Tigers have golden opportunity to recapture their former Silver Slugger glory in 2026

The Tigers' history of Silver Slugger Award winners goes all the way back to the very beginning. In 1980, when the award was introduced, Lance Parrish was the Tigers' representative at catcher for his 24-homer, 92-RBI season, among legends like Reggie Jackson, George Brett, and Robin Yount.

Parrish went on to win the award four more times in a Tigers uniform, but his departure didn't stop Detroit backstops' dominance over the award for a little over a decade. When Parrish went to the Phillies after the 1986 season, Matt Nokes assumed the mantle in a rookie year when was also an All-Star, an MVP votes-getter, and a Rookie of the Year finalist.

Nokes was never quite as good as he was in 1987, but the arrival of Mickey Tettleton in 1991 kept the good times rolling. Having already won a Silver Slugger with the Orioles, he was a Tigers representative in back-to-back years from 1991 to 1992.

Only two Tigers catchers have won the award since that run. Pudge Rodriguez shared it with then-Indian Victor Martinez in 2004, and Alex Avila won in 2011.

Last year, Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry ended an eight-year dry spell for the team, winning for outfield and utility (the last Tigers hitter to win was Miguel Cabrera in 2016). This year, Dillon Dingler has a chance to put Tigers catchers back on the board.

Dillon Dingler could follow in the steps of Lance Parrish, Mickey Tettleton with Silver Slugger win for Tigers

Although Dingler and Shea Langeliers were more closely matched around the All-Star break, when Langeliers got the start at the plate over Dingler in the game, the Athletics' catcher went onto the IL in late July with a torn meniscus and has yet to return, allowing Dingler to pull away.

They're still almost even in home runs — Dingler has 26, Langeliers has 23 — but Dingler's 82 RBI should make him the clear winner, unless Langeliers goes on an insane run when he returns.

Dingler has slowed down at the plate significantly in August, he's starting to show signs of life again. Entering play on Friday, he has a four-game hitting streak going. Granted, they're all singles (and he had to luck into a few of them), but Tigers fans are hopeful it'll get him going again.

If he turns things around and finishes the season strong, there should be no argument here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow