Here's where the Angels rank in MLB among teams with most Silver Slugger winners

The Angels are a franchise defined by their generational talents -- and while they have had their fair share of ace pitchers throughout the years, their heavy hitters have been the ones that defined the decades of organizational success. Mike Trout has been a key cog in the lineup for almost 15 years. Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter carried the load before him. The early 2000’s featured Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon, and Garret Anderson in the lineup - and before them the likes of Bobby Grich and Reggie Jackson made Anaheim a location known for slugging. 

As FanSided has partnered with Louisville Silver Slugger to announce this year’s recipients, we’re taking a look at just how well the Angels have fared in the history of the award. Since the award's induction in 1980, the Angels have had a player receive the honor an exceptional 25 times, spread out among 14 different players. This ranks as the seventh-most in baseball, and is in large part due to the brilliance of Mike Trout and his total dominance throughout the 2010’s. 

The teams in front of the Angels make total sense. The New York Yankees rank #1 with a total of 32 awards, then the Boston Red Sox with 30, the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos with 29, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers with 27 each, and the Atlanta Braves with 26. Then, there’s the Angels. 

A lot of the names one would expect to see on this list are here. All of the aforementioned Halo hitters brought home at least one Silver Slugger Award, while obvious names like Shohei Ohtani and surprise winners like Justin Upton contributed to the total as well.

Mike Trout is clearly a huge reason for their ranking here. From 2012 through 2020, he won an American League Outfielder Silver Slugger every season except 2017, when he played only 114 games and arguably should have still won the award. Without Trout’s nine Silver Sluggers, the Angels would rank 25th in the big leagues in all-time wins, placing themselves between the St. Louis Cardinals (with 17) and the Kansas City Royals (who have only had 15 players win a Silver Slugger). 

While the Angels are not likely to add any Silver Slugger Awards this season (although Jo Adell and Taylor Ward have arguments to be listened to), their current standing in the league’s history surrounding the award is exceptional.