Losing out to Aaron Judge has no shame in it, but Rodriguez had a case against both Riley Greene and Byron Buxton.
On Friday night, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh won his first career Silver Slugger Award. It was a foregone conclusion for Raleigh, who is also in contention for the American League MVP Award because of his 60-homer, 125-RBI season.
However, the news wasn't all good as M's second baseman Jorge Polanco was denied the award, losing to Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees. Outfielder Julio Rodriguez was also denied, losing out to Aaron Judge (Yankees), Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins) and Riley Greene (Detroit Tigers).
While losing out to Judge is nothing to be ashamed of, it feels like Rodriguez was snubbed out of his third career Silver Slugger win.
The criteria
Per Louisville Slugger, who issues the awards:
The Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards are the top offensive honor in Major League Baseball Coaches and managers of Major League teams vote for the players they feel are the best offensive producers at each position in the field in both the American and National Leagues. They base their selections on a combination of offensive statistics including batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, as well as the coaches’ and managers’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value. Managers and coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team.
The case for Rodriguez
Rodriguez was sensational for the Mariners this season, especially from mid-July on. He finished the year with a .267 batting average, 32 home runs, 95 RBIs and a .798 OPS. He carried a 128 OPS+. He also appeared in 160 games, amassing the most plate appearances (710) and at-bats (652) in the American League. His 652 at-bats were the most in baseball. He amassed a 6.8 Baseball Reference WAR. He stole 30 bases.
How about Greene and Buxton?
Greene had 36 home runs and 111 RBIs, both of which were more than Rodriguez, but his .258 batting average was worse, as was his 120 OPS+. His 2.2 Baseball Reference WAR was significantly worse, and he only stole two bases.
As for Buxton, his 35 home runs were more than Rodriguez, but his 83 RBIs were less, as was his 4.9 bWAR. He played in only 126 games but his 136 OPS+ was better than Rodriguez.
Conclusion
Rodriguez was apparently not given any credit for availability, and he apparently wasn't given any credit for his running ability. Of course the "slugging" part is focused on, but if overall offensive impact is truly measured, then that should have factored in.
Rodriguez was denied both the Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove Award, which should continue to fuel him through the offseason.
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