With MLB’s award season underway, here’s a look back at five players you may have forgot won the Silver Slugger Award.
As the 2025-26 MLB offseason has officially begun, award season across the league is also freshly underway with this year’s Gold Glove Award winners being announced Sunday.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Silver Slugger Award, given to the best hitter at each position in both leagues – with this year’s winners to be announced on Thursday and Friday.
The history of both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards often display eras of dominance from some of the game’s greatest players, sometimes making it notable when a new name captures the award. This was certainly the case in the National League throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, as Greg Maddux won 18 of 19 NL Gold Glove Awards at pitcher from 1990 to 2008.
While Maddux’s dominance with the award is unmatched, it’s not unusual for a Hall of Fame player to have a trophy case full of both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards – likely future Hall of Famer Nolan Arenado currently boasts 10 Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers, while Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer took home three Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers in his career.
This seemingly routine dominance from the game’s best players with the two major awards makes it all the more notable when a player who isn’t a perennial All-Star or known defensive stalwart (when it comes to Gold Gloves) wins the award.
With Immaculate Grid filling the void baseball leaves during the winter months, here’s a look back at five Silver Slugger Award winners from the 21st century you may have forgotten about:
Johnny Estrada, Catcher, 2004 Atlanta Braves
The Braves appeared to be left with a massive void behind the plate entering the 2004 season, as longtime backstop Javy López left in free agency after posting a 1.065 OPS with 43 home runs and 29 doubles in an incredible 2003 season, good enough for his own Silver Slugger and a fifth-place finish in NL MVP voting.
Despite having just 115 career games to his name entering the season, Johnny Estrada took over as the Braves’ full-time catcher, and certainly didn’t disappoint. Across 134 games, Estrada slashed .314/.378/.450/.828 alongside nine home runs and 76 RBI, good for a 113 OPS+.
While clearly not the monstrous season López turned in the previous season, Estrada emerged as one of the best catchers in the senior circuit in 2004, making the All-Star team and finishing 18th in NL MVP voting upon the season’s conclusion.
The 2004 season would ultimately prove to be a one-hit wonder for Estrada, who put up below-replacement level production across parts of four more MLB seasons, last playing for the Washington Nationals in July 2008.
Felipe López, Shortstop, 2005 Cincinnati Reds
An 11-year journeyman who played for eight teams over the course of his MLB career, López emerged as much more than a depth piece with a stellar 2005 campaign in Cincinnati.
Following four seasons as a part-time player, López broke out in 2005, amassing 4.3 WAR while posting 34 doubles, 23 home runs and 85 RBI to go with 15 stolen bases and a .291/.352/.486/.838 slash line.
The output was good for a 118 OPS+, with López serving as an integral part of a quietly potent Reds lineup that was dampened by a pitching staff that held the third-worst team ERA in all of baseball.
While López posted career-highs the following season in runs, walks and stolen bases, it came alongside a precipitous drop in power, with his slugging percentage dropping 105 points from 2005 to 2006.
López never quite regained the form he showed in his excellent 2005 season, finishing his career as a well-traveled utility infielder, playing for two teams in five of his final six seasons.
Joe Crede, Third Baseman, 2006 Chicago White Sox
A year after serving as a solid contributor for the World Series champion 2005 White Sox, Crede enjoyed a true breakout year in 2006, emerging as one of the best to play the hot corner in the American League as the South Siders aimed to defend their title.
Crede ultimately had a career year in just about every metric, posting 4.8 WAR while reaching career highs with 76 runs, 154 hits, 30 home runs, 94 RBI and an .828 OPS. Though he remained overshadowed within the club in a lineup that had excellent years from Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome, Crede finished the year as the second-most valuable player on the team.
Though not factoring into his win of the Silver Slugger, Crede also posted 2.6 defensive WAR, the second-best mark for any American League player and the fifth-best finish in all of baseball.
The 2006 season ultimately served as the individual highlight of Crede’s career, with the third baseman struggling with injuries and only managing to play 234 more MLB games over the next three seasons.
Crede did manage to make his lone All-Star team in 2008, and finished his career after a 2.3 WAR campaign for the Minnesota Twins in his only season with the team, playing his final game in September 2009.
Josh Willingham, Left fielder, 2012 Minnesota Twins
Always known as a solid outfield hitter with plenty of pop, Josh Willingham broke out at an unlikely time – in his ninth MLB season at the age of 33.
While Willingham already amassed four 20+ home run seasons leading up to the 2012 campaign, his first with the Minnesota Twins, the slugger emerged for his most productive season yet.
Though it came for a 66-win Twins team, Willingham was a monster at the plate all year long in a year that wasn’t exactly rich on offense. The righty slugger totaled 30 doubles and 35 home runs with 110 RBI and 76 walks alongside a .260/.366/.524/.890 slash line, good for an excellent 143 OPS+.
While poor defense led to a season total of 3.3 WAR, Willingham stood out among hitters of all positions in the American League in 2012. The outfielder finished eighth in the junior circuit in slugging percentage and OPS, while finishing in a third-place tie for the most RBI.
The Silver Slugger Award was the lone accolade Willingham received at season’s end, with the slugger missing out on both the All-Star Game and any MVP consideration. Willingham played 203 more MLB games across the 2013 and 2014 seasons, making his final MLB appearance with the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of the 2014 World Series.
Yan Gomes, Catcher, 2014 Cleveland Indians
After debuting with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012, Gomes broke out immediately with Cleveland the following season, providing a well above-average bat behind the plate alongside elite defense across 88 games.
Though his 2013 output was unrecognized in the form of awards, Gomes aimed to replicate the production in 2014 – and mostly succeeded. After a 4.2 WAR season the prior year, Gomes posted another 4.1 WAR, putting up career-highs with 61 runs, 135 hits, 21 home runs and 74 RBI.
The 26-year-old Brazilian backstop managed a slash line of .278/.313/.472/.785, amounting to a 117 OPS+ in a year that had the least amount of offense in any full season since the 1994-95 MLB players’ strike.
Gomes’ Silver Slugger Award in 2014 was the lone accolade he received that season, though the catcher would go on to crack the All-Star team in 2018 in his final season with Cleveland.
Despite having a bit of an early peak to his career, Gomes went on to play in parts of 13 MLB seasons, totaling 18.5 WAR while also taking home a World Series title as part of the 2019 Washington Nationals.
Gomes finished his career with a two-year stint with the Chicago Cubs, playing his final game in June 2024.
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