Most end-of-season awards in baseball are a big deal, but they don't allow as comprehensive a view of dominance as the Silver Slugger. Usually, voters do a good job of identifying the Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and MVP winners (or at least get very close), but those awards only honor one player in each league, ignoring a large number of really great seasons that deserve more attention than they would otherwise get. As a result, Louisville Slugger came up with the Silver Slugger awards, which began to be handed out in 1980 to the "best" hitter at each position on the field.
Ever since their inception, Silver Sluggers have been used to determine players' value to their club, their worthiness to get contract extensions in the eyes of fans and teams alike and have even been a contract incentive for players to aim for. However, while the Silver Sluggers are one of the most prestigious honors MLB players can receive, some people don't know quite so much about how the the awards are actually selected.
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Everything you need to know about how Silver Sluggers are selected and who votes for them
First thing's first: Louisville Slugger does not choose the finalists, the winners or even tabulate the results. The voting is done by MLB coaches and managers, and they are instructed to use a combination of offensive statistics and their own professional opinions of the best hitters at each position to determine the recipients. Here are the full details of exactly how voting works, straight from Louisville Slugger:
"A vote of MLB managers and coaches decides the Silver Slugger Award winners. They cast ballots for the players they determine to be the best offensive producers at each position in their respective league. Each team receives four votes: the manager and three coaches of their choice. Votes are based on a combination of offensive statistics including OBP, OPS, OPS+, home runs, hits, RBI and batting average as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value. The accounting firm of Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff verifies the tabulation of ballots."
In short, stop sending angry letters/emails/comments to Louisville Slugger when your favorite player(s) don't win, because your beef should be with the managers and coaches around the league that actually did the voting.
The Silver Slugger awards themselves have undergone a few changes over the years. The last pitcher Silver Slugger award was handed out in 2021 to the Braves' Max Fried, as the designated hitter was made a permanent fixture in the National League in 2022. A utility bat Silver Slugger award slot for both leagues was also added that same year.
Hopefully this adds clarity to the whole Silver Slugger selection process, although it almost certainly won't prevent the fans from raging about their favorite player getting left on the cutting room floor.