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If there was an award to be won during the 2016 season, Kris Bryant was the clear choice. Bryant was at the center of the Chicago Cubs' World Series core, taking home National League MVP honors as well as the National League Hank Aaron award.
One year removed from taking home National League Rookie of the Year honors, Bryant's 2016 season was one of the best offensive seasons any Cubs fan has ever seen. In 699 plate appearances, Bryant slashed .292/.385/.554 with a 148 wRC+ and 39 home runs.
No real surprise that Bryant was recognized as being the National League's best hitter during the Cubs' World Series run. But the one piece of hardware that Bryant didn't take home in 2016 was the Louisville Sliver Slugger Award.
Cubs fans will never forgive the Silver Slugger slight that robbed Kris Bryant
The Silver Slugger recognizes the best player at each positions, and National Leagued third baseman selected for the award in 2016 was Nolan Arenado. Yes, in case you were wondering, winning the MVP and Hank Aaron award does not make you a lock to win the Silver Slugger award.
With the Colorado Rockies that season, Arenado slashed .294/.362/.570 with a wRC+ of 126 and 41 home runs. Sure, Arenado very clearly had the power advantage over Bryant 2016, but outside of that, the Cubs' third baseman was the better player in every metric that assessed value he offensively brought to the Cubs. Factoring in that Arenado played half his games in Coors Field, the power advantage certainly shouldn't have been the reason he took home the award over Bryant.
Of course, since 2016, Bryant and Arenado have had very different career paths. Between stops with the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, Bryant hasn't been able to recapture the success during his intial run with the Cubs. Meanwhile, Arenado has since become a fixture with the St. Louis Cardinals, but it seems that the Cubs' rival is itching to get rid of the veteran as soon as they can.
Regardless of where Arenado goes next, he will always remain a villain to Cubs fans, and his theft of Bryant Silver Slugger is a large reason why.