Royals Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez named 2024 Silver Slugger winners

Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. (7) hits a single as home plate umpire Ben May, left, and Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman look on during the third inning in Game 2 of an AL Wild Card Series baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024 in Baltimore. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

By MATT PIKE

St. Joseph Post

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr is adding another trophy to his shelf one week after earning a Rawlings Gold Glove award, joining teammate Salvador Perez in winning a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award.

Witt received the honor for the first time in his career. Witt had quite the 2024 campaign, claiming the regular season batting title, being named the Gold Glove winner at shortstop, and now earning the Silver slugger. Prior to these accolades, Alex Rodriguez was the only shortstop to earn all three awards throughout his career, while Witt Jr did it in just one season.

Witt, 24, thrived in his third MLB season. He led the majors with a .332 batting average and 211 hits in 161 games. Witt also recorded 88 extra-base hits (45 doubles, 11 triples and 32 home runs) and 109 RBIs.

Witt Jr was also named a finalist for American League MVP, along with Yankees power duo Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The winner of AL MVP will be announced next Thursday at 5pm on MLB Network.

Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez (13) connects for a solo home run against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning of Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Perez, 34, earned his fifth Silver Slugger Award. He piloted the Royals offense with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs. Perez hit his 250th career home run against the New York Mets and later eclipsed 1,500 hits against the Colorado Rockies.

Perez joined an exclusive list with his Silver Slugger Award. He is the ninth MLB catcher to have received the honor five times. The list includes Mike Piazza (10), Iván Rodríguez (7), Brian McCann (6), Lance Parrish (6), Gary Carter (5), Joe Mauer (5), Jorge Posada (5) and Buster Posey (5).

Perez has also enjoyed a memorable offseason. He was also named the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award recipient for his philanthropy in Kansas City, Venezuela and Colombia. He became the first Royals player to win the prestigious honor.

The Royals have 18 AL Silver Slugger winners in club history. Eleven different Royals have won the Silver Slugger Award in a given season. However, the club has just three instances of multiple players receiving the honor in the same season.

Witt and Perez join Royals Hall of Fame duo George Brett and Willie Wilson (1980) in achieving the feat. Wilson also won the Silver Slugger Award alongside teammate Hal McRae during the 1982 season.

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