The Chicago Cubs' recent history with the Silver Slugger award may not be as illustrious as some Cubs fans may think it would be, considering the team saw the arrivals of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kyle Scwarber at the Major League level, Only two member of the Cubs' World Series core won the Silver Slugger award during their time with the team, Rizzo (2016) and Baez (2018). The last Cubs player to win the award was Cody Bellinger, winning it as the National League's utility player in 2023.
In the history of the Cubs organization, their two most prominent winners are Ryne Sandberg and Sammy Sosa. Sandberg was a 7-time Silver Slugger during his time with the Cubs, and Sosa is just behind him with 6 Silver Slugger awards. After Sandberg and Sosa, there is Carlos Zambrano, who won the award three times during his time on the North Side.
Cubs’ Silver Slugger history isn’t as strong as it should be
With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the Cubs are not the team with the most Silver Slugger award winners in the history of baseball. Instead, that honor falls with the New York Yankees, who have had 32 Silver Sluggers in the history of their organization. Rounding out the top 3 are the Boston Red Sox with 30 and the Washington Nationals with 29.
As for the Cubs, they fall in at No. 10 with 23 Silver Sluggers in their franchise history. The same number as the Detroit Tigers, and one more than the San Diego Padres. In case you were wondering, the Cubs' crosstown rival, the Chicago White Sox, land at No. 21 with 18 Silver Sluggers.
There's also not much reason to believe the Cubs' fortunes with the Silver Slugger award will change moving forward. Pete Crow-Armstrong is likely their strongest candidate moving forward. Matt Shaw and Owen Caissie could also be potential candidates depending on their development at the Major League level. But outside of those three, it could be a tough ask for the Cubs.
