Colorado Rockies blanked among Silver Slugger Award winners

Awards season began on a good note on November 3 for the Colorado Rockies with the announcement that Nolan Arenado had earned his eighth consecutive Gold Glove Award.

But the Colorado Rockies were not as fortunate with the November 5 announcement of the 2020 Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award winners for the National and American Leagues.

For the first time since 2014, and only the third time since 2010, Colorado was shut out from having a player earn the award, the top offensive honor in Major League Baseball.

Winners of the award annually are selected by MLB coaches and managers based on which players they think produce the best offensive results at each position on the field.

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Besides the coaches’ and managers’ views of a player’s offensive value, statistics such as batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage can figure in determining selections made at each position.

Entering the 2020 season, Colorado had a back-to-back Silver Slugger winner the past two seasons in shortstop Trevor Story.

Story was the only Rockies player honored in 2019 while he was joined in 2018 by teammates Nolan Arenado at third base and pitcher German Marquez.

Arenado, in fact, earned Silver Slugger accolades four consecutive years, beginning in 2015.

Besides Arenado, Story, and Marquez, four Rockies have been named Silver Slugger Award recipients since 2010.

They include outfielder Charlie Blackmon (2016, 2017), outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (2010, 2015), outfielder Michael Cuddyer (2013), and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2010, 2011).

Before this year and since 2010, the only two years in which Colorado did not have at least one Silver Slugger Award winner was 2012 and 2014.

Among 2020 National League Silver Slugger Award winners, the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers were represented by outfielder Mookie Betts. Betts was also a three-time award winner (2019, 2018, 2016) when he was with the Boston Red Sox.

Atlanta, which advanced to the NL Championship Series before being eliminated in seven games by Los Angeles, topped the NL with four Silver Slugger picks.

They include first baseman Freddie Freeman, outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., catcher Travis d’Arnaud, and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.

Both Freeman and Acuna are repeat choices from 2019. The designated hitter position choice for 2020 replaces the pitcher slot on previous Silver Slugger Award lists.

Meanwhile, San Diego had two players honored this season. They include shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado.

The remaining two spots on the NL awards list went to outfielder Juan Soto of Washington and second baseman Donovan Solano of San Francisco.

Former Colorado player DJ LeMahieu, now with the New York Yankees, was the choice at second base — for a second straight year — to highlight the list of American League recipients.

The Chicago White Sox notched three picks — outfielder Eloy Jimenez, first baseman Jose Abreu, and shortstop Tim Anderson.

Other AL selections included outfielder Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez of Toronto, third baseman Jose Ramirez of Cleveland, catcher Salvador Perez of Kansas City, and designated hitter Nelson Cruz of Minnesota.

Trout and Cruz are repeat winners from a year ago. Abreu and Ramirez were joined by Trout among 2018 winners.

Interestingly, 2020 World Series runner-up Tamp Bay did not have a player recognized.