Gold Glove Awards - Phoning it In
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by user ASwaff
Did anyone out there have the same thoughts I did when this year's Gold Glove Award winners were announced? In case you didn't, let me recap the list for you:
American League
P: Kenny Rogers (Detroit Tigers)
C: Ivan Rodriguez (Detroit Tigers)
1B: Mark Teixeira (Texas Rangers)
2B: Mark Grudzielanek (Kansas City Royals)
SS: Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
3B: Eric Chavez (Oakland Athletics)
OF: Vernon Wells (Toronto Blue Jays)
OF: Torii Hunter (Minnesota Twins)
OF: Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners)
Source: BaseballReference.com
National League
P: Greg Maddux (Chicago Cubs/Los Angeles Dodgers)
C: Brad Ausmus (Houston Astros)
1B: Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals)
2B: Orlando Hudson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
SS: Omar Vizquel (San Francisco Giants)
3B: Scott Rolen (St. Louis Cardinals)
OF: Andruw Jones (Atlanta Braves)
OF: Mike Cameron (San Diego Padres)
OF: Carlos Beltran (New York Mets)
Source: BaseballReference.com
First of all, where the heck is Gary Matthews? He made a highlight reel play every night, but was somehow denied a Gold Glove. Instead, they chose to give it to the three players that have won the award for playing outfield three years in a row. The same three players, three years is a row. How boring is that? Break the monotony! Gary Matthews got royally hosed this year.
But that's not my main focus. My main focus is the complacency of the Gold Glove voters. They find guys they like, and they stick with them no matter what. I already mentioned the issue with the three outfielders from the AL. But there are other examples. This is the sixth year in a row that two of the GG winners from the AL have been Suzuki and Hunter. This is Rogers' fifth GG in seven seasons. It's Jeter's third in a row, and Pudge has won the award 12 times in his 15-year career. Now, I love Pudge as much as anyone, but he didn't derseve it all of those seasons. Omar Vizquel just won his 11th Gold Glove in 14 years.
But nobody has a monopoly on the Gold Glove award like Greg Maddux. In the last 16 years, only one pitcher who was not name Greg Maddux has won the National League Gold Glove Award for pitching - Mike Hampton.
Now, none of this is to say that these players aren't great at fielding their positions, or that they aren't perfectly deserving. But I wonder how much the voters are looking at numbers, and how much they're just looking at names.
For example, I wonder if they realize that Pujols' fielding percentage is slightly lower than Todd Helton's, Nomar Garciaparra's, and even Scott Hatteberg's. I wonder if they even gave Adam Everett a second thought at shortstop, when his fielding percentage was right there with Vizquel. Personally, I think this year would have been a good year to pass the torch to a great young defensive shortstop.
As much as I hate to say it, the worst choice of the year was Brad Ausmus. Even though he had by far the fewest errors of any catcher with more than 115 games played (2), and even though he led the National League in fielding percentage (.998), he had a terrible time with baserunners. He caught just 17 baserunners while allowing 60 stolen bases. Compare that to Yadier Molina of the Cardinals, whose .995 fielding percentage is just marginally worse than Ausmus's - he allowed just 37 stolen bases while catching 29 runners.
This is a call for Gold Glove voters to get out of the rut. Stop looking at names and reputations, and start giving it to players that truly deserve the awards. Don't be afraid of change, and don't be afraid to hand the torch over to up-and-coming players that might someday make a Gold Glove run like Maddux has.
