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2007 NL Silver Slugger Winners

National League Winners Include Rollins, Wright, Utley and Fielder

Nov 12, 2007

The best hitters at each position for the 2007 National League baseball season.

In 1980, Hillerich & Bradsby, the company that manufactures Louisville Slugger bats, decided that it was time for them to create and promote an official award for the best offensive player at every position. They called the award the Silver Slugger. This was an obvious effort to compete with another sporting goods company, the Rawlings corporation, which had been awarding a Gold Glove to the best defensive player at each position since 1957.

The winner at each position is determined by a vote of managers and coaches using a combination of factors including batting average, home runs, RBI and total bases. Each winner receives a full size Louisville Slugger bat engraved with the year, batting totals, their name, and their position. The bat is of course Silver.

This year, the following players won Silver Slugger Awards for the National League.

Catcher: Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers. Martin won his first Silver Slugger award in just his second Major League season. He led all National League catchers in batting average (.293), home runs (19) and RBI (87).

First Base: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers. Another player in just his second season, Fielder won by virtue of a .288 batting average, 119 RBI and, most of all, his National League best 50 home runs. By hitting fifty dingers, Prince joined his father Cecil to form the only father-son combination in the 50 home run club. Cecil hit 51 in 1990.

Second Base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. Although he missed 30 games with a broken hand, Chase Utley was still able to put together one helluva season. He finished third in hitting in the National League with .332 batting average. He also hit 22 home runs, collected 103 RBI and scored 104 runs.

Shortstop:Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies. Jimmy Rollins had a year for the ages. Were it not for the spectacular play of fellow Silver Slugger Matt Holliday, Rollins would be a cinch for this year's MVP. Whether or not Rollins will win that award remains to be seen, but one thing is very clear: he deserved this one. The shortstop became just the fourth player in baseball history to have at least 20 steals, 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 homers in the same season. Rollins's 38 doubles, 41 steals and 30 home runs, in addition to his .296 average, 94 RBI and 139 runs scored made him an easy choice.

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets. It is often suggested by baseball's talking heads that Jose Reyes is going to be the game's next truly great player. While that may or may not be the case, one thing is for sure when it come to the left side of the Mets infield: David Wright is the best all-around third baseman in the National League.

Wright won the Gold Glove last week on the strength of his slick fielding. Now he adds the Silver Slugger bat on the strength of a .325 batting average, 42 doubles, 30 home runs and 107 RBI. Best Hitter + Best Fielder = Best Third Baseman.

Outfield

Carlos Beltran, New York Mets. Beltran won his second straight Silver Slugger award for the Mets. He got there with another MVP contender season in which he hit 33 home runs, drove in 112, and had just slightly under 300 total bases.

Carlos Lee, Houston Astros. This was the first year of Lee's new six year, $100 million contract with the Astros, and El Cabballo acquitted himself well at the plate, hitting .303 with 32 home runs and 119 RBI. This is Lee's second Silver Slugger award. He won his first while a member of the World Champion 2005 Chicago White Sox.

Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies. Holliday won his second straight silver bat, and that trophy may have to take a spot next to this year's Most Valuable Player award, which Holliday could also win based on his .340 batting average, 50 doubles, 36 homers and 137 RBI.

Pitcher: Micah Owings, Arizona Diamondbacks. In just sixty at bats this season, Owings hit .333 with 7 doubles, 4 home runs and 15 RBI. Those are some very impressive numbers. One might wonder if Owings could even come close to keeping up that pace over a 400 or 500 at bat season. Wouldn't that be fun?

So those are your winners. The best hitters at every position, at least according to Hillerich, Bradsby, the managers and the coaches.

Click here to find out who won the American League Silver Slugger Awards.

The copyright of the article 2007 NL Silver Slugger Winners in Baseball is owned by James Lincoln Ray. Permission to republish 2007 NL Silver Slugger Winners in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.