With the World Series wrapped up and the Texas Rangers winning their first title in franchise history, the baseball offseason is now in full swing. Part of the offseason is the awards, where players and managers are rewarded for their efforts. For the New York Mets, while there wasn’t much to cheer for in a team perspective in 2023, individual accomplishments were made.
On Thursday, MLB announced the 2023 finalists for the Silver Slugger Awards, and two of the Mets bats who shined brightest in 2023 are amongst them. It’s to no surprise the duo of Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor. Over the past couple of years, the two most consistent bats in the Mets lineup have been very productive in the 3-4 spots of the Mets order.
Alonso joins Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson on the first base side, and Lindor is among a group of shortstops such as Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson, and Trea Turner. Alonso and Lindor are coming off big seasons and earned a chance to win the award.
On the American League side is former Met Brandon Drury and upcoming free agent Shohei Ohtani, whom the Mets are interested in this winter.
Francisco Lindor. Photo by Roberto Carlo
Once again, Alonso continued his home run trend by hitting 46 (3rd in MLB) this season and driving in 118 RBIs (2nd in MLB). Since 2019, no player in MLB has hit more home runs than Pete Alonso, and outside of the shortened 2020 season, he has hit over 35 home runs every year.
Lindor once again proved that 2021 was an anomaly. In 2023, Lindor had an historic 30/30/30 season with 30 home runs, 30 doubles, and 30 stolen bases. He became the fourth Met ever to have a 30/30 season, joining Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson (he did three times), and David Wright. Lindor led all NL shortstops with 31 homers, 98 RBIs, and a .806 OPS, and was third with 31 stolen bases.
The Silver Slugger Award winners will be announced on November 9 on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET.
