2024 Silver Sluggers: Dodgers, Padres win big

Major League Baseball announced its 2024 Silver Slugger winners Tuesday, honoring the best offensive players at each position in both leagues.

This year's list of recipients features seven first-time winners, as well as several established stars entering near-record territory. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres led the way with three winners each, while the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals both had two honorees.

Winners were decided by votes from MLB managers and coaches, with each team receiving four individual votes. Team awards were also handed out in both leagues.

Here's the full list of winners:

American League

Catcher

Winner: Salvador Perez, Royals (5th)

Perez becomes the eighth catcher to win at least five Silver Sluggers. The Royals captain led all primary backstops in RBIs, while his .330 OBP was the highest of his career in a 162-game season.

Runners-up: Yainer Diaz (HOU), Shea Langeliers (OAK), Cal Raleigh (SEA)

First base

Winner: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (2nd)

Guerrero put up the second-best average (.323) and third-highest OBP (.396) in the majors in 2024 while reaching 30 homers for the third time in his career. He joins Carlos Delgado as the only Blue Jays first basemen to win this award multiple times.

Runners-up: Josh Naylor (CLE), Carlos Santana (MIN)

Second base

Winner: Jose Altuve, Astros (7th)

Altuve's seventh Silver Slugger moves him into a tie with Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg for the most ever among second basemen. The 34-year-old reached 20 homers for the sixth time in his career.

Runners-up: Colt Keith (DET), Marcus Semien (TEX), Gleyber Torres (NYY)

Third base

Winner: José Ramírez, Guardians (5th)

Ramírez joins Nolan Arenado, Mike Schmidt, and Wade Boggs as the only players with at least five Silver Sluggers at the hot corner. He finished one home run and one double shy of the second 40-40-40 season in MLB history.

Runners-up: Alex Bregman (HOU), Rafael Devers (BOS)

Shortstop

Winner: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (1st)

Witt put together one of the best offensive seasons ever for a shortstop. In addition to his second straight 30-30 campaign, the 24-year-old won a batting title (.332) and led the majors in hits (211) while finishing with the fifth-highest fWAR (10.4) at his position in a single season. He's the first Royals shortstop to win a Silver Slugger.

Runners-up: Gunnar Henderson (BAL), Corey Seager (TEX)

Outfield

Winner: Aaron Judge, Yankees (4th); Juan Soto, Yankees (5th); Anthony Santander, Orioles (1st)

Judge earned his third Silver Slugger in four seasons after leading the majors in homers, RBIs, OBP (.458), slugging (.701), OPS, OPS+ (223), walks (133), and fWAR (11.2). He was the first player to slug above .700 in 20 years.

Santander's 44 home runs were the fourth-most ever for a switch-hitter in a single season. He's just the fourth Orioles outfielder to win a Silver Slugger, joining Adam Jones (2013), Mark Trumbo (2016), and Cedric Mullins (2021).

Soto, the other half of the Yankees' dynamic duo, is the 14th outfielder to win at least five Silver Sluggers. He led the majors in runs scored (128) and drew more walks (129) than he had strikeouts (119) for the fourth time in his career.

Runners-up: Jarren Duran (BOS), Riley Greene (DET)

Designated hitter

Winner: Brent Rooker, Athletics (1st)

Rooker, one of the few bright spots for the A's during their final season in Oakland, set career highs across the board in 2024. His .562 slugging percentage was the highest by an A's hitter since Jason Giambi in 2001. He's the first A's DH to win this award.

Runners-up: Yordan Alvarez (HOU), Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)

Utility player

Winner: Josh Smith, Rangers (1st)

The 27-year-old Smith is a Silver Slugger winner in his first full big-league season after splitting his time between third base and shortstop. He's the third different player to win the AL utility Silver Slugger since its introduction in 2022.

Runners-up: Willi Castro (MIN), Jordan Westburg (BAL)

Team

Winner: New York Yankees

Anchored by the powerful trio of Judge, Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees led all teams in home runs and topped the AL in wRC+. They were one of three clubs to score more than 800 runs in 2024.

