McCann sets Braves record with Silver Slugger

Brian McCann made history Wednesday night when he earned his fifth Silver Slugger as an Atlanta Brave. No other Atlanta Brave had won more than four. With his fifth straight Silver Slugger in six full seasons of eligibility, McCann passed outfielder, two-time National League MVP and should-be Hall of Famer Dale Murphy and pitcher and future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine, both of whom won four. He also continued the domination of the award by Braves catchers, who have now claimed the award seven times in nine seasons (Javy Lopez won it in 2003 and Johnny Estrada in 2004 prior to McCann). The Silver Slugger is decided by a vote of Major League Baseball coaches and managers they are not allowed to vote for their own players and is based on a number of offensive categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and managers' and coaches' "general impressions of a player's overall offensive value." The award was fitting for McCann if you judge his entire body of work in 2011, even though final impressions might leave some questioning his worthiness over the likes of St. Louis' Yadier Molina and Arizona's Miguel Montero. It shouldn't. One month, even the final nightmarish month-and-a-half, McCann had when he hit .180, with six homers, 16 RBIs, and only 10 extra-base hits while striking out 32 times (22 in September, the most of any month in his career) does not make a season and should not have radically affected McCann's status as the elite offensive catcher in the National League. If such thinking mattered, Braves fans would be celebrating Dan Uggla's second straight Silver Slugger, as he overcame a poor first half to lead all Major League second basemen in homers and led all Major League hitters with a 33-game hitting streak, the longest ever by an Atlanta Brave. While Cincinnati's Brandon Philips deserves the award, Uggla still deserves props for resilience and greater consideration than he probably got. Looking back, maybe McCann should have sat one or two more of the season's final six weeks. But at the time, he simply wouldn't, insisting on fighting through, and counting on being the offensive threat he'd present when healthy. Enter the part of the Silver Slugger award about "the general impressions of a player's offensive value." Even with his uncharacteristic finish and slow start, McCann deserves to be recognized as the N.L.'s best hitting catcher arguably the best in the Majors. Slump and all, he still finished the season hitting .270, with 24 homers, tops among Major League catchers, and 71 RBIs, with a .466 slugging percentage. His RBIs and slugging were second in the N.L. only to Arizona's Miguel Montero. More typical of McCann was the hitter with the .306 average, .514 slugging percentage, 18 homers, and 55 RBIs, only two fewer than his strikeout total. An argument could be made that his value should earn him greater consideration for National League Most Valuable Player. His numbers pale compared to likely winner, Matt Kemp of L.A. and would look foolhardy put side-by-side with Kemps 2011 season were the award for BEST player. But for most valuable, McCann measures up. Look at how the Braves fared with him at his usual All-Star level (60-44 through July 26) and how they fared as he battled down the stretch (17-20 from Aug. 14, 8-16 in September with one two-game winning streak after September 1st). This isnt to put September completely on McCann, as obviously, other factors came into play. But with a healthy McCann the N.L. Playoff picture looks a lot different. The Silver Slugger Award will make a bittersweet addition to McCann's ever-growing Trophy Room, as it will be a reminder of a year that was good by ordinary standards but disappointing by his. Of course that room is going to expand as his career goes on, and that should be for a while, as he'll be 28 when the Braves start 2012 Spring Training. As he faced the music following the season-ending loss to Philadelphia, McCann talked about how he learned a lot from his first trip to the D.L., that he needs to find a way to be at his best in September and that, "I'm going back to work and will come back better than I've ever been." That means he can start making room for that sixth straight Silver Slugger and, ideally, some extra hardware a lot more prestigious and lot less arbitrary that is decided on the field in late October.