Of the 18 players selected to for the Silver Slugger award, for being the best hitting player at their position, only three of them had award bonuses their contracts:

2009 National League Silver Sluggers

Position	Player, Team	Bonus
P	Carlos Zambrano, Cubs	none
C	Brian McCann, Braves	none
1B	Albert Pujols, Cardinals	$50,000
2B	Chase Utley, Phillies	$50,000
3B	Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals	none
SS	Hanley Ramirez, Marlins	none
OF	Ryan Braun, Brewers	none
OF	Andre Ethier, Dodgers	none
OF	Matt Kemp, Dodgers	none

2009 American League Silver Sluggers

Position	Player, Team	Bonus
DH	Adam Lind, Blue Jays	none
C	Joe Mauer, Twins	none
1B	Mark Teixiera, Yankees	none
2B	Aaron Hill, Blue Jays	none
3B	Evan Longoria, Rays	none
SS	Derek Jeter, Yankees	none
OF	Torii Hunter, Angels	$100,000
OF	Jason Bay, Red Sox	none
OF	Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners	none

It’s a great award to put on the mantle, but it’s a bonus that very few put in their contract.  I was hoping that Zambrano would have an award clause in his contract for his bat.  Hopefully he can negotiate it for 2013.  The Silver Slugger is not respected in the contractual sense compared to its defensive counterpart – The Gold Glove.  Even Ichiro’s crazy contract of round trips, personal assistants and housing allowance or Braun’s contract of having a suite for all home games did not include an award for something they are paid to do – hit.

In the future, I would like to see a Silver Slugger award for an American League pitcher and the best NL and AL pinch hitter.  Pinch hitters like Matt Stairs should get an award for doing what may be the hardest job in baseball – come off the bench and hit.

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