Runner-up: Baltimore Orioles

National League

Catcher

Winner: William Contreras, Brewers (2nd)

Contreras becomes the first NL catcher to win back-to-back Silver Sluggers since J.T. Realmuto in 2018-19 and the seventh to do it since 1980. This season saw him set career highs in homers, RBIs, hits (167), and walks (78), and he posted the best wRC+ at his position.

Runners-up: J.T. Realmuto (PHI), Will Smith (LAD)

First base

Winner: Bryce Harper, Phillies (4th)

Harper's now won a Silver Slugger in three of the last four seasons, and he's done it at three different positions (outfield in 2021, DH in 2023, and first base in 2024). He's the fourth player to win Silver Sluggers at three positions, joining Al Oliver, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera. Harper, Pete Rose, and Ryan Howard are the only Phillies to win it at first base.

Runners-up: Pete Alonso (NYM), Freddie Freeman (LAD)

Second base

Winner: Ketel Marte, D-Backs (1st)

Marte finally broke through to win his first career Silver Slugger by leading his position in home runs and wRC+. He becomes the second D-Backs second baseman to win this award, joining Aaron Hill in 2012, and the first D-Backs Silver Slugger at any position since pitcher Zack Greinke in 2019.

Runners-up: Luis García Jr. (WAS), Jonathan India (CIN)

Third base

Winner: Manny Machado, Padres (2nd)

Machado led all NL third basemen in wRC+ and reached the 29-homer mark for the ninth time in his career. It's his second Silver Slugger in four seasons.

Runners-up: Alec Bohm (PHI), Matt Chapman (SF)

Shortstop

Winner: Francisco Lindor, Mets (4th)

Lindor is a Silver Slugger winner for a second straight season after tying his career high in homers and coming up one steal shy of 30-30 while helping the Mets reach the playoffs. He's the sixth shortstop to win four Silver Sluggers and now owns two in each league.

Runners-up: Willy Adames (MIL), Elly De La Cruz (CIN)

Outfield

Winner: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers (3rd); Jackson Merrill, Padres (1st); Jurickson Profar, Padres (1st)

Hernández returned to form in a Dodgers uniform, claiming his third Silver Slugger in five seasons as an anchor of the World Series champions' lineup. His 33 homers and 53 walks are both new career highs.

Merrill becomes the fifth rookie outfielder to win a Silver Slugger, joining Julio Rodríguez, Judge, Mike Trout, and Ichiro Suzuki. The 21-year-old led all Padres hitters in OPS+, doubles (31), and slugging percentage (.500).

Profar, 31, is a first-time winner after turning in a career-best season for the Padres. His 24 homers were tied with Merrill for second on the team. This marks the first time that two Padres outfielders have won Silver Sluggers in the same season.

Runners-up: Jackson Chourio (MIL), Seiya Suzuki (CHC)

Designated hitter

Winner: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (3rd)

Ohtani was the easy choice after putting up the first 50-50 season in baseball history while also leading his league in RBIs, OBP, slugging, OPS+, runs scored, total bases, and extra-base hits. Ohtani is the sixth player to win at least three DH Silver Sluggers and the first to earn the DH award in both leagues.

Runner-up: Marcell Ozuna (ATL)

Utility player

Winner: Mookie Betts, Dodgers (7th)

Betts is a Silver Slugger winner for the third straight season and earns his first as a utility player after winning his previous six in the outfield. The 32-year-old began the season splitting time between shortstop and second base. He returned to right field in August after spending time on the injured list.

Runners-up: Luis Arraez (MIA/SD), Jake Burger (MIA), Bryan Reynolds (PIT)

Team

Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers mashed their way to a World Series title, hitting .258/.335/.446 as a unit while scoring an NL-high 842 runs and also leading the Senior Circuit in both homers and slugging. They were the second team ever to have five players with an OPS+ of 135 or higher, joining the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers.

Runner-up: Arizona Diamondbacks