He may not have won a National League Gold Glove Award, but Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman will not leave the 2010 season empty-handed.
Major League Baseball announced Thursday that the 26-year-old earned his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award. That honor goes to the top offensive player at each position in both the American and National Leagues.
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Zimmerman batted .307 with 25 home runs and 85 RBI while hitting third in the order for Washington. Only Arizona’s Mark Reynolds (32) and New York’s David Wright (29) had more homers from that position in the National League. But Zimmerman had by far the best on-base percentage (.388) among all qualifying candidates.
That’s why 2010 may have been Zimmerman’s best offensive season — even though he hit eight more homers in 2009 and had 21 more RBI. His walk rate improved to a career-best 11.4 percent in 2010, and he struck out in 18.6 percent of his at-bats — the second-lowest total in his five full seasons. Zimmerman also finished with an OPS of .899, which was tied with Boston’s David Ortiz for 15th best among all major league position players. That was one spot ahead of teammate Adam Dunn (.892).
“I think the biggest area where I’ve improved is pitch recognition,” Zimmerman told MLB Network after the announcement. “The more at-bats you get at this level the more you start to understand what pitches you can do damage with and what you have to just let go.”
Zimmerman also won a Gold Glove Award in 2009 as the National League’s best defensive third baseman but was denied a repeat when Cincinnati’s Scott Rolen won it instead on Wednesday.
“I don’t ever expect to win those [awards],” Zimmerman said Tuesday night at Nationals Park, where the Nats unveiled their new uniforms for 2011. “This league is so hard to be successful in, let alone win awards. There’s so many great players at every position. I work hard just to be a good third baseman.”
