Angels' outfielder Mike Trout was named a recipient of the 2018 Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award on Thursdsy, which is given to the best offensive players at each position in both the American and National Leagues. The award is Trout's sixth honor in seven full seasons and the 23rd overall for the Angels.
With Thursday's announcement, Trout becomes the first Angel in franchise history to win six Silver Sluggers awards. He broke Vladimir Guerrero's previous Club record of four (2004-07) after capturing his fifth award in 2016. Trout is tied with Alex Rodriguez as the youngest player in big league history to win the award six times and is the ninth outfielder in history to receive the honors six times at any point in his career: Barry Bonds (12), Manny Ramirez (8), Ken Griffey Jr. (7), Vladimir Guerrero (7), Tony Gwynn (7), Juan Gonzalez (6), Kirby Puckett (6) and Sammy Sosa (6).
The New Jersey native finished his eighth big league season (seventh full year) with the Angels, batting .312 (147/471) with 101 runs scored, 24 doubles, four triples, 39 home runs, 79 RBI and 24 stolen bases. The Halo center fielder posted a 1.088 OPS which was the highest in the American League since 2006 and the best such mark by an A.L. outfielder since Manny Ramirez (1.154) in 2000.
The Silver Slugger Award winners were determined by a vote of Major League Baseball coaches and managers who named the players they felt were the best offensive producers at each position in both the American and National Leagues in 2018. Selections were based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as the coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value. Managers and coaches were not allowed to vote for players on their own teams.