The New York Mets have two players who have been named finalists for the 2023 MLB Silver Slugger Award.
The league released its list of players in contention for the prestigious honor, and Mets 1B Pete Alonso and SS Francisco Lindor are in the mix to win at their respective positions.
Mets: Alonso’s Strong Season Greatly Challenged By Fellow Contenders
Alonso finished third in the MLB with 46 home runs. He also clocked in an impressive 118 RBIs and a .821 OPS. However, his .217 batting average and four stolen bases may not give him the edge over his counterparts in contention.
Alonso is up against Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves) in the National League. Freeman’s 29 home runs may pale in comparison to Alonso, but his 131 runs, 23 stolen bases and slash line of .331/.410/.567 are a mile ahead of Alonso’s peripherals.
Olson appears to be the favorite with his MLB-leading 54 home runs and 139 RBIs. His .28 batting average is nestled between that of Alonso and Freeman and his .604 slug percentage trailed only Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) and Corey Seager (Texas Rangers) among all players, regardless of position. His World Series win is bound to give him extra juice among voters.
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Lindor Becomes The Sixth Mets Player to Join 30-30 Club
Lindor put together a strong 2023 campaign at the plate. His 108 runs and 98 RBIs led the pack among all MLB shortstops. He produced a reliable .470 slug percentage and became just the 46th player in MLB history to join the 30-30 club with 31 home runs and stolen bases apiece. He joins Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry, and David Wright as the only Mets to have achieved such a feat.
Giving him a run for his money are Xander Bogaerts (San Diego Padres), Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs), and Trea Turner (Philadelphia Phillies).
Turner and Bogaerts both exceeded Lindor by 17 hits with 170 connections at the plate. They also got a leg up in the batting average department, with Bogaerts producing a .285 BA and Turner making good on .266 percent of his looks. Swanson gave the Cubs great production but his output is overshadowed by that of the other three contenders.
In totality, Lindor put together the best individual body of work, topped the other three shortstops in the most categories on the leaderboards, and recorded a historic achievement that looks to give him his third Silver Slugger Award for his career and first since he last won in 2018.
