MVN - Most Valuable Network

Griping ’bout the Gloves

Another year, another controversial batch of Gold Glove winners.

That’s what happens when the hardware is dished out based on a vote, and not based on concrete statistics. Bias inevitably seeps in, and outside factors — such as offensive performance — which have nothing to do with a player’s defensive excellence (or lack thereof), become a key part of the evaluation process.

Here are my thoughts on this year’s Gold Glovers…

National League:

Catcher: Russell Martin (Dodgers)

Martin’s is actually one of the few selections that I largely agree with. The 24 year-old Canadian compiled a solid .988 fielding percentage behind the dish this season, allowing just five catch-able balls to get past him. Martin did allow a league-high 82 stolen bases, but he also caught far more runners stealing (41) than any other NL backstop (Ronny Paulino was next with 27), compiling a stellar 33.3 percent CS rate. Under Martin’s pitch-calling, the Dodgers’ staff posted a solid 3.95 ERA, good for the second-best CERA in the league (Brian McCann was tops with a 3.90). But what’s most impressive is that in his second year of big league ball, the durable Martin started a league-high 143 games at catcher, 13 more than the second-place finisher (McCann with 130).

If you wanted to go by fielding percentage, the Phils’ Carlos Ruiz would be the winner. CERA gives the hardware to Brian McCann, while Zone Rating yields a five-way tie. All things considered though, Martin deserved the honor.

First Base: Derrek Lee (Cubs)

As much as I agreed with the Martin selection, I disagree with the Derrek Lee pick. Yes, Lee hit .317 with a .913 OPS and 22 taters this year, but we’re awarding points for defense here, not offense. A look at most common defensive metrics results in one conclusion: this Gold Glove should have gone to Todd Helton.

Helton, whose excellent play at first-base was vital to the Rockies’ emergence as baseball’s top defensive team last season, made just two errors all year (compared to Lee’s seven). The 34 year-old Helton proved he’s still got the leather, posting an infallible .999 fielding percentage (Lee was at .994), and a stellar .905 Zone Rating (bested only by Pujols’ .912, and vastly superior to Lee’s .842). Helton also recorded 1448 put-outs last season (only Adrian Gonzalez, 1470, had more), while helping his fellow infielders on the few errant throws that came his way.

Lee might have out-hit Helton, but Helton sure out-gloved Lee. And it’s Gold Gloves, not Silver Slugger awards we’re talking about here, right?

Second Base: Orlando Hudson (Diamondbacks)

Don’t get me wrong, Orlando Hudson is a phenomenal defender. He makes plays that few others can even dream of making. But he wasn’t the best defensive second-baseman in the National League this season; this award belongs to either Chase Utley or Brandon Phillips, depending on the metrics you prefer.

Here’s a comparison using some of the simpler defensive statistics of Hudson, Utley, and Phillips:

Fielding Percentage:

1. Phillips (.990) — NL best
2. Utley, Hudson (.985)

Zone Rating:

1. Utley (.874) — NL best
2. Hudson (.814)
3. Phillips (.810)

Range Factor:

1. Utley (5.10) — NL best
2. Phillips (5.08)
3. Hudson (4.91)

Win Shares:

1. Phillips (6.4) — NL best
2. Hudson (6.2)
3. Utley (4.7)

FRAA (Fielding Runs Above Average)

1. Phillips (23) — NL best
2. Hudson (14)
3. Utley (5)

Orlando Hudson comes in first in none of those statistical rankings. Chase Utley is the choice if you like simple metrics; Brandon Phillips appears to be the logical winner if you prefer saber-metrics.

I’ll take Phillips.

Third Base: David Wright (Mets)

Wright is a choice with which quite a few fielding percentage believers should have major qualms, as the Mets’ third-baseman managed only a .954 mark, good for ninth-best in the NL. Those who prefer Zone Rating would probably find the selection odd too, as Wright’s was a seventh-best .771. And if you’re an errors made guy, Wright’s 21 should have you cringing just a bit.

Overall though, Wright was a solid defender this season, in addition to being one of the best hitters in the National League (not that it matters here). Unfortunately, he also wasn’t the best.

Whether you turn to fielding percentage, Zone Rating, or FRAA, the NL’s top hot corner defender was the Giants’ Pedro Feliz. Pedro, whose maddening offensive inconsistency is well documented, was vastly superior to Wright in many of the aforementioned metrics. He also committed half the errors (11) that Wright did.

Feliz may not be an MVP candidate, which Wright is, but he was the better defender.

Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins (Phillies)

It makes you wonder when the most valuable defensive player on the best defensive team in the league doesn’t get the Gold Glove for his position.

