Rawlings Gold Glove Award predictions
Baseball awards are some of the most sought-after pieces of hardware, next to the World Series trophy and ring. It is that time of the year again, when arguments are formed and challenged, and second guessing about who deserves which award begins.
On Tuesday 9 November, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award will be handed out to those who have played the best defence at their position. Eighteen gold gloves are awarded each year, nine to each league. This is a huge honour for those who receive it, with
past winners including Ozzie “The Wizard” Smith, Omar Vizquel, and Roberto Alomar.
Here are a few possible National League winners of the award for the 2010 season.
Catcher – Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals who has a fielding percentage (FP) of .995 and threw out 33 of 68 base runners and only made five errors all season.
First Base – Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals who finished the year with a .998 FP and committed only four errors.
Second Base – Brandon Phillips of the Cincinnati Reds who finished with a .996 FP and committed only three errors in 155 games.
Shortstop – Stephen Drew of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished the season with a .984 FP but made 10 errors, which is a little high, but they were played in 147 games.
Third Base – Scott Rolen of the Cincinnati Reds finished the season with 130 games played, eight errors and a FP of .977.
Outfield – Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies finished the year with a .995 FP and 11 outfield assists.
Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies had a .996 FP, 142 games played and one error.
Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers finished with three errors, 153 games and a FP of .990.
Pitcher – Sean Marshall of the Chicago Cubs finished with a 1.000 FP in 74.2 innings with zero errors.
Possible American League winners in 2010 include:
Catcher – Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins finished with a FP of .996 but only threw out 19 base runners in 112 games.
First Base – Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees finished with .998 FP and three errors in 149 games.
Second Base – Robinson Cano of the Yankees finished with 158 games played, three errors and a .996 FP.
Shortstop – Derek Jeter of the Yankees finished up with six errors, 151 games and a .989 FP.
Third Base – Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers played in 144 games, committed nine errors and finished with a .977 FP.
Outfield – Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners played in 160 games and committed only four errors with a .989 FP.
Vernon Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays finished with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 151 games.
Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays finished with only two errors, a .994 FP and 147 games played.
Pitcher – Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees finished with a 1.000 FP in 71.2 innings.
Winners of this award are determined by the managers and coaches of each team, but they can only vote for players in their given league and the winners will be announced by Rawlings as being “the finest in the field”.
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