It’s Official: Cabrera & Gordon are MLB’s Best Hitters

It’s official! The Winners of the Silver Slugger Award, which we covered last month, have been announced! And although the the MLB playoffs are in full swing and 650 players are sitting home, disappointed, two of those players just received the good news.

Miguel Cabrera of the American League’s Detroit Tigers, and Dee Gordon of the National League’s Miami Marlins, have each won the Silver Bat Award in their respective Leagues. They were determined the winners after a secret ballot of MLB managers and coaches. There is no exact calculation to choose the winner, but Batting Average, On-Base Percentage and On-Base Plus Slugging are numbers known to influence how managers and coaches vote. You can see each player’s 2015 statistics below.

Their 2015 Numbers at a Glance

Cabrera

Gordon

Batting Average .338 .333
On Base Percentage .440 .359
On Base Plus Slugging .974 .776

 

Silver Slugger Award
The official Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award

This is the fourth AL batting title for Cabrera, and the first batting championship for Gordon. And according to Louisville Slugger, “Cabrera is the first player to win the AL batting title four times in a span of five years since Hall of Famer Wade Boggs received the honor consecutively from 1985–1988. Dee Gordon is the first NL player since Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson in 1949 to win both the batting title and the stolen base crown in the same season.”

The Louisville Slugger’s Silver Bat Award is one of the most prestigious annual individual awards in sports. Cabrera and Gordon will receive the Louisville Slugger Silver Bat, which is plated in sterling silver and engraved with the player’s autograph and the statistics from his batting-title season. For you fellow bat addicts, Louisville Slugger states that the award bat (which, of course, is not meant to be used!) weighs approximately 56 ounces and is 34-inches long.

Cabrera and Gordon will receive their awards at on-field ceremonies in each player’s home stadium early in the 2016 season.

Jackie Robinson and Ford Frick Silver Slugger Award
In 1949, Jackie Robinson received one of the first two Silver Bat Awards

The History of the Silver Bat Award

This award is almost as much a part of baseball as the bat itself! This is now the 67th season for the award, which Louisville Slugger first presented to George Kell (Detroit Tigers) and Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) in 1949.

MLB Network and Louisville Slugger will announce the winners of the 2015 Silver Slugger Awards in a special hour-long telecast at 6 p.m. ET on November 12. Mark your calendars!