Nov. 07--Chicago White Sox rookie first baseman Jose Abreu and shortstop Alexei Ramirez each beat stiff competition to win American League Silver Slugger Awards.
Abreu beat the likes of Miguel Cabrera of Detroit, Edwin Encarnacion of Toronto, Joe Mauer of Minnesota, and Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels.
Abreu, 27, who also is a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America that will be announced on Monday, batted .317 with 36 home runs, 107 RBIs and a .581 slugging percentage.
Abreu is the first Sox rookie to win the award and the first since Mike Trout of the Angels in 2012.
Ramirez, 33, who will enter the final year of his contract in 2015, batted .273 and led all AL shortstops with 15 home runs and 74 RBIs. Ramirez is the only shortstop in Sox history to win the award.
Abreu and Ramirez are the first Cuban-born teammates to win a Silver Slugger Award in the same season. They also are the fourth set of Sox teammates to win Silver Slugger Awards in the same season, joining Joe Crede and Jermaine Dye (2006), Magglio Ordonez and Frank Thomas (2000), and Thomas and Julio Franco (1994).
The Silver Slugger awards are awarded to the top offensive player at each position in the National League and AL and voted on by major league managers and coaches.
