Central STL News

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder and first baseman Alec Burleson has been named the National League’s Silver Slugger Award winner among utility fielders, marking a significant milestone in his career. Burleson’s achievement comes after a season of notable improvements both at the plate and in his approach to the game.

Reflecting on recent changes in his life, Burleson said, “Definitely life-changing. So, it was pretty easy for me to turn the baseball switch off and get in offseason mode and dad mode. [Braxton] got nothing from me except his appetite. He looks just like my wife, and nothing like me. Kudos to my wife because she’s taken on a lot of the responsibility as I’ve still got to get my stuff in for my job. But it’s a life-changing experience and really cool.”

Burleson credited Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol for trusting him with an everyday role during the 2025 season. His efforts to lose weight and improve defensively allowed him to contribute both in the outfield and at first base. This increased playing time led to improved statistics; he finished the second half of 2025 with a .285 batting average, a .795 OPS, and seven home runs—an uptick compared to his performance at the end of 2024.

After arriving at Spring Training in 2024 without a guaranteed spot in the lineup, Burleson had what he described as a breakout year by hitting 21 home runs and driving in 78 runs over 152 games. However, he struggled with plate discipline, chasing 34.5 percent of pitches outside the strike zone according to Baseball Savant data.

In 2025, Burleson addressed this issue by reducing his chase rate to 28.8 percent, which led to career highs across several offensive categories: batting average (.290), on-base percentage (.343), slugging (.459), OPS (.802), doubles (26), and triples (two). He played first base in 50 games and spent another 75 games in the outfield while leading the Cardinals in batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs.

Burleson was one of only four National League players—including Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, Trea Turner of the Phillies, and Geraldo Perdomo of the Diamondbacks—to hit at least .290 with a slugging percentage above .450.

“It took me being OK with taking strikes, and it took me being down 0-1,” Burleson said on Friday. “It took me being in a hitter’s count and taking a strike, and it took me being OK with seeing pitches go by.

“But it was just about having a plan every single at-bat and sticking to it until you have to go off script. It’s about really being stubborn and being OK with taking strikes that are dotted on the corner even if it’s a hitter’s count. It took a lot for me to really understand that, accept it and buy into it. That’s where you’ve seen the improvement.”

The Silver Slugger is the first won by a Cardinals player since Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado received honors in 2022.

“I knew I could hit at this level, and it was just a matter of getting better in certain areas,” said Burleson, who plans to focus on improving against left-handed pitching during the offseason. “It took a lot of hard work and, really, some self-reflection of understanding who I am and what I can do, and it took a lot of buying into that.

“Obviously, I’m not the Masyn Winn on defense or the Victor Scott on the basepaths, so I need to get my extra-base hits when I can. That’s my game, and it’s really special to me to be honored for that.”