I was a little surprised.
The Louisville Silver Slugger Award winners were announced last night. The St. Louis Cardinals were shut out of the award for the second season in a row. Here are the winners:
American League
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Second base: Jose Altuve, Astros
Third base: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
Outfield: Judge, Yankees; Juan Soto, Yankees; Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
Designated hitter: Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics
Utility: Josh Smith, Texas Rangers
National League
Catcher: William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
First base: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
Second base: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Third base: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
Outfield: Jackson Merrill, Padres; Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers; Jurickson Profar, Padres
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Utility: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Since the Cardinals did not have any Silver Slugger recipients this year, I thought it might be fun to look at who the most recent Cardinal was to receive the award at each position — a nostalgic look at better times at the plate, perhaps. Here is that list:
Pitcher: Adam Wainwright, 2017
Catcher: Yadier Molina, 2013
First Base: Paul Goldschmidt, 2022
Second Base: Matt Carpenter, 2013
Third Base: Nolan Arenado, 2022
Shortstop: Edgar Rentería, 2003
Outfield: Matt Holliday, 2010
Outfield: Ryan Ludwick, 2008
Outfield: Jim Edmonds, 2004
Designed Hitter: Never
Utility: Never
I have to admit, I was not expecting such a drought in some of these positions. I thought for sure Jhonny Peralta had gotten a Silver Slugger in 2014, but that season was not a strong for him offensively as I had remembered (though his 120 wRC+ was second only to Los Angeles Dodgers Hanley Ramirez at 136, who was also not the winner that year. Ian Desmond at 108 was the Silver Slugger winner). The drought in outfield was a little surprising as well.
Of course these are just awards and while awards are nice, they are not exactly the “end-all-be-all” decider on who the best hitter at each position was for that season. They are fun though, so hopefully some Cardinals will be up for some hardware in the near future!
