The AL Gold Glovers and Flaws

Congratulations to the 2009 American League Gold Glove Winners:

P: Mark Buehrle
C: Joe Mauer (2nd consecutive GG)
1B: Mark Teixiera (3rd GG)
2B: Placido Polanco (2nd GG)
3B: Evan Longoria
SS: Derek Jeter (4th GG)
OF: Adam Jones
OF: Ichiro Suzuki (9th consecutive GG)
OF: Torii Hunter (9th consecutive GG)

A little bit of controversy here, but not as much as previous years. Franklin Gutierrez, arguably the best outfielder defensively this year, was snubbed. Adam Jones only played in 113 games.

Derek Jeter wins his fourth gold glove, having one of his better defensive season. Jeter has won gold gloves in the past despite being a below average defender. If this doesn't tell that the Gold Glove system is flawed, then look at Ichiro and Hunter. It shows that if a player wins their first Gold Glove, they are favorites to win the award for many years to come.

The choices weren't horrible, and not to take anything away from the winners. They are each great defenders, but the argument is whether or not they were the best option. That being said, it was "leaked" that Orlando Hudson will win the National League Gold Glove at second base. Once again, Chase Utley will be snubbed. Utley had a 10.8 Ultimate Zone Rating, second in MLB, compared to Hudson's -3.3. Plus, Hudson played about 100 innings less than Utley.

Does this mean that Greg Maddux will win his 19th Gold Glove?

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2 comments:

Jay Floyd said...

I didn't hear about the "leak" until now. That is pretty disappointing.

GM-Carson said...

Top 5 Veterans Stadium games in honor of Veterans Day.

Link- http://morehardball.blogspot.com/2009/11/remembering-vet-on-veterans-day.html

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