Orioles Center Fielder Cedric Mullins Is A Silver Slugger Award Finalist
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, the first player in franchise history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases, is a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award honoring baseball's top offensive players, Major League Baseball announced Monday.
Once considered a fringe talent at the plate, Mullins blossomed into a complete hitter during the 2021 season, batting .291 with 30 home runs and 59 RBI.
Since 1980, the Silver Slugger Award has been given to the best offensive players at each position in both the American and National leagues.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Teoscar Hernández, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker, Seattle Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger and Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are the other American League outfield finalists. Three winners will be selected from the group of outfielders.
Mullins' .878 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) ranks third among American League outfielders, behind only Tucker and Judge, and his 30 steals are tied for first with Myles Straw of the Cleveland Indians.
The manager and three coaches of each team vote on the winners and cannot select players from their own club.
Mullins would be the first Oriole to win the award since Mark Trumbo in 2016. That season Trumbo hit 47 home runs and 108 RBI on an 89-win team that ultimately lost a 1-0 heart-breaker to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card game.
The winners will be announced during a one-hour show on MLB Network. The special is scheduled for Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.