Joe Mauer Wins Gold Glove. I Guess
By Fetch
First of all, congrats to Joe Mauer on winning his 2nd Gold Glove in a row. He should have an impressive trophy case this winter with the gold glove, silver slugger and AL MVP.
However, I have a confession to make. The best word to describe my feelings about this is….apathetic. I really don’t care who wins the AL Gold Gloves. Just for fun, let’s take a look at the AL Gold Glove winners, their UZR, and the UZR leaders.
1B
Winner – Mark Teixiera, NYY: -3.7 runs (7th in AL)
Best performer – Kendry Morales, LAA: +4.9 runs
2B
Winner – Placido Polanco, DET: 11.4 runs (1st in AL)
3B
Winner – Evan Longoria, TB: 18.5 runs (1st in AL)
SS
Winner – Derek Jeter, NYY: +6.6 runs (5th in AL)
Best performer – Cesar Izturis, BAL: 10.8 runs
OF
Winners – Torii Hunter, LAA: -1.4 runs (15th in AL)
Ichiro, SEA: 10.5 runs (9th in AL)
Adam Jones, BAL: -4.7 runs (19th in AL)
Best performers: Franklin Gutierrez, SEA: 29.1 runs
Ryan Sweeney, OAK: 24 runs
Carl Crawford, TB: 17.6 runs
So, the voters got 2 spots out of a possible 7 that we measure with UZR. No surprises that perennial winners (Hunter, Ichiro) got the nod while two Yankees did as well. Mauer is a great defensive catcher, but Gerald Laird probably should have gotten the award. Then again, I’m sure Mauer will gladly take it along with the MVP.
Congrats to the winners, the opposite of congrats to the voters.