Baseball fans baffled as San Diego Padres star Juan Soto collects 2022 Silver Slugger Award: "For what?" "Got it just off his name" 

San Diego Padres superstar outfielder Juan Soto received his keepsake Thursday for winning the fourth Silver Slugger Award of his career.

However, the honor left many fans baffled as it was not a standard Soto season in 2022. Between the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres last season, he hit just .242 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI. Not bad numbers, but not exactly Silver Slugger-caliber either.

Juan Soto was batting .241 with 21 home runs and 46 RBI for the Nationals at the time of his trade to San Diego on August 2. After he swapped East Coast for West Coast, Soto hit just .236 with six homers and 16 RBI for the Padres.

As he stood beside his trophy behind home plate for the national anthem at San Diego's Petco Park, many fans were asking, "How?"

Of course, even in what can be seen as a down year for the 24-year-old, it was still pretty good. Just maybe not Silver Slugger-good this time.

However, Soto's career numbers are still mighty. In six MLB seasons, he is hitting .285 with 128 home runs and 381 RBI, 39 stolen bases, 438 runs scored, and 519 walks. He has twice led all of MLB in earning free passes.

But yes, the case can definitely be made that a player hitting .242 with 27 home runs and 62 RBI would probably have been passed over for consideration had his name not been Juan Soto, and had not already won the award twice in a row.

Of course, not all baseball fans are entirely aware that Juan Soto is not already winning the Silver Slugger Award for 2023. Besides, he's only hitting .217 so far. There'd be quite an uproar if a batter with that kind of average were to win anything more than a Tin Tapper Award.

Juan Soto still not a free agent until after 2024 season

Juan Soto #22 of the San Diego Padres reacts after scoring on a ground-rule double

While there has already been quite a bit of debate as to how long Soto will remain a Padre, he's still not a free agent until after the 2024 season.

He is making $23 million this season and remains arbitration-eligible for one more offseason before he can truly demand a long-term mega contract.

Of course, he's going to want to pump the batting average and home run numbers back up to Washington levels first.