Robinson Cano Wins Silver Slugger Award, Continues to Evolve
November 2, 2011 · Pete Schauer · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
It’s official.
Robinson Cano has been awarded the American League Silver Slugger award for the third time in his stellar career, accomplishing the feat in 2006, 2010, and now 2011.
The 2011 accomplishment makes it back-to-back Silver Sluggers for Robi, and he becomes the first Yankee to win consecutive Silver Slugger Awards since Derek Jeter did from 2007-2009.
The other recipient, Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees, makes it the sixth time in the last seven seasons that multiple Yankees have won the award in the same season.
Cano’s 2011 campaign saw him hit .302, making it five seasons out of seven in which he hit over .300. He also launched 28 home-runs, and set a career-best in RBIs with 118, while posting a .349 on base percentage and scoring 104 runs.
What’s most impressive about Cano’s .302 average was that he did it for most of the season without having Alex Rodriguez hitting ahead of him in the cleanup position. Cano spent a better part of the second half of the season filling the void left by A-Rod, hitting out of the cleanup position behind Mark Texeira.
Cano, who was just short of beating Mattingly’s record for most extra-base hits by a Yankees left-handed hitter, also excelled in clutch situations last season, hitting .318 with runners in scoring position in 2011.
Whether you like it or not, Cano has solidified himself as the best second baseman in the game.
But it’s not just his bat that scouts and coaches are impressed with. It could be his cannon for an arm, or the fact that he made just three errors in 1,393.1 innings in 2010, amounting to a .996 fielding percentage and earning him his first Gold Glove Award.
While Dustin Pedroia bested Cano in 2011 for the American League Gold Glove Award at second base, Cano had just three more errors than Pedroia and led all AL second baseman in assists.
Cano is also one of the most durable players in the Majors. In 2011, he played in all but three games for the Yankees. In fact, since 2007, Cano hasn’t missed more than three games in a season for the Bronx Bombers.
With that being said, don’t be surprised to see Cano’s numbers elevate to 30+ homers and 125+ RBIs next season, all while hitting over .300 for the fourth consecutive season.
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