Pete Alonso could snap wild Orioles' Silver Slugger drought that dates back to polarizing star

It has been almost over 10 years since the Baltimore Orioles had a first baseman win a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award. First base is a position where Baltimore has struggled to find consistent, high-end production, and the last Oriole to win a Silver Slugger at first was Chris Davis in 2013.

Davis went absolutely insane in 2013, launching 53 home runs, an Orioles single-season record, while driving in 138. He hit .286 that year with a 1.004 OPS because he also racked up 42 doubles. Davis finished third in American League MVP voting that season, and he himself broke a Silver Slugger drought that went back to Rafael Palmeiro in 1998.

Since 2013, the Orioles have had a mix of slightly above-average to slightly below average seasons from their first baseman. That is mostly due to Chris Davis' decline. After his 2013 campaign, Davis had a steep falloff, hitting below the Mendoza line and cutting his home run total in half at just 26. He had a bounce-back in 2015, again leading the majors in home runs, but also strikeouts. It still earned him a seven-year, $161 million contract that would hamper the O's for years.

One mega-contract started the Orioles' Silver Slugger slump, and Pete Alonso's may now end it

From 2016-2020, Davis would play another 534 games and hit .196 and only 92 home runs. Davis went from a beloved piece of a contending core in the mid-2010's to one of the main reasons the O's went into a rebuild right after he signed his mega-contract.

The O's finally have a player who might break that streak in 2026. Pete Alonso has been everything Birdland could have hoped for this season when he signed his five-year, $155m contract this offseason. The Polar Bear is hitting .267 with 37 home runs and 102 RBIs.

Alonso's 102 RBI are the best (as of September 16) among AL first baseman. He ranks in the top three in home runs, runs, doubles, and walks as well. While most are going to predict either Boston's Willson Contreras or New York's Ben Rice, Alonso stacks up well against both and certainly has a case to take home the award.

While Baltimore's path to the playoffs is a tightrope walk over chainsaws, getting elite level production from Alonso is good for the future. The contract he received over the winter was highly scrutinized, but seeing that he can still be a potential Silver Slugger winner is good for the future because they will need him to continue to do this if they want to make the playoffs next year.

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