Trout collects his third Silver Slugger Award

ANAHEIM -- Mike Trout won yet another Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder on Thursday, becoming the first American League player to win one in each of his first three full seasons.

The only other player to do that was former catcher Mike Piazza, who started his career with 10 straight Silver Sluggers with the Dodgers and Mets.

The Silver Slugger Award is presented to the best offensive player at each position, per league, based on votes by coaches and managers. It has been presented since 1980.

Trout, previously given the Hank Aaron Award for best offensive player in the AL, posted a .287/.377/.561 slash line in 2014, hitting a career-high 36 home runs, leading the AL in RBIs (111) and runs scored (115), while posting the best Wins Above Replacement score in the Majors (7.6, according to FanGraphs.com) for a third straight year.

The 23-year-old Trout is a favorite to win the AL Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday, Nov. 13, after finishing second to Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera each of the last two seasons.

Trout is only the second player in Angels history to win a Silver Slugger at least three straight years, joining fellow outfielder Vladimir Guerrero (four in a row from 2004-07). He's the youngest player in Major League history to win the award three times and the fourth player in AL history to nab a Silver Slugger in three straight years while also stealing at least 15 bases each season, joining Julio Franco, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.