The American League Gold Glove winners were announced yesterday, and Twins fans will notice one very familiar name along with a welcome new one.
Torii Hunter brought home the award for a seventh consecutive time, while Johan Santana won his first Gold Glove at the pitcher position. Is Hunter really still one of the top three defensive outfielders in AL? I'm skeptical. But I have little doubt that Santana is the league's top defensive pitcher -- his ability to fly off the mound and use his athleticism to make plays is unmatched by any pitcher I watched this year. I'm glad to see him recognized by these oft-misguided voters.
2 comments:
I bet if Kenny Rogers had managed to limp out to a mound this year he would have won again. Even though he hasn't been able to field the position for a few years.
But I'm glad to see Johan get some recognition for his fielding. It's been excellent for quite a while.
I wonder if voters have factored in Rogers' tremendous ability of holding runners on into the equation, even though that's a pitching facet and not a fielding one.
Either way, we all know voters vote for the incumbent if:
A)His offense/pitching continues to excel or:
B)He fielding percentage didn't completely suck and:
C)ESPN didn't show 100 web gems of a contender from a big market team
Santana didn't have to worry about the incumbent, so the voters finally had to look objectively. But I'm still willing to bet that if Santana had gone 6-18 this year with an ERA over 5.00 that he wouldn't have won.
On the bright side, if Santana wins two more of these in a row, then he'll have the award locked up for the next ten years (like Torii).
What we do in the winter without pointless awards to argue about?
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