816 Silver Sluggers have been awarded since the accolade's introduction in 1980. The vast majority of them have gone to Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers or would-be/should-be Hall of Famers, but there are plenty that went to players who might've slid off of fans' radars after their brief moments in the sun.
This year, FanSided is exclusively partnered with Louisville Slugger to announce 2025's Silver Slugger finalists and winners. National League finalists will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. ET; American League finalists will follow at the same time on Thursday. To celebrate, let's take a look at some previous Silver Sluggers who may have gotten lost to the sands of time.
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21 Silver Slugger wins you definitely forgot about
Dickie Thon, Houston Astros, SS (1983)
Thon's 1982 and 1983 seasons were otherworldly, but he never got close to reaching those same heights through the rest of his career. He got an All-Star nod, a Silver Slugger and placed seventh in MVP voting in 1983 for his 20-homer, 79-RBI season.
Wil Cordero, Montreal Expos, SS (1994)
Cordero's 14-year career was rather underwhelming; he only accumulated 6.0 bWAR, and over half of them came in 1994, when he hit .294 with a .853 OPS and earned his only career All-Star nod and Silver Slugger.
Eric Young, Colorado Rockies, 2B (1996)
Young led the Major Leagues in stolen bases in 1996, his last full year with the Rockies, and he was an on-base monster with a .393 OBP (only marginally worse than his .404 mark the previous year). Although not much of a power hitter, he had a .324 average to help his Silver Slugger case.
Damion Easley, Detroit Tigers, 2B (1998)
Easley was by far the best hitter on a Tigers team that placed last in the AL Central in 1998 with a 65-97 record. He hit 27 home runs with 100 RBI, both career highs, and was the Tigers' lone All-Star representative that year.
Bill Mueller, Boston Red Sox, 3B (2003)
Mueller spent the majority of his career in San Francisco, but it wasn't until he joined the Red Sox (with a brief stopover with the Cubs) that he put up his best numbers. In 2003, he was the American League batting champion with a .326 average and he placed 12th in MVP voting.
Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates, SS (2004)
Wilson led the National League in triples in 2004 with 12 and got his lone All-Star and Silver Slugger nods that year. These days, he's probably best known for being A's rookie superstar Jacob Wilson's dad.
Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs, C (2005)
Barrett was part of a hard-hitting 2005 Cubs team that launched the second-most home runs of any that season. He was largely overshadowed by teammate Derrek Lee, who led all of baseball that year in average and OPS, but the catcher picked up some hardware of his own for his .276/.479 season. It's was the only awards recognition he got in his 12-year career.
Felipe López, Cincinnati Reds, SS (2005)
López's 2005 season was a true flash in the pan. He hit 23 homers, the only time he would break or even approach 20, and drove in 85 runs, 28 more than his second-most productive season.
Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox, 3B (2006)
Crede spent almost the entirety of his 10-year career on the south side of Chicago, and 2006 was by far his best. He hit .283 with a .828 OPS, 30 homers and 94 RBI that season.
Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays, DH (2009)
Lind set a ridiculously high bar for himself in 2009, on a Blue Jays team that included Hall of Famers Roy Halladay and Scott Rolen. Lind hit .305 with a .932 OPS, won a Silver Slugger and placed 15th in MVP voting.
Billy Butler, Kansas City Royals, DH (2012)
Butler was always a consistent contact hitter with the Royals, but he slugged a career-high 29 homers and drove in a career-high 107 runs in 2012.
Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins, OF (2012)
Willingham placed ninth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2006, and although he never really exploded, he turned into an incredibly consistent bat through his next six seasons. He had to wait until 2012, the peak of his career, to get Silver Slugger recognition. He hit 35 homers with 110 RBI that year.
Pedro Álvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates, 3B (2012)
Álvarez had just two seasons as an above-replacement player, but his power stayed pretty consistent through the bulk of his career. He hit an NL-leading 36 homers with 100 RBI in 2013.
Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians, C (2014)
Gomes was Cleveland's second-most productive bat in 2014 behind teammate Michael Brantley, who also won a Silver Slugger that year and placed third in MVP voting. Gomes hit .278 with a .785 OPS and a career-high 21 homers.
Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2B (2012)
Walker's seven-year tenure with the Pirates was solid, but he earned some recognition for his most valuable season by far. He hit .271 with a .809 OPS, 23 homers and 76 RBI in 2012.
David Peralta, Arizona Diamondbacks, OF (2018)
Peralta was more productive at the plate in 2015, his rookie season, but he put up comparable-enough numbers in 2018 to earn his one and only Silver Slugger. He hit .293 with a .868 OPS and collected 30 home runs.
Mitch Garver, Minnesota Twins, C (2019)
Garver's 2019 was another flash in the pan. Despite the fact that he only played in 93 games due to injury, he had a .995 OPS and 31 homers in just over half a season.
Travis d'Arnaud, Atlanta Braves, C (2020)
You could make the argument that everyone from the 2020 class has been forgotten, but d'Arnaud was admirably productive in the COVID-shortened season. He hit .321 with a .919 OPS and was a maniac during that year's NLDS against the Marlins.
Donovan Solano, San Francisco Giants, 2B (2020)
Another COVID year winner, Solano was at his best during his three-year stint in San Francisco. In 2020, he hit .326 with a .828 OPS, 15 doubles, three homers and 29 RBI.
Brandon Drury, Cincinnati Reds/San Diego Padres, UTIL (2022)
Drury's 2022 is one of just two above-replacement seasons he ever had. He was most productive before the trade deadline deal that sent him from the Reds to the Padres, but he combined for 31 doubles, 28 homers and 87 RBI across both teams.
Every National League pitcher
There are a couple of pitchers who have won multiple Silver Sluggers, but most of them were one-offs who just happened to not be totally useless at the plate. Notable winners include Fernando Valenzuela, Doc Gooden, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Madison Bumgarner. Max Fried was the last pitcher to win the award in 2021 before the universal DH was instituted.