As part of the MLB award season, winners are being announced each and every day. On Thursday, it was the winners of the Silver Slugger award, which honors the best hitter at each position in the American and National League.
In keeping with the theme of the 2021 award season, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was once again awarded, this time with the Silver Slugger for the American League designated hitter position.
In the process, Ohtani defeated the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo, and Nelson Cruz, all of whom had remarkable seasons for their respective playoff teams. However, there was no denying that Ohtani was the best DH in the American League this season.
The World Series champion Atlanta Braves were the big winners of the night, taking home four Silver Sluggers out of only nine possible. The Toronto Blue Jays led the way in the American League with three winners.
Ohtani’s Silver Slugger comes after a dominant and historic 2021 season that has been discussed at length over the past month since the end of the regular season. While his batting average was just .257, he still managed an OPS of .965, largely thanks to 80 extra-base hits.
Ohtani hit 46 home runs, 26 doubles, and eight triples. He batted in exactly 100 runs on the season, while scoring 103 of his own. His 158 OPS+ and 152 wRC+ show just how dominant he was as a hitter. As a fun addition, he also stole 26 bases on the year, and was one of the fastest players in the Majors.
There was no other Angels player nominated, as their two most likely nominees — Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon — missed most of the season with injuries.
Full List of Silver Slugger Award winners
American League
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
2B: Marcus Semien, Toronto Blue Jays
SS: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
3B: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
C: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
OF: Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto Blue Jays
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Cedric Mullins, Baltimore Orioles
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
National League
1B: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
2B: Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
SS: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres
3B: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
C: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
OF: Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
Nick Castellanos, Cincinnati Reds
P: Max Fried, Atlanta Braves