits overall were the sixth-most in Blue Jays history, and his .323 batting average ranked second in the Majors. Vlad Jr. now has as many Silver Sluggers as his dad did through his age-25 season. Vlad Sr. collected eight by the end of his Hall of Fame career.

NL winner: Bryce Harper, Phillies (fourth win)The 2024 campaign was Harper’s healthiest since he won his second NL MVP Award in 2021. This past season, the superstar slugger belted 30 home runs with an .898 OPS in 145 games for Philadelphia, and he became the first player to win multiple Silver Slugger Awards in the outfield and then at least one at first base.

SECOND BASE

AL winner: Jose Altuve, Astros (seventh win)Altuve’s seven Silver Sluggers are two more than any player in Astros history and are tied with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg for the most for a second baseman. The face of Houston’s franchise earned his latest trophy after notching his sixth season with 20 homers and his third with at least 20 dingers and 20 steals. His 185 hits also paced all players at the keystone position.

NL winner: Ketel Marte, D-backs (first win)He’s been one of the more underrated sluggers over the past few years, but Marte finally has his first Silver Slugger Award after putting together a tremendous season at the plate for Arizona. He hit .292/.372/.560, setting career highs in homers (36), RBIs (95) and OPS+ (155) in 136 games.

SHORTSTOP

AL winner: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (first win)Witt’s 2024 season was full of historic firsts en route to his first Silver Slugger. With his MLB-best .332 average, he claimed the first batting title by a Royal since George Brett in 1990. Witt had 32 home runs and 31 stolen bases to become the first shortstop in MLB history with multiple 30-30 campaigns. And if that’s not enough, he also became the first player to go 30-30 while adding at least 40 doubles and 10 triples in a single season.

NL winner: Francisco Lindor, Mets (fourth win)Lindor struggled at the plate early in the season, but once he got going, he never looked back. On May 20, he had a .193/.268/.348 slash line, but from there through the end of the season he posted a .943 OPS with 26 home runs to vault himself into the NL MVP conversation and help fuel the Mets to an NL Championship Series run. His other Silver Slugger Awards came in 2017, ’18 and ’23.

THIRD BASE

AL winner: José Ramírez, Guardians (fifth win)The Guardians’ 162nd regular-season game was canceled due to rain, washing out Ramírez’s last chance to join the rare 40-40-40 club (only Alfonso Soriano has done it): Still, accumulating 39 doubles, 39 home runs and 41 steals isn’t too shabby. Ramírez ranked second in the AL in RBIs (118) and tied for fourth in total bases (333). With his fifth Silver Slugger, Ramírez breaks a tie with Albert Belle for the most by a player in Cleveland franchise history. Only two third basemen have won more such awards during their career: Hall of Famers Wade Boggs (eight) and Mike Schmidt (six).

NL winner: Manny Machado, Padres (second win)Although he got off to a slow start at the plate, Machado had a strong second half to help get the Padres back to the postseason. After the All-Star break, he slugged .543 with 16 homers to finish with 29 for the season, along with a .797 OPS. His first Silver Slugger Award came in 2020.

OUTFIELD

AL winners:

Aaron Judge, Yankees (fourth win)Two years after launching an AL-record 62 home runs, Judge was even better this year even though he hit “only” 58 dingers. With career-highs in on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.701), Judge produced the best OPS from a qualified AL hitter since Mark McGwire in 1996. And this occurred despite Judge’s slow start to the season. If you omit his first 27 games, you are left with some incredible stats: 54 home runs and 131 RBIs in 131 games with a .354/.488/.777 slash line.

Juan Soto, Yankees (fifth win)If not for Judge, Soto would be the likely favorite for AL MVP. His year in New York turned out to be the most productive of his decorated career. Soto set personal bests over a full season — and ranked among the top five in the AL — with 128 runs, 41 dingers and 76 extra-base hits. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Soto joins Mike Trout (2016) as the only two players to collect their fifth Silver Slugger for a regular season that ended before they turned 26 years old. It’s yet another example of why Soto is this offseason’s top free agent.

Anthony Santander, Orioles (first win)Santander captured his first Silver Slugger Award after authoring one of the best power seasons by a switch-hitter in MLB history. His 44 homers trailed only Mickey Mantle, Chipper Jones and Lance Berkman for the most by a switch-hitter. Santander, a first-time All-Star in 2024, also recorded career-highs with 91 runs scored and 102 RBIs.

