Willy Adames became the first player in a Giants uniform to slug 30 home runs since Barry Bonds, and Rafael Devers anchored the lineup with a combined 35 homers between San Francisco and Boston, but neither player was the club's lone finalist for a Silver Slugger award. The honor belonged to Matt Chapman, who was passed over when Gold Glove finalists were announced earlier this month but is being recognized for his bat.
For the second straight year, Duane Kuiper has been recognized as one of the top broadcasters in Major League Baseball. The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced its ballot for next year's Ford C. Frick Award, which is given to one baseball broadcaster each year at the hall's enshrinement weekend. Kuiper, who began calling Giants games in 1986 after retiring from his playing career, has been nominated five times now but has not yet won the award.
They told me to get to know the guys here, get to know how everything works, just be around the guys and get used to it, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez, 23, didn't spend a ton of time catching in the Yankees' system due to New York's abundance of catching prospects, catching only 172 games over six seasons in the minors. Along with catching, Rodriguez has played first base, second base, third base and left field to get his bat in the lineup.
