Salvador Perez wins his second Silver Slugger Award

Salvador Perez has won his second Silver Slugger Award, an award for offensive excellence presented by Louisville Slugger. Perez tied a career-high with 27 home runs, tops among all catchers in baseball. He previously won the award in 2016.

Perez did hit a career-low .235 this year, but honestly it was a rather weak year for American League catchers. Just seven backstops reached 400 plate appearances this year, and only two of them - Yan Gomes and Robinson Chirinos - topped Salvy’s 89 wRC+.

The Silver Slugger Award has been handed out since 1980. Past Royals winners include Brett (1980, 1985, 1988), Willie Wilson (1980, 1982), Hal McRae (1982), Frank White (1986), Gary Gaetti (1995), Dean Palmer (1998), Billy Butler (2012), Kendrys Morales (2015), Perez (2016), and Eric Hosmer (2017).

J.D. Martinez became the first player to win the award at two positions, winning it for the outfield and designated hitter. The award is decided by a vote of MLB managers and coaches. Here are the complete winners:

American League

Catcher - Salvador Perez, Kansas City

First Base - Jose Abreu, Chicago

Second Base - Jose Altuve, Houston

Shortstop - Francisco Lindor, Cleveland

Third Base - Jose Ramirez, Cleveland

Outfield - Mookie Betts, Boston; Mike Trout, Los Angeles; J.D. Martinez, Boston

Designated Hitter - J.D. Martinez, Boston

National League

Catcher - J.T. Realmuto, Miami

First Base - Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona

Second Base - Javier Baez, Chicago

Shortstop - Trevor Story, Colorado

Third Base - Nolan Arenado, Colorado

Outfield - Christian Yelich, Miami; David Peralta, Arizona; Nick Markakis, Atlanta

Pitcher - German Marquez, Colorado