Andrew McCutchen won his fourth consecutive Silver Slugger award on Thursday night, becoming the first Pittsburgh Pirates’ player to win the award four times. McCutchen hit .292/.401/.488 with 36 doubles, three triples and 23 homers in 2015. From May until August, he put up an OPS over .900 each month, topping out at 1.079 in August when he won the NL Player of the Month award.
The Silver Slugger award has been given away since 1980. Pitcher Don Robinson in 1982 was the first Pittsburgh Pirates’ player to win the award. He was followed by second baseman Johnny Ray in 1983 and pitcher Rick Rhoden was the lone representative from 1984 until 1986, winning three consecutive. In 1988, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla became the first teammates for the Pirates to win the award in the same season.
Barry Bonds and Bonilla both won in 1990 and 1991, while Bonds and Van Slyke won in 1992. Jay Bell picked up the award in 1993. Jack Wilson ended an 11-year drought for the Pirates in 2004, and now McCutchen has won from 2012-15, joined by Pedro Alvarez in 2013 and Neil Walker last year.
