A trio of Yankees are in competition for the best defender’s awards.
After a huge Game 1 win over the Guardians to open the ALCS last night, the Yankees got more good news Tuesday morning, with a trio of their players named finalists for the Gold Glove awards. Anthony Volpe took home the hardware last year and finds himself up again at the shortstop position, Alex Verdugo received a nod for the second straight year, and Juan Soto is, uh, arguably the second-best hitter in baseball.
MLB made great fanfare of the new approach to Gold Gloves about a decade ago, incorporating more quantitative data into the voting procedure. Volpe wasn’t quite as good by DRS as last year, +6 against +15, but sparkled by OAA, worth +13 by Statcast’s proprietary metric. Perhaps the only problem for the youngster is Bobby Witt Jr. finished ahead of him, at +16, and will likely take home the award as a part of consolation in being the second-best player in the AL.
Alex Verdugo ran into walls at dead sprints more than once this year, so it’s nice to see him get some recognition. He spent the bulk of his time in left field this year, worth +6 DRS, although OAA graded him out as about average. Like Volpe he’s got tough competition in Steven Kwan from the Guardians and Baltimore’s Colton Cowser.
As for Soto, well … maybe someone made a votes-for-access deal with Scott Boras. For everything I and MLB said above about incorporating more data into these awards, Juan Soto probably shouldn’t be a finalist. He is as complete a hitter as there is in baseball — indeed, in baseball’s history — and he’s a defensive liability. If nothing else, naming Soto a finalist after a -4 OAA season will at least bring some media attention to the awards.
The Yankees and their fans are undoubtedly focused on the ALCS this week, and hopefully an appearance in the Fall Classic afterward. The Gold Glove picks are a nice bonus on top of what’s been a semi-successful season, but I think we’re all hoping they’re a footnote in a much bigger story for 2024.
