Hillerich & Bradsby Co. bestows two different sets of awards for top sluggers each year: the Silver Bat and the Silver Slugger Team.
The coveted Silver Bat is presented annually to the batting champions of the American and National Leagues. The award was first given to the Major League batting champs in 1949 - George Kell of the Detroit Tigers and Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Before that, the trophy was awarded to the Minor League batting champions from 1934 to 1948. At one time it was called the "Louisville Slugger Trophy".
Tony Gwynn won eight Silver Bats, more than any other player. He won four in a row from 1994 to 1997. Rod Carew racked up seven Silver Bats and Wade Boggs has five. Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, and Bill Madlock are all four-time winners.
George Brett holds the distinction of winning Silver Bats in three different decades: 1976, 1980 and 1990.
The Silver Bat is sterling plated and weighs approximately 56 ounces. It is 34 inches long, and is engraved with the player's autograph and the statistics of his winning accomplishments. An official of Hillerich & Bradsby Co. presents the award at the player's home stadium the following season.
As a natural extension of the Silver Bat award, HandB created the Silver Slugger Team in 1980. These special trophies go to the top offensive performer at each position in both leagues. The Silver Slugger Team "line-up" is decided by coaches and managers who vote for the players they'd most like to have on their team - based solely on their performance at the plate. The coaches and managers consider a combination of offensive stats for the season along with their personal impressions of a player's overall effectiveness wielding a bat. They vote for nine players within their own league and cannot vote for one of their own team members.
The sterling plated trophy is three feet tall and features the engraved names of all 18 winners in both leagues.
Click here to see the Silver Bat winners.
Click here to see the Silver Slugger Teams.