2014 Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger winners announced
First-time honors for 8, Beltre grabs his 4th
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2014) - Louisville Slugger®, the Official Bat Supplier of Major League Baseball®, proudly announced the 2014 Silver Slugger™ Award winners tonight in a special hour-long telecast exclusively on MLB Network, hosted by Greg Amsinger and Mark DeRosa.
Eight of the 18 team members are first-time Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award winners, including
American League batting champion Jose Altuve, National League home run leader Giancarlo Stanton, and American League rookie sensation Jose Abreu. Meanwhile, Adrian Beltre landed his fourth Silver Slugger Award, while Jose Bautista, Ian Desmond, Andrew McCutchen, and Mike Trout all won their third.
The Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award winners were determined by a vote of Major League Baseball managers and coaches who selected the players they felt were the best offensive producers at each position in both the American and National Leagues in 2014. Selections were based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, as well as the managers' and coaches' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value. Managers and coaches were not allowed to vote for players on their own teams. Tabulation of the balloting was verified by the accounting firm of Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP.
Among the teams represented by this year's winners, the Indians, Giants, Nationals, Pirates, and White Sox each had multiple Silver Slugger Award winners. Seven winners in the NL were on teams that made the Postseason, while seven winners in the AL were on teams that did not play in October.
Two Indians, Michael Brantley in the outfield and Yan Gomes at catcher, were first-time winners in the AL, while World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner of the World Champion San Francisco Giants joined Stanton, Neil Walker of the Pirates and Anthony Rendon of the Nationals as first time winners in the NL. Victor Martinez of the Tigers, Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox, Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers, Justin Upton of the Braves, and Buster Posey of the Giants all won their second awards.