Xander Bogaerts has been one of the best shortstops in Major League Baseball since his arrival and Thursday revealed another reason why.
The Boston Red Sox shortstop took home his fourth career American League Silver Slugger Award and became just the fifth AL shortstop to reach the milestone.
Bogaerts joins Barry Larkin (nine), Cal Ripken Jr. (eight), Alex Rodriguez (seven) and Derek Jeter (five) as the only people to reach the mark. And at just 29 years old, he could soon rise up this list even further.
It’s definitely not a bad group to be a part of as Larkin, Ripken Jr., and Jeter all now reside in Cooperstown and Rodriguez could soon join them depending on how the voters judge.
The Red Sox certainly couldn’t have asked for much more out of the Bogaerts this season. After the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, Bogaerts didn’t miss a step in 2021, finishing the season with an impressive .295 batting average to go along with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs.
