by TOM HAUDRICOURT, Staff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In each of them, the Milwaukee Brewers' leftfielder claimed a Silver Slugger Award.

Braun was one of three National League outfielders honored Thursday. The others were Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The awards are presented by Louisville Slugger, based on voting by major-league managers and coaches to honor the top offensive performers at each position in both leagues.

Braun, who won the NL rookie of the year award in 2007 despite not coming up from the minors until the end of May, had an amazing season at the plate in '09. He batted .320 with 32 home runs, 114 runs batted in, 113 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in 158 games.

Braun, who turns 26 on Tuesday, became the eighth player in major-league history to compile at least 100 runs, 100 RBI, 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and a .300 batting average. He led the NL with 203 hits, becoming the first Brewer to top his league in that category since Paul Molitor was first in the AL in 1991.

Molitor also was the last Brewer to win consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, as a designated hitter in the AL in 1987-'88. Brewers first baseman Cecil Cooper won the award at his position for three consecutive years from 1980-'82.

First baseman Prince Fielder, who won the award in 2007 and had one of the best seasons in club history, nevertheless bowed to St. Louis' Albert Pujols, who won for the fifth time.

Escobar honored: Shortstop Alcides Escobar, who played at Class AAA Nashville until called up by the Brewers in mid-August, was named to the Topps Triple-A all-star team.

In 109 games with Nashville, Escobar batted .298 with 24 doubles, six triples, four homers, 34 RBI and 42 stolen bases. He also led the club with19 sacrifice bunts.

Escobar was named to the Topps Double-A all-star team last year.

SILVER SLUGGER WINNERS

National League: 1B, Albert Pujols, St. Louis; 2B, Chase Utley, Philadelphia; 3B, Ryan Zimmerman, Washington; SS, Hanley Ramirez, Florida; OF, Ryan Braun, Milwaukee; OF, Andre Ethier, Los Angeles; OF, Matt Kemp, Los Angeles; C, Brian McCann, Atlanta; P, Carlos Zambrano, Chicago.

American League: 1B, Mark Teixeira, New York; 2B, Aaron Hill, Toronto; 3B, Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; SS, Derek Jeter, New York; OF, Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle; OF, Jason Bay, Boston; OF, Torii Hunter, Los Angeles; C, Joe Mauer, Minnesota; DH, Adam Lind, Toronto.

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