2017 Rawlings Gold Glove winners and snubs

The Rawlings Gold Glove winners have been revealed for the 2017 campaign. Where the honorees what you expected?

Rawlings’ 2017 Gold Glove winners were announced earlier this week, with a few surprises along the way. Not shocking is Nolan Arenado winning his fifth Gold Glove honor at the hot-corner in as many seasons.

Joining the Rockies star with their fifth award is Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals and Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs.

The two main surprises are Tucker Barnhardt of the Cincinnati Reds and Martín Maldonado of the Los Angeles Angels. Barnhardt beat out two heavyweights in Yadier Molina and defending champion Buster Posey.

Let’s say that Barnhardt was grateful, and even shocked by the prestigious honor:

The Gold Glove winners are decided by MLB managers and respective coaches, with the only stipulation of not voting for your team. Those coaches account for 75 percent of the voting process, while the sabermetrics aspect rounds off the remaining 25 percent.

Rawlings designed the Gold Glove starting in 1957, recognizing the top defensive players at each of the nine positions in both National and American Leagues.

Greg Maddux won 18 career Gold Gloves with the Cubs and Braves, the most ever by any player in the history of the MLB. Pitcher Jim Kaat and third baseman Brooks Robinson are in a close second, each winning 16 in their illustrious careers.

Back to the 2017 honorees. Let’s take a look at both the American and National League, examining each winner, as well as those who might have been overlooked.

Did your favorite player take home some hardware or where they left empty-handed?

American League

Alex Gordon is arguably the best outfielder in all of Major League Baseball, but he had been absent in receiving a Gold Glove awards since 2014. He was finally able to beat out the likes of Brett Gardner and Justin Upton to return to the status that he had grown accustomed to.

In a loaded field of nominees like the National League, the voters had a difficult job in selecting these honorees, and here’s what their final answer was:

American League recipients: 

• Catcher: Martin Maldonado, Angels (1st Gold Glove)
  
• First Base: Eric Hosmer, Royals (4th Gold Glove)
  
• Second Base: Brian Dozier, Twins (1st Gold Glove)
  
• Third Base: Evan Longoria, Rays (3rd Gold Glove)
• Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Angels (3rd Gold Glove)
  
• Left Field: Alex Gordon, Royals (5th Gold Glove)
  
• Centerfield: Byron Buxton, Twins (1st Gold Glove)
  
• Right Field: Mookie Betts, Red Sox (2nd Gold Glove)
  
• Pitcher: Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays (1st Gold Glove)

Runner-ups for each position: 

• Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals and Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians
  
• First Base: Mitch Moreland, Boston Red Sox and Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians
  
• Second Base: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox and Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers
  
• Third Base: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles and Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
• Shortstop: Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers and Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians
  
• Left Field: Brett Gardner, New York Yankees and Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers/Los Angeles Angels
  
• Centerfield: Kevin Pillar, Toronto Blue Jays and Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
  
• Right Field:  Aaron Judge, New York Yankees and Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles Angels.
  
• Pitcher: Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay Rays and Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

More Gold Glove winners took to Twitter, telling the whole cyber-world of their excitement:

No Mr. Longoria, thank you. The pleasure is all ours in watching you flash that leather at the filthy hot-corner.

Stroman revealed what made him worthy of the award in the first place, thanking teammates and former Gold Glove winners who helped mold him into the defensive force he is on the mound.

With a majority of these recipients who were worthy of being Gold Glove winners, there were a few who were neglected.

Biggest snubs of 2017

First off, I want to say that I know it’s a difficult decision when voting for top-notch awards. There will always be a player or two who fall short of a Gold Glove award or other accolades.

But, there were a handful of MLB players who not only were snubbed from winning the Gold Glove award, but not even selected as a finalist.

Tommy Pham

St. Louis Cardinals rising star Tommy Pham had a dream season, which ended in a nightmare with his Redbirds falling short of the playoffs and with the outfielder left off of the Gold Glove award ballot.

To me, this was the most glaring, with Pham being a bright spot in a below average outfield in the Arch City. His SABR Defensive metrics ranked second only to Ozuna, so he should have at least been a nominee.

Not that Pham needed another reason for to have a chip on his shoulder but here is another.

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner

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How could left fielder Brett Gardner not win for the second year in a row? I agree with the NJ.com that both Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge are snubs for a Gold Glove award in their respective outfield positions.

Gardner had no blemishes, committing zero errors to go along with his 12 outfield assists. Let’s not forget about his familiar presence on the Sportscenter Top 10.

Next, we have New Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. More than just a one-trick pony, Judge flashed leather that would make Willie Mays proud. He did commit five errors, but using the eye test, you know that many players would not have gotten to those balls in the first place.

To rub salt deep into the wound, hated division rival Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox snagged the right field honors instead, a trendy pick but the wrong one.

Next: MLB Free Agency 2017-18: Biggest Holes for Every Team

Well, there you have it, your 2017 Gold Glove award winners and snubs. What will 2018 have to offer us? Will the likes of Yadier Molina reclaim his platinum glove status and return after a two-year absence for the NL catcher’s position?

Speaking of the Platinum Gloves, those are the announcement tomorrow, so stay tuned for the juicy details on those selections.