Silver Slugger Awards: Pujols a Mainstay but First-Time Winners Abound

The top hitters in the majors were honored Thursday with the announcement of the 2010 Silver Slugger awards for both leagues. While there were some familiar names on the list of winners, first-timers seemed to carry the day in voting by managers and coaches.

Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Albert Pujols of the Cardinals were honored at first base. Pujols' Silver Slugger was his sixth overall and fourth at first base. He also took home the award as a third baseman and an outfielder. In winning this year, Pujols topped the man most believe is the leading MVP candidate in the NL, the Reds' Joey Votto -- just as he did in winning the Gold Glove at first base Wednesday.

Two first-time winners took home honors at second base. The Marlins' Dan Uggla led second basemen with 33 homers, so his selection was no surprise. The same goes for Robinson Cano, the AL pick, an easy choice at the position.

At shortstop, Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox won his first Silver Slugger. Rated highly by defensive metrics, Ramirez controversially lost out to Derek Jeter for the Gold Glove, but there was no competition from Jeter for this one. Ramirez led his AL peers with a .282 average and 18 homers. On the NL side, Troy Tulowitzki also earned his first Silver Slugger thanks in part to his staggering September hot streak.

Behind the plate, a couple of familiar faces were honored. Perennial All-Stars Joe Mauer of the Twins and Brian McCann of the Braves took home the hardware -- again, neither much of a surprise.

At third base, youth was served on one front but not another. Ryan Zimmerman won his second consecutive Silver Slugger for the Nationals, but Evan Longoria of the Rays lost out on his bid to match Zimmerman on the AL side with veteran Adrian Beltre taking home his second award (but first since 2004 with the Dodgers) after his impressive debut season in Boston.

Among NL outfielders, Carlos Gonzalez was another first-time winner. He was joined by Matt Holliday (fourth award) and Ryan Braun, who won for the third time. On the AL side, Carl Crawford won for the first time to join his former minor league teammate, leading MVP candidate Josh Hamilton, and home run champ Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays.

The designated hitter honor went to Vladimir Guerrero, his eighth overall but first as a DH.

And last but not least, the always-anticipated Silver Slugger for pitchers -- awarded only in the NL -- went to Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers, who had four homers this season out of 16 total produced by pitchers in 2010.

Like the Gold Gloves, the Silver Slugger winners were selected by managers and coaches in each league. Voting was conducted before the playoffs and panelists weren't allowed to vote for their own players.

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