Earlier this week, Louisville Slugger kicked off Major League Baseball’s annual awards season by announcing the finalists for the 2021 Silver Slugger Awards. First awarded in 1980, the Silver Slugger Awards honor the best offensive players in each league at all nine positions, with the American League awarding one for the designated hitter and the National League one for the pitcher.
At least, they’re designed to honor the best offensive players in each league, but because they’re voted on by the players and coaches, strange results sometimes occur. Take, for example, the 2021 AL nominees, which somehow contain five Yankees despite the team posting a middling 101 wRC+:
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Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are deserving candidates, for obvious reasons.