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Fielding Bible Awards kick off MLB Awards season

By Benjamin Chase

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 27: Andrelton Simmons #2 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim makes a play and throws out Ben Gamel #16 of the Seattle Mariners at first base in the fifth inning at Angel Stadium on July 27, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 27: Andrelton Simmons #2 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim makes a play and throws out Ben Gamel #16 of the Seattle Mariners at first base in the fifth inning at Angel Stadium on July 27, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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The first major MLB awards were announced on Monday, as the Fielding Bible Awards were announced.

The Fielding Bible Awards were begun in 2006 by Baseball Info Solutions and John Dewan. They include voting from a number of sabermetrically-oriented voters and “eye-test” voters who focus just on defense, not on other factors, which has become a drag on the Gold Glove Awards in the MLB Awards spectrum.

While some believe the FBA awards focus too much on numbers, in general, they often receive much more credit for finding the truly elite defenders than their defensive award counterpart.

This year’s winners were announced on Monday. Andrelton Simmons stepped into a tie for the all-time lead in Fielding Bible Awards with Yadier Molina with 6 over their careers. Simmons has won the last six consecutive awards.

Let’s look at each winner:

Catcher: Jeff Mathis, Arizona Diamondbacks – Mathis is the definition of a guy who has a major league career due to his glove. Mathis is a career .198/.258/.306 hitter, but he garnered the most starts of the Diamondbacks’ 3-headed catching monster in 2018. He had 17 defensive runs saved in 2018.

First Base: Matt Olson, Oakland Athletics – Olson broke onto the scene in 2017 when he hit 24 home runs in just 59 games. In 2018, he showed he was more than just a masher, playing all 162 games, hitting 29 home runs, but also showing off an elite glove at first base. He put up an impressive 14 defensive runs saved in 2018. Only Freddie Freeman had double-digit DRS among MLB first basemen in 2018.

Second Base: Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals – In a close race, Wong took the second base spot over DJ LeMahieu in spite of playing over 200 less innings at the position. He did tally 19 DRS on the season, fielding very well, but struggling at the plate similar to his 2016 season after seeing a 2017 rebound.

Third Base: Matt Chapman, Oakland Athletics – Quite feasibly the top defender in the game right now, Chapman far outpaced all of MLB in DRS in 2018, with 29, 8 more than second place. He wasn’t all glove, either, posting a 137 wRC+ with 24 home runs and scoring 100 runs.

Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles Angels – By the “eye test”, Simmons is arguably the most elite defender in the game. He won his sixth straight award in 2018 after tying with Nick Ahmed with 21 DRS in 2018. The gauging of DRS is very interesting, using Simmons as a measuring stick. He’s peaked at 41 DRS in 2013 and ranged down to 18 in 2016 over his full seasons in the major leagues.

Left Field: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals – Gordon won his 4th FBA, seeing a return to elite status as he and Brett Gardner have traded the award back and forth the last number of seasons. Gordon posted 18 DRS, which incredibly just barely led the position over Adam Duvall, who played over 300 less innings than Gordon.

Center Field: Lorenzo Cain, Milwaukee Brewers – While his outfield mate will be getting plenty of note for MVP, Cain was tremendously good at the plate in 2018 as well for the Brewers. His defense, however, was key for the Brewers outfield, as he posted a 20 DRS, tying him for the top number among all outfielders.

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Right Field: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox – Tied with Cain with 20 DRS, Betts’ defense very feasibly could be the thing that puts him over the top in a very competitive AL MVP vote this season as he’s shown himself to be an elite defender, and putting that with a 30/30 season and batting title is a definite tough season to beat in the MVP voting.

Multi-position: Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs – One of the big “eye test” guys is Baez, who seems to be a human highlight reel, regardless of the position he plays. Baez filled multiple positions well in 2018, carrying the Cubs offense for sure with a 131 wRC+. He posted 9 DRS on the season, but he posted multiple DRS at three positions on the season, which makes him a great candidate for this spot.

Pitcher: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks – Greinke broke Dallas Keuchel‘s 4-season stronghold on this position with his win this season. While he may not be the elite guy he was with the Dodgers, Greinke has posted multiple 200-inning seasons at 3.20 ERA, settling into a steady “co-ace” or “staff ace” role. A guy who has always been a good defender, Greinke posted 7 DRS in 2018, which is his 3rd season at that level, peaking in 2010 and 2015 at 9 DRS.

Next. Astros minor league awards. dark

Of the Fielding Bible Award winners, five are first-time winners (Olson, Wong, Chapman, Mathis, Greinke). That’s pretty incredible, but it does allow for the MLB Awards to include new faces and new names that haven’t been recognized before.

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