Cody Snavely
The award season continues as we approach November, with Major League Baseball announcing the winners of the Silver Slugger Awards.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had five individual player finalists and a team award nomination this season.
- First Base: Freddie Freeman (.282/.378/.476, .854 OPS)
- Outfield: Teoscar Hernández (.272/.339/.501, .840 OPS)
- Catcher: Will Smith (.248/.327/.433, .760 OPS)
- Utility: Mookie Betts (.289/.372/.491, .863 OPS)
- Desginated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani (.310/.390/.646, 1.036 OPS)
The Los Angeles Dodgers would continue to eat well this offseason after winning the World Series and having three of their five players in the award, along with the team taking away the Silver Slugger National League Offensive Team of the Year.
The 2023 American League Most Valuable Player kicked the award night off by winning his third career Silver Slugger Award and his first in the National League after a historic campaign.
In his first year in Dodger Blue, Ohtani made his mark in year one of his ten-year $700 million contract, hitting .310/.390/.646 while leading the National League in runs (134), home runs (54), RBI (130), OBP (.390), SLG (.646), and OPS (1.036).
Another stud to shine in his first year with the Dodgers after inking a one-year deal last offseason was Teoscar Hernández. He was one of the more valuable offensive players for the Dodgers this season, stepping up massively when Betts and Freeman missed time with injuries and off-the-field situations.
Hernández, in his lone year in Dodger Blue, put up career numbers including a .272/.339/.501 slash line .840 OPS, 137 OPS+ while smacking a career-high thirty-three home runs and driving in ninety-nine runs. Hernández also made his second career all-star game, won the 2024 Home Run Derby, and ended the season a champion.
For Hernández, it was his third career Silver Slugger Award in what is hopefully a few more years of offensive success with the Dodgers (get it done, Andrew Friedman).
Despite missing almost two full months with a wrist injury, Mookie Betts was still able to nab his seventh Silver Slugger Award and his fourth with the Los Angeles Dodgers, this time as a utility player selection.
As we all may recall, Betts started the season at shortstop for the Dodgers until mid-June when the current National League Most Valuable League Player was placed on the 15-day injured list with a fractured wrist.
Upon his return, Betts continued to destroy the ball, and the selfless leader that he is decided to move down from his traditional lead-off spot to the two-hole and allow Shoehei Ohtani to take off for the rest of the season there.
Overall, Betts had one of his better offensive seasons despite limited playing time, posting a 141 wRC+ in 116 games.
The two Dodgers that fell just short in the voting were veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman, who lost to Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (.285/.373/.525), and catcher Will Smith, who lost again to Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras (.281/.365/.466).
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