The 2019 Major League Baseball season has come and gone, but before the offseason and free agency kicks into full gear, there are a number of awards to be handed out. One of those is the annual Silver Slugger Award and the winners were announced Thursday evening on MLB Network.
The Silver Slugger is handed out to the top offensive player at each position in both the National and American Leagues. Among the recipients was Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Cody Bellinger.
Bellinger was one of the best players in all of baseball this season and the awards are reflecting that as he was already rewarded for his defense with his first career Gold Glove Award, and now the same can be said for his offense.
In 156 games in 2019, Bellinger batted .305/.406/.629 with 34 doubles, 47 home runs, 121 runs scored and 115 RBI, all of which were career-bests for the 24-year-old.
Two other Dodgers players, Corey Seager and Max Muncy, were nominated for Silver Sluggers but were defeated by Trevor Stroy of the Colorado Rockies at shortstop and Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves at second base, respectively.
Seager was in his first season coming off Tommy John and hip surgeries. He started off slow but still put together a solid season, hitting .272/.335/.483 with 44 doubles, 19 home runs, 82 runs scored and 87 RBI in 134 games.
Story plays his home games at the friendly confines of Coors Field so it comes as no surprise that he had superior offensive numbers. Story hit .294/.363/.554 with 38 doubles, 25 home runs, 111 runs scored and 85 RBI in 145 games.
For much of the season, Muncy went back and forth between first and second base, which may have cost him in the voting as he was better than Albies in many offensive categories.
Muncy hit .251/.374/.515 with 22 doubles, 35 home runs, 101 runs scored and 98 RBI in 141 games, while Albies was at .295/.352/.500 with 43 doubles, 24 home runs, 102 runs scored and 86 RBI in 160 games.
Below is a complete list of the 2019 MLB Silver Slugger Award winners:
Outfield
AL winners:
George Springer, Houston Astros
Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL winners:
Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
First Base
AL winner: Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
NL winner: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
Second Base
NL winner: Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
AL winner: DJ LeMahieu, New York Yankees
Shortstop
AL winner: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
NL winner: Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies
Third Base
NL winner: Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals
AL winner: Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
Catcher
AL winner: Mitch Garver, Minnesota Twins
NL winner: J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher
Winner: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks
Designated Hitter
Winner: Nelson Cruz, Minnesota Twins
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