Wednesday, November 10, 2010

National League Gold Glove Winners Announced: Andres Torres...Denied.

The National League Gold Glove winners were announced earlier today:

C - Yadier Molina
1B - Albert Pujols
2B - Brandon Phillips
3B - Scott Rolen
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
OF - Michael Bourn
OF - Shane Victorino
OF - Carlos Gonzalez
P - Bronson Arroyo

Notice something? Andres Torres is missing...I'm not personally surprised, but he was clearly snubbed. Let's look at the UZR of the three outfielders who won Gold Gloves:

Michael Bourn: 17.6
Shane Victorino: 2.6
Carlos Gonzalez: -2.7

Let's compare that to Andres Torres: 21.2 (best among qualified NL OF). Yes, he got snubbed. As did Alexei Ramirez (whose UZR of 10.8 is vastly superior to Derek Jeter's mark of -4.7). The most pathetic part, in my opinion, is the fact that managers and coaches vote for the Gold Glove awards. One would hope that they would be the most knowledgeable. Are errors, putouts, and assists all these people care about it? Range is probably the most critical, as it determines whether the fielder even gets to the ball in the first place. It's simply too critical to leave out of the equation.

Yes, UZR is not the be-all and end-all of fielding metrics. But seriously? Andres Torres, according to UZR, was 21.2 runs above average for his team, whereas Carlos Gonzalez was 2.6 runs below average, and Shane Victorino was only 2.6 runs above average. It's just too much of a difference to ignore.