'Silver' Fish: Stanton, Ozuna net 'Sluggers'

MIAMI -- When it comes to pure power, Giancarlo Stanton is in a class by himself. But in terms of the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Awards announced Thursday night, the All-Star right fielder is joined by one of his teammates.
For the first time in franchise history, the Marlins have two Silver Slugger Award winners in the same year -- Stanton and Marcell Ozuna. The announcement was made on MLB Network.
Both were All-Stars and centerpieces on one of the most productive outfields in the game. Stanton paced the Major Leagues in home runs with 59 and RBIs with 132. Ozuna posted some big numbers of his own, belting 37 homers and driving in 124 runs.
It is Stanton's second Silver Slugger, with the other coming in 2014 when he paced the NL with 37 home runs. Ozuna was one of eight players on Thursday to receive the award for the first time.

For Stanton, it was another day to receive a prestigious honor. On Wednesday, the four-time All-Star received the Players Choice Award for Outstanding Player in the NL. On Tuesday, Stanton was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award among right fielders, but the nod went to Jason Heyward of the Cubs.
At the World Series, Stanton won the Hank Aaron Award for the NL.
"I think staying healthy, and having a game plan," Marlins assistant hitting coach Frank Menechino said of Stanton's success. "He wasn't thinking about mechanics anymore. He was thinking about pitch to pitch. That's a huge relief for him. He's not worrying about his hands. He didn't go into those two-week slumps where he was totally lost."
• Silver Slugger Awards all-time winners
There could be another big prize left for Stanton, who is a finalist for NL MVP as voted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, which will be revealed on Nov. 16.
After three straight injury-plagued seasons, Stanton showed what he can do when he stays on the field. He appeared in a career-high 159 games, and he turned in one of the top home run performances in MLB history.
The 59 home runs are the most in the Majors since Barry Bonds set the record with 73 in 2001. Sammy Sosa added 64 in the same season.
Stanton's home run total was 20 more than the next challenger in the NL. Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers finished with 39.
Stanton's slash line was .281/.376/.631, and he scored 123 runs.
The big power jumped out on the Statcast™ leader boards. Stanton had the hardest hit tracked by Statcast™ this season, a single off Atlanta's Max Fried in the final game of the regular season that was 122.2 mph.

Of his 59 homers, Statcast™ projected 34 of them at an exit speed of more than 110 mph. The next closest was Yankees slugger Aaron Judge with 25. The dropoff to third was Texas' Joey Gallo with 17.
Statcast™ projected Stanton's longest home run at 477 feet, which came Aug. 4 off R.A. Dickey of the Braves.

The Silver Slugger was Ozuna's second major award this offseason. On Tuesday, he had another first, receiving the Gold Glove for NL left fielders.
• Complete 2017 Awards coverage
A two-time All-Star, Ozuna had a career year, with a slash line of .312/.376/.548.
Ozuna was tied for third in the NL with Colorado's Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado in home runs. And he was third in the Majors in RBIs.
Before this year, Preston Wilson held the Marlins' season RBI mark with 121 in 2000.
Ozuna showed plenty of power himself, with seven home runs with exit speeds greater than 110 mph. Statcast™ tracked his longest home run at 468 feet, which hit a banner hanging from the roof at Tampa Bay on May 3.

"Marcell Ozuna is really a keep-it-simple-guy," Menechino said. "He doesn't get too in-depth. He didn't worry about anything. He hits off the fastball. He still has his moments where he changes things and does some crazy things. But overall, it's just his talent. He's comfortable. He's relaxed, does his work. He has a good routine, and he loves to play. He goes out there and competes every day."