Rawlings unveiled this year’s Gold Glove finalists on Wednesday, and there were some surprising omissions, especially in the American League. Let’s start there. 2014 winners are asterisked.
American League
Pitcher
Mark Buehrle - Toronto
Sonny Gray - Oakland
Dallas Keuchel - Houston*
Catcher
Jason Castro - Houston
Russell Martin - Toronto
Salvador Perez - Kansas City*
First Base
Eric Hosmer - Kansas City*
Mike Napoli - Texas
Mark Teixeira - New York
Second Base
Jose Altuve - Houston
Brian Dozier - Minnesota
Ian Kinsler - Detroit
Third Base
Adrian Beltre - Texas
Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay
Manny Machado - Baltimore
Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts - Boston
Alcides Escobar - Kansas City
Didi Gregorius - New York
Left Field
Yoenis Cespedes - Detroit
Brett Gardner - New York
Alex Gordon - Kansas City*
Center Field
Kevin Kiermaier - Tampa Bay
Kevin Pillar - Toronto
Mike Trout - Los Angeles
Right Field
Kole Calhoun - Los Angeles
J.D. Martinez - Detroit
Josh Reddick - Oakland
Not making the cut were Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy, both of whom had won three straight Gold Gloves. Dustin Pedroia also missed out after winning back-to-back years, though that’s because he was limited to 93 games this year.
Still, the most notable omission here would seem to be Lorenzo Cain, who gained so much attention for his defense in the 2014 postseason and seemed well positioned after putting in a full season in center this year (he spent considerable time in right field in 2014). The voters got it right by including Kiermaier and Pillar among the finalists despite their middling bats. It’s Trout’s spot that really should have gone to Cain. That said, even though Cain deserved a place in the top three, Kiermaier seems like the best choice for the actual award.
Josh Donaldson’s omission at third is also odd, particularly in light of his huge offensive numbers (like it or not, offense is usually a key component in getting noticed for Gold Gloves). The metrics say Donaldson ranks among the league’s top third basemen, too, and that he should have gotten Longoria’s spot. Donaldson, though, has always been more error-prone than most, and some are holding it against him.
Also unfortunately absent is Indians rookie shortstop Francisco Lindor, who was the AL’s best defensive shortstop from the moment he was called up this year. Unfortunately, that callup came a few days too late, and he was ineligible for the award because he didn’t play in enough games prior to the beginning September. That’s the case even though he ended up finishing the season with more innings at shortstop (865 1/3) than left field finalist Alex Gordon did in the outfield (864 2/3).
National League
Pitcher
Jake Arrieta - Chicago
Gerrit Cole - Pittsburgh
Zack Greinke - Los Angeles*
Catcher
Yadier Molina - St Louis*
Buster Posey - San Francisco
Wilson Ramos - Washington
First Base
Brandon Belt - San Francisco
Paul Goldschmidt - Arizona
Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles*
Second Base
Dee Gordon - Miami
DJ LeMahieu - Colorado*
Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati
Third Base
Nolan Arenado - Colorado*
Matt Duffy - San Francisco
Todd Frazier - Cincinnati
Shortstop
Brandon Crawford - San Francisco
Adeiny Hechavarria - Miami
Andrelton Simmons - Atlanta*
Left Field
Starling Marte - Pittsburgh
Justin Upton - San Diego
Christian Yelich - Miami*
Center Field
Billy Hamilton - Cincinnati
Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh
A.J. Pollock - Arizona
Right Field
Curtis Granderson - New York
Bryce Harper - Washington
Jason Heyward - St. Louis*
The NL was much lighter on controversial picks, and one can expect a bunch of repeat winners here. The only certain exception is in center field, where Juan Lagares wasn’t a finalist after being limited by injuries this year. Hamilton or Pollock should get the nod there. I imagine we’ll also see a change from Yelich to Marte in left field and possibly from Gonzalez to Goldschmidt (the 2013 winner) at first base.
The award winners are set to be announced on Nov. 10.