By George Bremer, Herald Bulletin Sports Writer
ANDERSON — Adam Lind’s simple life soon might be infinitely more complicated.
The former Highland High School star and rising Toronto Blue Jays hero was named one of 18 Silver Slugger Award winners by Major League Baseball on Thursday.
The award is voted on by managers and coaches around the majors. Each coach is not allowed to vote for a player from his team.
Started in 1980, one award is given at each position in each league. No pitcher is honored in the American League, where Lind won as a designated hitter.
Previous winners at DH include Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco, Don Baylor (three times), Harold Baines and Frank Thomas (twice).
David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox won the honor four consecutive seasons from 2004 to 2007.
Aubrey Huff was last year’s winner while he was at Baltimore.
Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star pitcher and Anderson native Carl Erskine said the award is sure to raise Lind’s relatively low profile.
Early in his career, Erskine would sometimes ride the subway with famous teammates such as Pee Wee Reese or Duke Snider.
“People would recognize them,” Erskine said, “but I was just some guy standing there.”
That changed in 1952, Erskine’s fifth major-league season, after he threw a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs — the first of two during his career.
“He is now going to be recognized,” Erskine predicted of Lind. “Kids are going to want him to sign more often. The card companies are going to make more of his baseball cards. He’s going to be more recognized.”
That might not always come as good news to Lind, who was sometimes known to disguise himself by pulling his baseball cap down low and wearing sunglasses while walking around Toronto last summer.
“He’s a laid-back, quiet guy,” Erskine said, “until he picks up a bat.”
Lind hit .305 with 35 homers, 114 RBIs and 46 doubles for the Blue Jays this season.
His main competition for the Silver Slugger came from Minnesota’s Jason Kubel (.300, 28 homers, 103 RBIs), New York Yankees World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (.274, 28, 90) and Ortiz (.238, 28, 99).
A Toronto public relations official called Lind with the news of his victory around noon Thursday, but the young superstar was a little less than euphoric.
“I was kind of mad,” he said. “I wanted to see it on TV. I didn’t really want to find out that way.”
The winners were unveiled live at 6 p.m. on MLB Network.
Though the surprise was ruined, Lind still was a little overwhelmed by the honor.
“It means I was the best DH in the big leagues this year,” he said. “I thought about winning it, but I thought it would be like all the other things I felt like I deserved this year.”
Playing in a small market north of the U.S. border, Lind has found recognition a bit hard to come by.
He was passed over in online fan voting for the American League’s final All-Star spot and was similarly snubbed during online balloting for the Hank Aaron Award — given to the top overall offensive player in each league and won this year by Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.
Lind isn’t bitter about those setbacks, but they did cause him to question his chances Thursday.
Fortunately, his peers seem to be more impressed by his efforts than the fans.
“It’s cool because the managers and the (coaches) are who vote for it,” Lind said, “and they voted for me.”
Erskine long has had a love-hate relationship with hitters, but he has no mixed feelings when it comes to Lind.
“He’s about the only hitter I could say I’m happy for,” Erskine said.
“It’s a very, very well-deserved honor. He had a banner year, and he proved beyond a doubt he can hit major-league pitching.”
Lind and teammate Aaron Hill, the AL All-Star starter at second base, were one of just three pairs of teammates to win Silver Sluggers this year.
They were joined by Yankees Jeter and Mark Teixeira and Dodgers Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.
Lind recalled a mural in the weight room at the Blue Jays’ training facility listing a running total of the franchise’s previous award winners.
“You might think this is kind of weird,” he said, “but I was thinking they’re going to have to repaint that number.”
The enormity of the honor clearly has yet to sink in.
“It’s exciting,” Lind said, “but I don’t really know what to make of it.”
One thing that has impressed Lind is the trophy he’ll soon receive — a 3-foot tall replica baseball bat plated in sterling silver with his name and those of this year’s other winners engraved on a plaque.
He’ll likely need to wait for a home game early next season to claim his prize.
But not if he can help it.
“I’m going to try to pull some strings,” he said and then laughed. “I’ll see if I can get it here in the next week or two.”
