Recalling the 1st Silver Slugger Angels seasons for Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani

The Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award is a phenomenal way for fans to track just how good a hitter was during any given season according to MLB coaches and managers, and a great resource to track the breakout seasons for all-time greats like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels rostered two potential unanimous Hall of Famers in Trout and Ohtani, and looking back at their first of many Silver Slugger awards is a fantastic way to contextualize just how good they were that year and how much better they would become.

Recalling the 1st Silver Slugger Angels seasons for Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani

Let's start with Trout, who won his first Silver Slugger award back during his rookie season in 2012 (he debuted in 2011 for 40 games but 2012 is considered his rookie season). Trout infamously finished second in the American League Most Valuable Player voting that season to Miguel Cabrera, so taking home the Silver Slugger as an AL outfielder was a lock.

Trout slashed .326/.399/.564/.963 during his rookie year, which is remarkable in of itself. His batting average was fourth-best in MLB, his OBP ranked fifth, his SLG ranked fourth and his OPS ranked third. Trout was not just doing it with his bat, but he also led baseball with 49 stolen bases in what ended up being by far the most in a season of his career. He immediately became one of the sport's best hitters in 2012, and did not let up for almost a decade.

What's so funny about Trout winning a Silver Slugger and finishing second in the MVP vote is that 2012 is not even considered a top...six Mike Trout season? In terms of batting average, his .326 mark was the best of his career if you subtract his .333 BA in 36 games played in 2021. However, the rest of his slashline ranks are very low compared to the rest of his career if you subtract these seasons: 40 games played in 2011, the COVID season, 2021, 82 games played in 2023 and 29 games played in 2024. That leaves 10 other seasons. His .399 OBP in 2012 ranks seventh of 10, his .564 SLG ranks sixth and his .963 OPS ranks eighth. Trout his 30 home runs in 2012, which are the seventh-most in his career. Even in a year in which he was viewed as an MVP snub, Trout had one of the least effective seasons of his career. We love you, Mike!

Let's pivot to Shohei Ohtani, who is currently being carried by his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates en route to what will likely be his second consecutive World Series ring. Unlike Trout, it took the two-way player a few years until he won his first Silver Slugger award. Ohtani took home his first Silver Slugger in 2021 as an American League designated hitter.

Remember when pundits said Ohtani should solely focus on pitching and disavow hitting early in his career? Well, he put all of those naysayers to shame when he broke out in a major way during his fourth MLB season. Ohtani slashed .257/.372/.592/.965 in a season in which Trout only played 36 games. He lacked any lineup protection, and still was one of the best hitters in baseball. His SLG ranked fourth-best in baseball and his OPS ranked fifth. Ohtani's 46 home runs were third-most, and given Trout's absence Ohtani's 96 BBs were the fifth-most.

2021 remains a top-three or four Ohtani season, although it might continue to drop down the list of the best Ohtani-hitting seasons as he continues to rack up MVPs with the Dodgers. His .257 batting average remains one of the worst marks of his career, but his OBP, SLG and OPS all rank fourth-best. Ohtani's 2023 season, his final year with the Angels, is the best hitting season of his career by many metrics. Ohtani's 46 long balls, 100 RBIs and 103 runs scored remain the most he ever collected while in Anaheim.