Mike Trout will receive his 5th Silver Slugger award (in five seasons) at the Big A tomorrow night, putting him in the company of legends

By the time Mike Trout is done playing baseball, he’s going to need to purchase a warehouse or a bunch of shipping containers, otherwise I’m not sure where he thinks he’s going to be able to fit all the hardware he’ll have accrued over the years. This is the type of problem you have when you’re the best on the planet at what you do. I’m sure Mike Trout is happy to have this type of problem, though.

Adding to his already-impressive pile of trophies, including a couple MVP awards, a couple All Star Game MVPs, and a Rookie of the Year trophy, he’s got himself a slew of Silver Slugger bats, and tomorrow night at the Big A, Louisville Slugger is going to give him another one. If you’re keeping track at home, that would be FIVE Silver Slugger awards for Mike Trout in his first five seasons in the MLB. That’s impressive, but then again, that’s Trout for ya!

First, a quick refresher on the Silver Slugger award:

• Louisville Slugger established the Silver Slugger Awards in 1980 as a natural extension of the Silver Bat Awards which had been given to the batting champions in both the American League and National League since 1949. The Silver Bat Awards continue today.
• Silver Slugger winners recognize the most outstanding offensive player at each position in the AL and NL.
• Winners are determined by a vote of opposing managers and coaches in determining players’ overall offensive value, taking into consideration statistics such as batting average, OPS, HR’s, RBIs, and extra base hits, runs scored, as well as ability to move runners, base running ability, and ability to work the count.
• Each MLB team receives four (4) votes. Ballots are marked by team, and managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team.
• Silver Slugger winners are announced in a televised broadcast on MLB Network in early November.
• The actual Silver Slugger Awards are displayed at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky from November through February before being shipped to MLB clubs for on-field presentations at the start of the new season.

To add a little context to Trout’s Silver Slugger award winning seasons, realize that winning five in a row (in his first five seasons, no less) is something that has only been done by players like Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrero, Dave Winfield, Barry Larkin, Mike Piazza and Alex Rodriguez. As usual, Trout’s accomplishments put him in pretty rarefied air.

As you’d expect, Barry Bonds has the most Silver Slugger awards for the outfield position, with a total of 12 throughout his career. I don’t want to jinx the guy or anything, but I think it’s a pretty safe to assume that Trout is going to give Bonds a run for his money, if not overtake his award total entirely.

Trout is going to get Silver Slugger #5 tomorrow night, at the Big A, in a pre-game ceremony. If you’re planning on going to the game, might be worth it to get there early, so you can check out the proceedings.

Here’s the full rundown of players who’ll be receiving a shiny, silver bat in the following days: