Up until now, Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani has received nominations and wins for plenty of various awards. However, none of them were official MLB awards until now, with the finalists for the 2021 Silver Slugger Awards being announced on Monday.
The Silver Slugger Award looks only at offensive output, with one player at each position in each league taking home the grand prize. In total, there are 18 winners, nine from each league.
Ohtani was named a finalist in the American League DH category, alongside Yordan Alvarez of the World Series-bound Houston Astros, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo of the New York Yankees, and Nelson Cruz of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Given the type of season Ohtani had, it would be a legitimate surprise for him not to take home the Silver Slugger Award. He had the best regular season OPS of this group, the most home runs, and among the most RBIs.
Ohtani was the only Angels player to be named a finalist, as the usual shoo-ins of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon missed much of the season with injury. Only Jared Walsh had a legitimate argument to be nominated, but a slump in July and August likely took him out of consideration at a loaded position.
Among the teams with the most finalists include the Toronto Blue Jays with five, the Yankees with five, the Astros with five, and the L.A. Dodgers with four.
Voting by managers and coaches decide the finalists, with the winners being announced on Nov. 11 at 3:00 p.m. PT on MLB Network. The full list of finalists at each position can be seen below.
Full List of Silver Slugger Finalists
American League
1B:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays)
Yuli Gurriel (Houston Astros)
Matt Olson (Oakland Athletics)
2B:
Marcus Semien (Toronto Blue Jays)
Jose Altuve (Houston Astros)
DJ LeMahieu (New York Yankees)
Jorge Polanco (Minnesota Twins)
3B:
Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox)
Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians)
Kyle Seager (Seattle Mariners)
SS:
Carlos Correa (Houston Astros)
Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox)
Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox)
Bo Bichette (Toronto Blue Jays)
OF:
Cedric Mullins (Baltimore Orioles)
Teoscar Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays)
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
Kyle Tucker (Houston Astros)
Mitch Haniger (Seattle Mariners)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays)
Hunter Renfroe (Boston Red Sox)
Randy Arozarena (Tampa Bay Rays)
C:
Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals)
Mike Zunino (Tampa Bay Rays)
Gary Sanchez (New York Yankees)
DH:
Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels)
Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)
Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees)
Joey Gallo (New York Yankees)
Nelson Cruz (Tampa Bay Rays)
National League
1B:
Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves)
Joey Votto (Cincinatti Reds)
Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals)
Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers)
2B:
Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves)
Jonathan India (Cincinatti Reds)
Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres)
Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers)
3B:
Austin Riley (Atlanta Braves)
Manny Machado (San Diego Padres)
Nolan Arenado (St. Louis Cardinals)
Patrick Wisdom (Chicago Cubs)
SS:
Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres)
Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants)
Trea Truner (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Willy Adames (Milwaukee Brewers)
OF:
Juan Soto (Washington Nationals)
Nick Castellanos (Cincinatti Reds)
Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies)
Bryan Reynolds (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Adam Duvall (Atlanta Braves)
Jesse Winker (Cincinatti Reds)
Tyler O’Neill (St. Louis Cardinals)
C:
Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers)
J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies)
Omar Narvaez (Milwaukee Brewers)
P:
German Marquez (Colorado Rockies)
Max Fried (Atlanta Braves)
Jacob DeGrom (New York Mets)
Madison Bumgarner (Arizona Diamondbacks)
