Mike Trout didn't win the Gold Glove in centerfield? Really?? Are you sure? I think someone is playing a joke on me....
WHAT??? Adam Jones actually won the Gold Glove? The player who seemed least qualified out of the three option at centerfield won. What has this world come to?
This was my only strand of hope in the ever fleeting notion that Mike Trout could win MVP this year. The writers would see that, even though Miguel Cabrera was a better hitter, Trout was the better overall player and thus held the most value, mostly because he played GOLD GLOVE CENTERFIELD!!!
Trout was at or near the top in pretty much every defensive category, both in the traditional sense and in sabermetrics: 10.6 UZR (1st) 2.2 dWAR (2nd) 15 TZR (1st) 12.9 RngR (1st). When you tack on 340 putouts and an above average fielding percentage of .993, I don't see how you come up with Adam Jones as the best defensive centerfielder.
The other massive gaffe is at the shortstop position where J.J. Hardy won over possibly the best defensive player in all of baseball, not just at shortstop, Brendan Ryan. Now Ryan may not be a household name, and his team did flounder while the Orioles surged into the playoffs for the first time since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but the baseball writers should still know who's the best.
With an AL shortstop leading 14.7 UZR and 27 defensive runs saved, topped by a dWAR of 3.6 that led the league at any position, he was far and away the best at his craft. Just like Trout, Ryan was victimized by Oriole Fever that swept the media.
Lastly, I would like to point your attention to the National League, and more specifically to the centerfield position. Boy do the writers know how to screw up centerfield. This is not a shot at the winner, Andrew McCutchen, but rather a brief plug for Michael Bourn.
Maybe next year, slugger.
No comments:
Post a Comment