Cubs teammates win Silver Slugger Awards |
Chicago Cubs first baseman
Anthony Rizzo and pitcher
Jake Arrieta tonight were named National League Silver Slugger Award winners at their respective positions.
This marks the first Silver Slugger Award for a Cub since third baseman Aramis Ramirez won the award in 2011. The Cubs have multiple award winners for only the second time in franchise history, joining catcher Michael Barrett and first baseman Derrek Lee who were honored in 2005. Both Rizzo and Arrieta have earned the first Silver Slugger Award of their careers. Arrieta and Rizzo are now one of only 10 players in franchise history to win a Silver Slugger. Rizzo joins Derrek Lee as the only first basemen to win the award in franchise history, with Rizzo the first-ever Cubs left-handed hitting first baseman to do so. In fact, Rizzo is only the second left-handed hitter in franchise history to win a Silver Slugger Award, joining Leon Durham, who was honored as an outfielder in 1982. In 2016, Rizzo batted .292 (170-for-583) with 43 doubles, 32 home runs and 109 RBI, setting or matching career highs in all four categories. Rizzo turned in a .385 on-base percentage and a .544 slugging percentage, good for a .928 OPS. Arrieta joins Carlos Zambrano (a three-time winner) as the only pitchers in franchise history to win the Silver Slugger. In 2016, Arrieta batted .262 (17-for-65) with two doubles, a triple, two homers and seven RBI. He had a .304 on-base percentage and a .415 slugging percentage, good for a .720 OPS. Arrieta’s batting average, on-base percentage and OPS led all pitchers with at least 50 at-bats, while his slugging ranked second. He also saw more pitchers per plate appearance (4.36) than any other pitcher and was one of only four pitchers in baseball with multiple home runs.
