In the second part of this series, I take a look back at the last South Siders to come away with the honor as the best hitter at their position.
One would be hard-pressed to believe at the start of the decade that the baseball world would be considering the 2020’s an absolute trainwreck of a decade from the Chicago White Sox five years through.
Yet after two postseason appearances to start the decade off, that’s exactly what has happened on Chicago’s South Side, with mediocrity in 2022 quickly becoming historic futility by 2024.
Therefore it doesn’t come across as much of a surprise when learning that this decade hasn’t exactly been one filled with accolades for the White Sox – but there still have been a few bright spots.
Beyond franchise star José Abreu taking home the AL MVP award in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the team has been able to compile two other Silver Slugger awards during the 2020’s.
In the 46 seasons since Silver Sluggers were first awarded in 1980, the White Sox have had at least one winner at every position besides second base and utility, the latter of which only became an award in 2022.
Though not all of the wins are all that recent, the White Sox still have plenty of history when it comes to the sport’s youngest major award. Here’s a look at the last member of the ChiSox to take home a Silver Slugger at each position:
Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski (2012)
The White Sox’s most recognizable catcher since the turn of the century, the lone Silver Slugger in Pierzynski’s impressive 19-year career came in his eighth and final season on Chicago’s South Side in 2012.
Though the team itself faltered late in the season and missed out on the playoffs, Pierzynski was one of the game’s best offensive catchers all season. The 35-year-old veteran smacked 18 doubles and 27 home runs to go with a .278/.326/.501/.827 slash line and a 120 OPS+, the latter serving as the best mark of his career.
Pierzynski finished the season as the fourth-most valuable White Sox player in 2012, and the second-most valuable position player, only trailing Álex Ríos’ 4.8 campaign for the best offensive season on the club.
First Base: José Abreu (2020)
Unsurprisingly coinciding with his MVP campaign in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Abreu was recognized as the best offensive first baseman in the AL along with the lone AL MVP award of his career.
Abreu posted 2.7 WAR and played in all 60 games, leading the AL with 76 hits while finishing tops in all of baseball with 60 RBI. The 33-year-old slugger also knocked 19 home runs and slashed .317/.370/.617/.987, amounting to a 165 OPS+ and the best slugging percentage in the junior circuit.
Abreu’s production was integral to the 35-25 White Sox, who finished third in a competitive AL Central and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2008.
Third Base: Joe Crede (2006)
A fan favorite on the South Side for much of the 2000’s, the World Series champion Crede peaked as a player in the season after winning it all, putting up a remarkably complete season for a 90-win White Sox team in 2006.
In his seventh of nine seasons with the ChiSox, Crede compiled 4.8 WAR and was boosted by a quietly stellar defensive campaign. The 28-year-old was also at his best at the plate that season, posting career-highs across the board with 76 runs, 154 hits, 30 home runs and 94 RBI.
Crede slashed .283/.323/.506/.828 in his magnum opus of a season, amounting to a 107 OPS+ that marked the second and final time in his career that he finished with an above-average OPS+.
While the Silver Slugger was the lone award of his career, Crede would be named to the AL All-Star team in his final year with the White Sox in 2008 before spending the last year of his career with the Minnesota Twins in 2009.
Shortstop: Tim Anderson (2020)
While Abreu’s MVP 2020 campaign was the driving force behind a resurgent White Sox team, plenty of credit also deserves to be levied towards Tim Anderson, who put up an excellent season himself at the field’s most demanding defensive position.
Though his rapid decline as a player remains puzzling, Anderson was at the top of his game in the 60-contest 2020 season, posting 2.5 WAR and leading the AL with 45 runs in addition to 11 doubles and 10 home runs.
Anderson posted a batting average above .300 for the second consecutive season, slashing .322/.357/.529/.886, good for a career-best 140 OPS+. The Silver Slugger in 2020 has been the lone award in Anderson’s career, with the 27-year-old shortstop finishing seventh in AL MVP voting that season.
Outfield: Luis Robert Jr. (2023)
In the first of what has now been three unbelievably brutal seasons for the White Sox, Luis Robert Jr. served as a conspicuous lone bright spot for the South Siders in a 101-loss campaign.
Robert Jr. compiled 5.3 WAR in 2023, over two wins above replacement better than his next closest teammate in Mike Clevinger while displaying all five tools in a season-long masterclass. Robert Jr. knocked 36 doubles and 38 home runs while swiping 20 bags on top of a stellar .264/.315/.542/.857 slash line and 130 OPS+.
In addition to the Silver Slugger, Robert Jr. was named to his first All-Star team and also finished 12th in AL MVP voting, which still stands as the only season in his career thus far that he has collected MVP votes.
Designated Hitter: Frank Thomas (2000)
In what still stands as both a remarkable resurgence for an all-time great and a catalyst for a return to the postseason, the Big Hurt was an absolute monster in 2000, putting up a campaign that greatly bolstered his Hall of Fame resume.
After two seasons of slightly diminished production to finish the 1990’s, a 32-year-old Frank Thomas once again became one arguably the best hitter in baseball once again. Amassing 6 WAR and playing 159 games, Thomas put up 191 hits, 44 doubles, 43 home runs and 143 RBI alongside 112 walks to 94 strikeouts.
The elite power-contact blend created an unbelievable .328/.436/.625/1.061 slash line and 163 OPS+, earning Thomas the fourth and final Silver Slugger of his career and a second-place finish in AL MVP voting behind Oakland’s Jason Giambi.
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