With this year's Silver Slugger Award winners set to be announced on Nov. 9 exclusively here on FanSided and The Baseball Insiders podcast, let's dive into the first Silver Slugger season for one of the greatest Twins players in history. Click here for more information about the award.
Revisiting Twins legend Joe Mauer's first Silver Slugger season
Mauer won five Silver Slugger awards throughout his Hall-of-Fame career, giving him the second-most Silver Slugger honors in Twins history behind legendary center fielder Kirby Puckett. The first time Mauer earned the award occurred in 2006, the catcher's third MLB season, as a 23-year-old.
In 2006, Mauer led American League catchers in batting average (.347), on-base percentage (.429) and slugging percentage (.507) while posting 5.8 fWAR and collecting 13 homers and 84 RBIs in 140 games en route to winning the Silver Slugger Award for American League catchers. The season solidified Mauer as one of the best catchers in Major League Baseball after the Twins legend missed most of his rookie season (2004) due to injury and had a solid 2005 season where he posted 3.4 fWAR and a 108 wRC+. 2006 was also Mauer's first season making the All-Star team, and he finished sixth in MVP voting while Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau finished first.
Mauer struggled in the 2006 postseason, going 2-for-12 with a pair of singles and one walk, but fans still remember his regular-season dominance, as it established Mauer as one of the game's best players. A left-handed-hitting catcher with a smooth swing who is among the league's best hitters is hard to come by, and the Twins had just that in Mauer, who is now viewed as one of the best Twins players of all time, rivaled only by Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva.
Mauer's four remaining Silver Slugger Awards further established the catcher's legacy. After winning the award in 2006, Mauer earned the honor in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013. He even won the MVP Award in 2009 after posting 8.3 fWAR with a ridiculous .365/.444/.587 slash line with career-highs in home runs (28) and RBIs (96). Considering he is in the Hall of Fame, Mauer is likely one of the best catchers of all time.