List of Silver Slugger Award winners at designated hitter

The Silver Slugger Award is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). These voters consider several offensive categories in selecting the winners, including batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, in addition to "coaches' and managers' general impressions of a player's overall offensive value". Managers and coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. The Silver Slugger was first awarded in 1980 and is given by Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats. The award is a bat-shaped trophy, 3 feet (91 cm) tall, engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver.

From 1980 to 2019, and in 2021, a Silver Slugger Award for designated hitters (DH) was only given in the American League, because use of a DH in place of the pitcher in the batting order was prohibited in the National League; a Silver Slugger Award for pitchers was given for the National League instead. In the season, the National League temporarily allowed use of the designated hitter, and no pitcher was awarded the Silver Slugger Award. An award was given instead to the best designated hitter in the National League. The first NL Silver Slugger Award for designated hitter was given to Marcell Ozuna. Beginning in 2022, the pitcher Silver Slugger Award was retired after MLB announced the full-time implementation of the universal DH rule in both leagues. The Silver Slugger Award for DH is now awarded in both leagues.

David Ortiz has won the most Silver Sluggers as a designated hitter, capturing four consecutively from 2004 to 2007, and winning again in 2011, 2013, and 2016. Three players are tied with four wins. Paul Molitor won the award four times with three different teams: the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987 and 1988; the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, when the team won the World Series; and the Minnesota Twins in 1996. Edgar Martínez won the award four times with the Seattle Mariners (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003). Shohei Ohtani won the award four times with two different teams: the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 and 2025. Ohtani is also the only player to win the designated hitter Silver Slugger Award in both the American and National League, which he has achieved twice. Don Baylor won the Silver Slugger three times in four years (1983, 1985–1986) as a designated hitter with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and Frank Thomas won it twice with the Chicago White Sox (1991, 2000). Harold Baines won the award while playing for two separate teams in the same season; he was traded by the White Sox to the Texas Rangers in the middle of the 1989 season. Ohtani and George Springer are the most recent winners.

Martínez set the records for the highest batting average and on-base percentage in a designated hitter's winning season with his .356 and .479 marks, respectively, in 1995. Ohtani's slugging percentage of .654 in the 2023 season is the highest among all winners at the designated hitter position.

American League winners

Year	Player	Team	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	Ref
	†	New York Yankees	.300	.398	.597	41	111
		Texas Rangers	.309	.348	.411	4	55
		Kansas City Royals	.308	.369	.542	27	133
		New York Yankees	.303	.361	.494	21	85
		Cleveland Indians	.271	.366	.484	33	99
	(2)	New York Yankees	.231	.330	.430	23	91
	(3)	Boston Red Sox	.238	.344	.439	31	94
	†	Milwaukee Brewers	.353	.438	.566	16	75
	† (2)	Milwaukee Brewers	.312	.384	.452	13	60
	†	Chicago White Sox
Texas Rangers	.309	.395	.465	16	72
	†	Milwaukee Brewers	.289	.330	.451	21	92
	†	Chicago White Sox	.318	.453	.553	32	109
	†	Toronto Blue Jays	.290	.377	.491	26	108
	† (3)	Toronto Blue Jays	.332	.402	.509	22	111
		Chicago White Sox	.319	.406	.510	20	98
	{{sortname	Edgar	Martínez	Martinez, Edgar}}†	Seattle Mariners	.356	.479	.628	29	113
	† (4)	Minnesota Twins	.341	.390	.468	9	113
	{{sortname	Edgar	Martínez	Martinez, Edgar}}† (2)	Seattle Mariners	.330	.456	.554	28	108
	{{sortname	Jose	Canseco	Canseco, Jose}}	Toronto Blue Jays	.237	.318	.518	46	107
		Texas Rangers	.324	.420	.630	47	148
	†	Chicago White Sox	.328	.436	.625	43	143
	{{sortname	Edgar	Martínez	Martinez, Edgar}}† (3)	Seattle Mariners	.306	.423	.543	23	116
	{{sortname	Manny	Ramirez	Ramirez, Manny}}	Boston Red Sox	.349	.450	.647	33	107
	{{sortname	Edgar	Martínez	Martinez, Edgar}}† (4)	Seattle Mariners	.294	.406	.489	24	98
	*†	Boston Red Sox	.301	.380	.603	41	139
	*† (2)	Boston Red Sox	.300	.397	.604	47	148
	*† (3)	Boston Red Sox	.287	.413	.636	54	137
	*† (4)	Boston Red Sox	.332	.445	.621	35	117
		Baltimore Orioles	.304	.360	.552	32	108
		Toronto Blue Jays	.305	.370	.562	35	114
	†	Texas Rangers	.300	.345	.496	29	115
	*† (5)	Boston Red Sox	.309	.398	.554	29	96
		Kansas City Royals	.313	.373	.510	29	107
	*† (6)	Boston Red Sox	.309	.395	.564	30	103
		Detroit Tigers	.335	.409	.565	32	103
		Kansas City Royals	.290	.362	.485	22	106
	*† (7)	Boston Red Sox	.315	.401	.620	38	127
		Seattle Mariners	.288	.375	.549	39	119
		Boston Red Sox	.330	.402	.629	43	130
	(2)	Minnesota Twins	.311	.392	.639	41	108
	(3)	Minnesota Twins	.303	.397	.595	16	33
		Los Angeles Angels	.257	.372	.592	46	100
		Houston Astros	.306	.406	.613	37	97
	(2)	Los Angeles Angels	.304	.412	.654	44	95
		Oakland Athletics	.293	.365	.562	39	112
		Toronto Blue Jays	.309	.399	.560	32	84