There have been 816 Silver Sluggers awarded by MLB since the award was introduced in 1980. Unsurprisingly, the Atlanta Braves have taken home their fair share of the award. All-Stars like Dale Murphy, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, Freddie Freeman, and Ronald Acuña Jr. have made sure the Braves have a finalist at their position for long stretches in their respective decades, making a Braves player winning the award every season almost an expectation.
But how many other teams can say this? As it turns out, very, very few.
Most Silver Slugger awards by team (1980-2024)
Braves players have taken home 40.5 Silver Sluggers since the award's inception in 1980, if you include Fred McGriff's partial season with the Braves in 1993, when he won the award after getting traded from the San Diego Padres. With the award existing for 45 seasons, this puts the Braves averaging just under one award per season. Of course, there have been seasons where the Braves have won much more than one.
Brian McCann leads the Braves with five Silver Sluggers, with Dale Murphy and Tom Glavine (yes, Tom Glavine the Hall of Fame pitcher) right behind the longtime catcher with four awards apiece. This trio actually combine for more awards than three MLB teams, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have 12, the (formerly Oakland) Athletics have 10, and the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays have four.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the only franchises that have won more Silver Sluggers than the Braves, as the Yankees have won 51 and the Red Sox have won 50. The Washington Nationals have the second-most Silver Sluggers if you include their Montreal Expos history, winning 38 (though two of these are technically half-winners, as the franchise traded Josh Bell and Juan Soto in 2022 when the duo won the award).
The rest of the National League travels far behind, surprisingly, as the Philadelphia Phillies have 25.5, the New York Mets have 23.5, and the Miami/Florida Marlins have 14.
Here's how the rest of the league ranks:
Team | Silver Sluggers |
|---|---|
1. Yankees | 51 |
2. Red Sox | 50 |
3. Braves | 40.5 |
4. Expos/Nationals | 38 |
5. Rangers | 36.5 |
6. Dodgers | 34.5 |
T-7. Tigers | 33 |
T-7. Giants | 33 |
T-9. Blue Jays | 32 |
T-9. Rockies | 32 |
11. Cardinals | 30.5 |
12. Indians/Guardians | 29.5 |
T-13. Astros | 28 |
T-13. Padres | 28 |
15. Angels | 27.5 |
16. Padres | 25.5 |
T-17. Cubs | 25 |
T-17. Mariners | 25 |
T-17. Orioles | 25 |
T-20. White Sox | 23.5 |
T-20. Mets | 23.5 |
22. Brewers | 23 |
23. Reds | 21.5 |
T-24. Pirates | 21 |
T-24. Twins | 21 |
26. Royals | 18 |
27. Marlins | 14 |
28. Diamondbacks | 12 |
29. Athletics | 10 |
30. Devil Rays/Rays | 4 |