Red Sox Star Hit So Well This Year, He Received 2 Silver Slugger Awards
The wicked awesome Boston Red Sox didn’t just make history when they set a franchise record for regular-season wins with 108 on their way to their fourth World Series title in this still-young century.
Now J.D. Martinez gets to celebrate with not one but two Silver Slugger awards, becoming the first player in MLB history to win that award at two positions in the same year.
.@JDMartinez14 is the first player to win two Silver Slugger awards (OF, DH) in the same season. pic.twitter.com/K7VxVf8vYk
— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) November 9, 2018
Martinez not only won at designated hitter, where in 93 starts he hit .297 with a .970 OPS, but also as an outfielder, where in 57 starts he hit .384 and slugged a Barry Bonds-like 1.130.
And sure, you can make an argument that the Yankees’ Aaron Judge got robbed for that third outfield Silver Slugger, but Martinez had 57 starts while Judge had 108, and Judge managed only 16 more RBIs in those 51 extra games.
Martinez joins his teammate Mookie Betts and the Angels’ Mike Trout as the American League’s three outfield Silver Sluggers.
The best bats in the AL.
(MLB x @SluggerNation) pic.twitter.com/9od5uiqqex
— MLB (@MLB) November 8, 2018
If you go to Baseball Reference, you’ll see “AS, SS, SS” under “awards” next to Martinez’s 2018 season, alongside his MLB-leading 130 RBIs and 358 total bases.
Let’s face it, when a guy puts up a .330/.402/.629 slash line, he deserves all the accolades you can give him.
The even crazier part?
Martinez’s .629 slugging percentage and 1.031 OPS represented a step backward from 2017.
Last year, in 119 games with Detroit and Arizona, Martinez mashed 45 homers and slugged .690, good for a 1.066 OPS when combined with his .376 on-base percentage.
One award Martinez won’t be winning is AL MVP. Despite his spectacular season, he wasn’t among the top three in voting.
J.D. Martinez is the best offensive player at two different positions, but not an MVP finalist. Consider me baffled. https://t.co/OvXUaUjZJm via @MLB
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) November 9, 2018
The MVP announcement comes next week, and Betts seems likely to walk away with it. He was the consensus pick of USA Today’s writers.
In some way I feel as though JD Martinez getting two Silver Sluggers is an attempt to make up for the being a finalist for MVP#SilverSlugger #jumbodongs#mlbawards#MVP
— Sox Down South (@SoxDown) November 9, 2018
Now go get your Silvah Sluggahs, J.D.
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