I’ve got no problem declaring that Rollins is a fine defensive (and overall) player: he had a .985 fielding percentage, a .824 ZR, and was 11 fielding runs above average. I’ve also got no problem declaring that Rollins’ inspirational play was one of the major factors in the Phillies’ upsetting the Mets in the NL East this season. I do have a problem declaring that Rollins was the best defensive shortstop in the National League this season.

‘Scuse my Dirtbag bias, but Troy Tulowitzki should have been the first rookie to win this award hands down. If you watched Sportscenter or Baseball Tonight on a regular basis this season, you invariably saw Tulo exhibit incredible range, a sure glove, and a rocket arm.

Tulowitzki made the same number of errors as Rollins this season — in 117 more chances (834 to 717). His .866 ZR trailed only Omar Vizquel’s otherworldly .897 (Rollins was sixth at .824). Tulo’s Range Factor was a ridiculous 5.39, creating a huge gap between him and Rafael Furcal, who was second with a 4.96 (Rollins was again sixth, at 4.41). And if Win Shares are your thing, Tulo’s 10.9 weren’t just the most of any NL shortstop, they led the entire league.

Jimmy Rollins is one heck of a shortstop, but as his 24 FRAA demonstrate, Tulo was far more deserving of the Gold Glove.

Outfield: Carlos Beltran (Mets), Andruw Jones (Braves), Jeff Francoeur (Braves), Aaron Rowand (Phillies)

Looks like the rules have changed, and you can now have four outfielders on the field at one time. Oh wait, there was a tie? Hmmmm … well, there’s another reason for statistics, not votes to determine the Gold Glovers.

As for the selections themselves, I don’t have many issues with Beltran, Francoeur, or Rowand as all three were phenomenal in their own ways, from Frenchy’s cannon, to Beltran’s Web Gems, to Rowand’s vacuum-work in center. Andruw Jones however, was a reputation pick. Admit it voters, he was. And it shouldn’t happen.

There are numerous stats I could point to in order to demonstrate Jones being miscast as a Gold Glover. Zone Rating is one of them: Jones’ .863 was second-to-last (first-year CF-er Bill Hall’s .837 was the only inferior mark) among National League center-fielders. Outfield assists are another, and Jones’ three ranked last among CF-ers with at least 100 games started this season. While Jones did compile an NL outfielder best 7.5 win shares, that’s just about the only statistic that points to him being one of the top three.

Hence, Beltran, Frenchy, and Rowand would have been my choices; Jones would have been left off.

Starting Pitcher: Greg Maddux (Padres)

No argument here. Maddux fields his position as well as any pitcher in the league.

So, to recap, my NL Gold Glove choices are: Russell Martin (C), Todd Helton (1B), Brandon Phillips (2B), Pedro Feliz (3B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS), Carlos Beltran (OF), Jeff Francoeur (OF), Aaron Rowand (OF), and Greg Maddux (SP).

American League

Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez (Tigers)

The American League backstop award really depends on which metric you prefer to use for catchers.

Fielding percentage is often meaningless for catchers, as it usually yields multi-way ties at the top, so we’ll disregard it here. Range Factor and Zone Rating are kind of murky as well, but if you wanted to use those, Dioner Navarro and Jason Varitek would be atop your list. Passed balls allowed would hand the award to Varitek or John Buck, who allowed a league-low three catch-able pitches to get past him. If CERA is your thing, then Varitek wins handily with a 3.80 (V-Mart was next at 4.01). And if throwing out runners is the top measure in your mind, Kenji Johjima’s league-best (and it’s not even close) 46.5 percent CS rate would have you salivating.

Some combination of the metrics is probably what we’re looking for, so let’s turn to win shares. All that CS work puts Johjima first with 10.1, but his 5.03 CERA makes me a bit reticent to proclaim him the winner. Victor Martinez is second at 8.9, and he did well pretty much across the board (4.01 CERA, 32 percent CS rate, 6 passed balls), with the exception of Zone Rating, where V-Mart was dead-last at .833. Varitek and Pudge are next at 7.2, and like V-Mart, they did well in just about every stat category, while exhibiting a flaw in one.

Hence, in my mind, the award goes to one of V-Mart, ‘Tek, or Pudge. Any one of them is worthy depending on your preferred metric. I’ll take Martinez, if only because of the marked improvement he made from last year.

First Base: Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox)

If I tried to argue this one, I’d have Red Sox Nation sending hate mail my way — and I’m a Red Sox fan! Youk was flawless at first this year, compiling a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the regular season, while digging out many an errant throw from his infielders, particularly the not-so-accurate Julio Lugo.

Casey Kotchman, Lyle Overbay, and Paul Konerko were also quite good, but the Greek God of Walks was also the Greek God of Scoops this season.

Second Base: Placido Polanco (Tigers)

It’s quite difficult to argue against a guy who had a flawless 1.000 fielding percentage at the keystone, so Polanco is definitely a worthy recipient of this award (scoring controversy notwithstanding).