NL winners:

Jackson Merrill, Padres (first win)Merrill made the club out of Spring Training and after going 2 for his first 14, he hit .366 over his next 21 games. In mid-June, his power really began to emerge — from June 12 through Sept. 16, he launched 21 home runs in 79 games. He came through in clutch moments, becoming the youngest player (21 years old) to hit five game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning or later in the same season. He was named an All-Star and cemented himself as an NL Rookie of the Year candidate. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he also became the fourth-youngest player to win a Silver Slugger Award, at 21 years and 164 days old at the end of the regular season. Only Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Trout and Alex Rodriguez were younger.

Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers (third win)Hernández, after spending most of his career with the Blue Jays, signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers and was crucial to their championship run. The 32-year-old set a career high by slugging 33 home runs and posted an .840 OPS, earning his second All-Star selection in the process — and even winning the Home Run Derby. Prior to this year, he also won a Silver Slugger Award in 2020 and ’21 with Toronto.

Jurickson Profar, Padres (first win)Profar was one of the biggest individual surprise stories of 2024. In his 11th Major League season, he had an .839 OPS with 24 home runs and was named an All-Star for the first time. His contributions were key to getting San Diego back to the postseason after missing it in 2023, especially when stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. missed time with injury.

CATCHER

AL winner: Salvador Perez, Royals (fifth win)The Royals’ captain is aging like fine wine. The 34-year-old Perez crushed 27 home runs and led AL catchers in RBIs (104) and OPS (.786). The 13-year veteran now owns two more Silver Sluggers than any other player in Royals history and trails only four backstops for the most at his position: Mike Piazza (10), Iván Rodríguez (seven), Brian McCann (six) and Lance Parrish (six).

NL winner: William Contreras, Brewers (second win)Contreras played a huge role in helping the Brewers run away with the NL Central. He set career highs with 23 home runs and 92 RBIs and finished with an .831 OPS for Milwaukee.

DESIGNATED HITTER

AL winner: Brent Rooker, Athletics (first win)If 2023 was Rooker’s breakout season, 2024 confirmed to everyone that the 30-year-old slugger is the real deal. He built upon his 30-homer season from last year with 39 clouts. And Rooker did more than just slug; he ranked seventh in the AL with a .293 batting average — a 47-point improvement from 2023 — and had a solid .365 on-base percentage. His .927 OPS was eighth-best in MLB.

NL winner: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (third win)While he couldn’t pitch in 2024 as he recovered from elbow surgery, all of Ohtani’s focus was at the plate, and it showed. He became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 50 home runs (54) and steal at least 50 bases (59) in the same season, putting him in position to win his third career MVP Award. He previously won the honor in 2021 and ’23 with the Angels.

UTILITY

AL winner: Josh Smith, Rangers (first win)Smith was a bench player for the Rangers on Opening Day, but once third baseman Josh Jung went down with a fractured wrist in the fourth game of the season, Smith filled in admirably at the hot corner. He produced a .285/.381/.454 slash line with 32 extra-base hits in 97 games before Jung returned to action on July 30. Smith shifted over to shortstop for most of the remaining games and also snuck in five appearances in the outfield. He ended his age-26 campaign with 30 doubles, 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases.

NL winner: Mookie Betts, Dodgers (seventh win)Along with Altuve, Betts has the most Silver Slugger Awards among active players after winning his seventh for another outstanding offensive campaign. He began the season at shortstop after having played right field for most of his big league career. On June 18, his left hand was fractured as a result of being hit by a pitch, causing him to miss about two months. When he returned to the lineup, he moved back to right field. Despite the injury, he finished with an .863 OPS (145 OPS+) with 19 homers in 116 games. Betts’ four Silver Slugger Awards with the Dodgers are the second-most in franchise history, behind only Mike Piazza’s five.

OFFENSIVE TEAMS OF THE YEAR

This year marked the second time Silver Slugger Awards have been given to the best offensive team in each league. The winners — the Yankees in the American League and the Dodgers in the National League — were determined by a combination of team offensive statistics. The Yankees and Dodgers led their respective leagues in home runs, OPS and wRC+, among other stats. The Dodgers’ three Silver Slugger Award winners this year are the most in a season in franchise history.