3 forgotten Silver Slugger winners in Detroit Tigers history

When Tigers fans think about Silver Slugger Award winners, the names that come to mind are usually centered around the studs in franchise history. The most obvious being Miguel Cabrera as a five-time winner of the award, as well as Lance Parrish, another five-time winner. Some might even reference Lou Whitaker (four-time winner) and Alan Trammell (three-time winner), thinking this is a sneaky take, as "Sweet Lou" and "Tram" were most known for their defensive prowess.

Tigers fans might even recall Silver Slugger seasons from Victor Martinez, JD Martinez, Placido Polanco, Prince Fielder, and, heck, even Torii Hunter (he won the Silver Slugger of his career with Detroit. Despite this long illustrious list of notable names, there are three Tigers Silver Slugger winners who have been forgotten amidst some of the greatest years of Tigers baseball.

3 forgotten Silver Slugger winners in Detroit Tigers history

Damion Easley

Perhaps the single most forgotten season of any Tigers Silver Slugger winner would be that of Damion Easley's 1998 season. Easley came to Detroit in 1996 via a trade deadline move with the Angels for pitcher, Greg Gohr. The move wound up paying dividends for the Tigers as Easley would hit .343 for Detroit across 21 games and prove to being a trustworthy starter heading into the next season.

In 1997, Easley mashed a career-high (at the time) 22 home runs, driving in 72 RBI and maintaining a .268 average and .362 on-base percentage. Those were really solid numbers for a second baseman in those days. Easley's offensive ascent would continue in 1998, slugging 10 home runs, 34 RBI, and a .343 batting average in the month of May. Talk about a hot start.

Easley would eventually cool down as the season progressed, but his season production did enough to earn him an All-Star roster spot, being the lone Tigers representative. Easley would end the '98 season with 27 home runs, 100 RBI (both new career-highs), a .271 average, and .332 on-base percentage.

Easley's '98 season is easily the most forgotten about Tigers Silver Slugger winner, given his career arc and production henceforth.

Alex Avila

How about Alex Avila? The one-year wonder in 2011, Avila posted career-best marks in nearly every offensive category. As a full-time catcher, posting a .295 average, 19 home runs, and 82 RBI, the race for the award wasn't particularly close. Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers was really the only competitor as he had the better offensive season with 30 home runs, 75 RBI, and a .320 average, but Napoli had only spent 76 games in the squat.

For Tigers fans, Avila's 2011 Silver Slugger season was potentially a sign of things to come. To have a full-time catcher performing at that level, in that offense, the Tigers would be unstoppable. However, for Avila, he never reached those numbers again throughout his next 10 seasons, making this 2011 season (almost) forgotten. He would go on to work for MLB Network.

Dean Palmer

Last but not least is Tigers slugger Dean Palmer. Yes, that Dean Palmer. If you’d almost forgotten about him, you’re not alone. Perhaps a famous movie quote from Obi-Wan Kenobi applies: “Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time.”

One thing about Dean Palmer is that he was always known for his slugging. As the prototypical power hitter who is willing to sacrifice average and on-base ability for the blast, within Palmer's first four seasons as a Texas Ranger, he crushed 93 home runs and continued a historic pace entering his early 30s. Palmer would end up traded to the Kansas City Royals in 1997, spending two seasons there before eventually signing with Detroit via free agency for the 1999 season.

Palmer, now 30 years old and coming off his first ever All-Star selection in 1998 (and Silver Slugger), he faced a new challenge in continuing to be an offensive force in a ballpark that had become notable to holding sluggers down (i.e. Juan Gonzalez's disappointment). But he registered another 30+ home run season to his career with 38 (tying a career-best) and recording 100 RBI.

Even though the Tigers finished the season 69-96, Palmer was a bright spot on a Tigers offense (along with Tony Clark and his 31 homers) that didn't have much punch to it. The Silver Slugger for Palmer was his second in as many seasons, and his last.

What's your favorite memory of these Tigers? Who are your forgotten Silver Sluggers in Tigers history?