Allow me though, to make a case for the A’s Mark Ellis. Ellis’ fielding percentage wasn’t perfect like Polanco’s, but it was a superb .994 (second-best in the AL), and Ellis committed his five errors in 123 more chances. Ellis also had a vastly superior Range Factor (5.45 to Polanco’s 5.08), and Zone Rating (.887 to Polanco’s .828). If you ask a sabermetrician, he’d also point out that Ellis beat Polanco in win shares, 8.5 to 5.5, and trounced him in FRAA, 25 to 15.

Fielding percentage buffs can have their guy in Polanco, and I respect that view fully. But I’ll take Mark Ellis — perhaps the most under-appreciated defensive player in baseball — who combined an only slightly inferior glove (to Polanco’s) with significantly superior range to earn my vote.

Third Base: Adrian Beltre (Mariners)

I’m a bit … confused about the Beltre selection. Dude had the worst fielding percentage among AL third-basemen at .958, and committed 18 errors (tied for most in the league with Brandon Inge). On the other hand, Beltre did have a fine 2.87 Range Factor (edged-out only by Melvin Mora’s 2.90), and fourth-best .766 Zone Rating (Inge, Mora, and Mike Lowell were the three who bested him).

Turn to win shares however, and you’ll see that Beltre ranks ninth, with 3.2. Lowell is at the top of that list with 6.0, Inge is second with 4.6, and Nick Punto is third with 4.2. Ask a Baseball Prospectus whiz, and you’ll get a funny look about Beltre’s 2 FRAA, compared to, say, Lowell’s 11 or Inge’s 16.

It’s nice to get some new faces and all, but the only statistic that backs the Beltre selection is his AL-best 121 put-outs. This selection is thus just a little lacking in the evidence department.

If I let my Red Sox bias do the talking, Lowell — despite having an off year defensively, by his standards — would get the award. But I’ll take Brandon Inge, who, like Ellis, is one of the most underrated defenders in baseball.

Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera (Angels)

Holy Toledo, the voters have finally realized that Derek Jeter doesn’t deserve to win — or come close to winning — Gold Gloves.

O-Cab is a fine choice: he had an AL best .983 fielding percentage, and third-best .833 Zone Rating. His 9.2 win shares were second only to Juan Uribe’s 9.3, and Cabrera compiled 10 FRAA (a huge improvement over his awful -12 FRAA last season).

Arguments could be made for Uribe or possibly Jason Bartlett, but Cabrera unquestionably deserves this award.

Outfield: Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners), Torii Hunter (Twins), Grady Sizemore (Indians)

The first thing I thought when I saw the choices, was “Where’s Coco Crisp?!” Where, indeed.

Coco, for all his struggles at the plate, had more defensive win shares than any other American League outfielder, with 8.5. Sizemore (5.5), Hunter (5.0), and Ichiro (3.3) didn’t come close to that lofty mark. Crisp also committed only a single error, compiling an excellent .998 fielding percentage (Ichiro matched that near-perfection, while Hunter and Sizemore both made two errors). Coco’s range was unparalleled in the AL, as he posted an RF of 3.07 (only Curtis Granderson, also oddly absent from this list, and Melky Cabrera came close at 3.04 and 3.02, respectively). In terms of Zone Rating, Sizemore topped the list with a .916, but Coco’s .911 was a close second. And if FRAA is your metric of preference, well, Coco compiled a gaudy 28 (which should spark a controversy when compared to Torii Hunter’s paltry one!)

My choices for the AL outfielder Gold Gloves: Coco Crisp, Curtis Granderson, Grady Sizemore. It strikes me as rather unfair that Crisp and Granderson were snubbed.

Starting Pitcher: Johan Santana (Twins)

A strong statistical argument could be made for Joe Blanton or Daisuke Matsuzaka, but Santana, in addition to being one of the league’s best pitchers, fields his position very well. Hard to argue with this choice.

To recap, my AL Gold Glove choices are: Victor Martinez (C), Kevin Youkilis (1B), Mark Ellis (2B), Brandon Inge (3B), Orlando Cabrera (SS), Coco Crisp (OF), Curtis Granderson (OF), Grady Sizemore (OF), and Johan Santana (SP).

I agree with the voters on nine of nineteen choices. Which means that since I, for the most part, used numbers to back up my picks, the voters’ logic doesn’t align nicely with the stats. That’s a bad sign, because it means the deserving players aren’t getting the awards.

Numbers, not voters, should determine who gets the Gold Gloves. I’m happy to debate the stats that should be used in the comments.

Until then, I’m griping ’bout the Gloves.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 1:14 am and is filed under Gold Glove Awards, Baseballistic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.