2011 NL Gold Glove Awards

Yes, I realize that the “real”- if it can even be referred to as such- Gold Glove Awards were handed out some time ago, but I have since decided to hand out my own version of this yearly laughingstock of an award. I also realize that I am quite late, but it is my version of the award; therefore, in the voice of Tony Cox in Psych, “I can do whatever the hell I want.” On my personal blog, I wrote up my Gold Glove winners at the end of August for the American League. My picks haven’t changed since then, so instead of re-stating everything, I ask you to refer back to that post.

P Jhoulys Chacin: The solid righty for the Rockies not only possess a nasty slider, but he is also pretty good defensively. One of the most important things a pitcher can do defensively is contain baserunners, and Chacin is one of the best in the Bigs at that. He also had the highest rPM and DRS (7 and 9 respectively) of all pitchers in the National League. In fact, Chacin was easily the best defensive pitcher in 2011.

C Chris Iannetta: The only measurable defensive quality for catchers- as far as advanced statistics go- is the ability to stop and contain baserunners. Ianetta did just that in 2011 with an rSB mark of 3, and he also had seven defensive runs saved in total. This was actually a tough call between Ianetta and division rival Miguel Montero, but I decided to give the nod to Ianetta because I am a slave to the stats (when it comes to baseball). Note the sarcasm, as you could really go either way between these two. Heck, flip a coin (or use random.org if you’re that guy) if you have to.

1B Joey Votto: One of the best all-around players in baseball, Joey Votto shows us that first basemen can still show some semblance of versatility. He has surprisingly good range at first, and there really isn’t another first baseman who exhibits anything near Votto’s range at the position.

2B Brandon Phillips: OK, now we’re getting to the positions that actually matter. There is no doubt that Brandon Phillips was the best defensive second baseman in the NL in 2011, and he was head and shoulders above the rest in just about every way you can measure a player’s worth on defense. And no, listening to Soundgarden doesn’t really count as a baseball skill, although listening to “Badmotorfinger” is a “taste” skill (whatever that means).

SS Alex Gonzalez: This was a really tough choice for me, because I wanted to go with Clint Barmes‘s consistency in this spot. However, it’s impossible to ignore some of the slick plays that this A-Gone made in the field in 2011, and the Braves’ shortstop also boasted a DRS of 15 and 17 rPM.

3B Pablo Sandoval: This was another tough one, because there were only two worthy candidates; Placido Polanco and Pablo Sandoval. All of the other third basemen- besides Casey McGehee– had mediocre to subpar seasons defensively. In the cases of A-Ram and Chipper, some were just downright awful. However, Sandoval’s range (22 DRS and 10.8 RngR) really stood out to me. Even though Polance had the higher UZR, Sandoval also had the higher UZR/150 and was just plain better.

LF Gerardo Parra: Although the team’s worst outfielder usually plays in this position, my Gold Glovers in both leagues who play left are standouts. Brett Gardner was the best defensive player of 2011 overall, and Parra has some terrific range and a  nice arm in left to boot. He also faced some non-existent competition, as Matt Holliday was the only other left fielder in the National League who displayed at least some competence.

CF Chris Young: This was almost a toss-up between Young and Cameron Maybin, but I decided to try and keep the Diamondbacks theme going. Not only that, but Maybin’s awful arm makes up for his envious range. That’s not to say that Young can’t get to his fair share of plays either, and he gets to more balls outside of his zone too. Of course he had more chances, but Young was still a little bit better in center.

RF Jason Heyward: This was close to being an all D’Backs outfield, but Jason Heyward prevented the sweep. The reason being is that Justin Upton was a little too inconsistent and also has a worse arm. He wasn’t even that much better than Andre Ethier and Mike Stanton, no matter how much range he has in right. Heyward, on the other hand, also has great range and had 17 rPM and 15 DRS. Those are some pretty strong numbers, and Heyward made up for some mediocre hitting (98 wRC+)  with some strong defense.