Ian Kinsler (2B), J.D. Martinez (RF), & formerly from Detroit Yoenis Cespedes (LF) are all among the top three finalists at their respective positions for a Golden Glove Award.
The winners will be announced Tuesday the 10th at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2.
First, let’s compare the top three second basemen:
Kinsler played in 153 games for the Tigers with a 2.6 defensive WAR. He finished with a .982 fielding percentage and turned 109 double plays while making just 13 errors. This one is a no-brainer: the other two snarfs in his category didn’t even eclipse a WAR of 1.0!
According to mLive, “Gold Gloves are decided on a combination of votes from managers and coaches and the SABR Defensive Index, which measures the number of runs saved by a player over the course of a season.”
Kinsler finished first at 2B with 7.2 runs saved, while his next closest competitor is a 5.4, then a -7.0.
Cespedes also finished a leader at his position. And J.D. Martinez led all right fielders with a .993 fielding percentage, making just two errors while throwing out 15 snarfs.
“It’s an honor to be nominated along with these other great players,” Martinez said. “Dave Clark and I have worked very hard on my defense over the last few years and it has really paid off.”
Good luck to all our boys!!
……………..yes…. go get em guys .. I’m rooting for a Tiger rookie of the year nod.