American League Silver Slugger Award Winners

Submitted by:  Dan

The postseason baseball awards will be announced after the conclusion of the World Series, but the selections have, for the most part, already been made.  LeRoy in the Afternoon will begin announcing its picks today and continue until the conclusion of the MLB Postseason.  All picks have been discussed, although not all are unanimous among the LeRoy Crew.  Readers should feel free to voice their opinions, anger, and frustration regarding the picks.  We will continue in the American League.

The American League Silver Slugger Award is awarded to the best hitters in the AL at eight of the nine positions and a ninth award is given to the the League's best DH (it would be pretty stupid to give an award to a pitcher in the AL in spite of Interleague Play).  Selection of Silver Slugger Award winners in the AL have not been as ridiculous as Gold Glove Award winners have over the past two decades, but some mistakes have definitely been made.  It is easy to see why.  What is "the best hitter at each position?"  Is it the best hitter?  Or is it the best home run hitter?  The voting rules do not specify, and voters seem to be split over how the award should be voted on.  I scoffed at first, but after thinking all day about my decisions, I came to realize that picking the best hitter at each position is pretty hard, at least in the AL in 2010 (I had to decide between two players at all but two positions).  In all but two situations, I will name the runner up in my explanation (those two explanations were the only positions where there weren't two potential winners). 

The choices were far from obvious and are probably the most debatable of my picks, but here are my 2010 AL Silver Slugger Award Winners:

Catcher:  Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins.  Some would say that Mauer regressed horribly in 2010, hitting only nine home runs and producing 75 RBIs.  But he still batted .327 and led all AL catchers with 88 runs scored.  Bottom line is that he’s still the best hitting catcher in the American League.  Props to Victor Martinez of the Boston Red Sox.

First Base:  Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers.  A lot of people forgot about Miguel Cabrera late in the season after Detroit stopped playing good baseball.  But his end of the year numbers don’t lie:  A .328 batting average, 111 runs scored, 38 home runs, and 126 RBIs, which led the AL.  Props to Mark Teixera of the New York Yankees.

Second Base:  Robinson Cano, New York Yankees.  This wasn’t much of a competition.  Robinson Cano led all AL second basemen in batting average, runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, and was tied for the league lead in doubles among second basemen.

Third Base:  Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees.  A-Rod catches a lot of flack around the league.  He has a huge ego, gets a lot of attention, has been criticized for his play in the clutch, is surrounded by over paid All-Stars, has been involved in numerous scandals, and is an admitted cheater.  None of that stops him from being the best third baseman in the AL.  It didn’t take a whole lot.  30 home runs and 125 RBIs sets him apart from the rest of the league.  Props to Michael Young of the Texas Rangers.

Shortstop:  Derek Jeter, New York Yankees.  Talk about a total buzzkill.  Shortstop play in the American League this year was pretty intolerable.  Who led AL shortstops in batting average?  Alexei Ramirez, at .282.  The award goes to Derek Jeter who was one of four standouts at the position this season.  The others – Elvis Andrus, Erick Aybar, and Cliff Pennington – are base stealers.  Jeter scored 111 runs.  He benefits from sitting atop the Yankee lineup and playing in their miniscule stadium, but those are his benefits to reap.  Props to Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers, I guess.

Outfielders:  In many ways, picking the three outfielders is the hardest choice.  Are we to pick one left fielder, one center fielder, and one right fielder?  Or are we to simply pick the three best hitting outfielders?  I opt for the latter, although I admit I may be wrong in doing so.  This was a little easier to pick than other positions at the same time, though, because there weren't six deserving winners (this being the second occasion where I couldn't find a runner up for one of the winners; I also couldn't justify naming a runner up to Cano at second base).  Jose Bautista was an easy choice.  He hit 54 home runs for the surprise Blue Jays and also chipped in with 124 RBIs and 109 runs scored.  Delmon Young finished 33 homers shy of Bautista’s total, but he batted .298 and knocked in 112 runs in his own right, all while playing in spacious Target Field.  Carl Crawford batted .307, scored 110 runs, and stole 47 bases for Tampa Bay, behind only Juan Pierre and Rajai Davis and tied with Brett Gardner in the AL.  Crawford also pitched in with 19 homers and 90 runs batted in.  Props to Austin Jackson of the Detroit Tigers and Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers.

Designated Hitter:  Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers:  The Designated Hitter position is about offense only.  There was a time when all 14 teams in the AL could center a lineup around their star DH.  Those days are past, as only two DH’s in the AL got to the 100-RBI plateau.  Vladimir Guerrero batted .300 with 29 home runs and 115 RBIs and was the center of his lineup in Arlington with the surprising Texas Rangers.  Props to David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.

Coming Tomorrow:  American League Gold Glove Award Winners