American League and National League Silver Slugger award winners announced

The 2020 Silver Slugger awards were announced for the American League and National League on Thursday night, and they were headlined by some huge names.

MLB received a ton of flak for announcing their Gold Glove award winners on Tuesday, Election Night. They did schedule the Silver Slugger awards announcement for Thursday, but the presidential election is still ongoing.

Regardless, the league announced the winners for the annual Sliver Sluggers for the American and National Leagues, and they feature expected names and some new faces.

Stars headline the Silver Sluggers list

In the American League, Mike Trout leads the way with his eighth Silver Slugger award in his career. Other multi-time winners include Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (third), Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (third), New York Yankees second baseman D.J. LeMahieu (second), Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (third), and Minnesota Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz (fourth).

Rounding out the AL are first-time winners in White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez.

On the National League side, the list of multi-time winners is significantly smaller. Those individuals are Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts (fourth) and Freddie Freeman (second), Ronald Acuña Jr. (second) and Marcell Ozuna (second) of the Atlanta Braves. In fact, Ozuna now holds the distinction of being the first designated hitter to claim an NL Silver Slugger in the award’s history.

The NL’s first-time winners include San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr, Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud, Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, Padres third baseman Manny Machado and San Francisco Giants second baseman Donovan Solano.

Even with the season shortened to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of familiar names ended up winning this annual award. It’s also great to see some of the league’s best young players also end up with their first of many Silver Sluggers. A great night for all involved and for the league in general.