Best, worst Gold Glove selections
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For the most part, the Gold Glove selections were right on point. Ten of the 18 selections also led their position in defensive runs saved (DRS) in their respective leagues, and three others finished in the top three. However, some selections are more difficult than others to make. Here are the Gold Glove winners and where they stack up in defensive runs saved (DRS):
Best selections
Braves teammates Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons and Royals outfielder Alex Gordon were well clear of the field at their positions in DRS, and all three players had won a Gold Glove before, so their selections were fairly clear-cut.
It is always more gratifying to see deserving players win an award for the first time, especially when they faced competition from a previous winner or a star player. And Juan Lagares was every bit as dominant in center field as Simmons, Heyward and Gordon were at their respective positions. His 28 runs saved were 13 more than the second-place finishers. In fact, Lagares actually made a compelling case as the best defensive center fielder in his rookie season in 2013 despite playing just 819 2/3 innings; his 26 runs saved were second most at the position. Last year Lagares did a lot of his damage with his great throwing arm, throwing out 12 runners without the assistance of a relay man, four more than any other center fielder. This season, runners rarely attempted to take an extra base against him, but he still threw out five without a relay man. He also had 22 plus/minus runs saved (a measure of range), the most at the position.
Dallas Keuchel of the Astros defeated four-time Gold Glove winner Mark Buehrle and Felix Hernandez, the likely AL Cy Young Award winner, to capture his first Gold Glove Award. It was well deserved. Keuchel allowed just one stolen base against him in 200 innings pitched this season, just one of seven such seasons since 2010. Buehrle shared that distinction this season, but Keuchel separated himself with seven plus/minus runs saved, seven more than Buehrle and the most at the position.
Worst selections
There does seem to be a halo effect for players on successful teams. In the AL, Eric Hosmer of the Royals and Adam Jones and Nick Markakis of the Orioles were the Gold Glove winners who deviated most from the DRS rankings.
Hosmer is a defensible selection at first base. He actually led the position with 4 good play/misplay runs saved, which captures his sure-handedness in fielding poor throws and avoidance of mistakes, skills which are especially important for first basemen who participate in a lot of putouts. However, Hosmer actually cost the Royals a run according to plus/minus runs saved, which is why he trailed five AL first basemen in DRS. Steve Pearce, Chris Davis, Mike Napoli, Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer all finished ahead of Hosmer overall, and all five of them saved at least five runs with their range.
Markakis and Jones were probably the two most questionable Gold Glove selections. This is Markakis' second Gold Glove and Jones' fourth overall and third in a row, so reputation likely influenced both selections. Markakis is similar to Hosmer in that he is outstanding on the balls he reaches -- his 4 good play/misplay runs saved was tied with Kole Calhoun for the most in baseball -- but he fails to reach a lot of balls other right fielders do. Kevin Kiermaier of the Rays and Daniel Nava of the Red Sox led AL right fielders with 14 runs saved a piece, and 2012 Gold Glove winner Josh Reddick finished one behind them.
Yadier Molina has been the best defensive catcher in baseball since he became a full-time player in 2005. In that time, his 104 runs saved are 46 more than the next-closest catcher to him, Russell Martin. As such, it is difficult to be critical of his Gold Glove selection, his seventh in a row. However, if ever there was a season to select some new blood, 2014 was it. A thumb injury cost Molina 40 games over July and August, and though Molina was exceptional when he was on the field, Jonathan Lucroy took his game to a new level and deserves to be recognized for it.
Lucroy's challenge is that he excels in several facets of catcher defense that have only recently been captured by defensive statistics. For example, Lucroy blocked 96.1 percent of the pitches in the dirt or potential wild pitches he saw, best in the NL. We estimate that saved the Brewers nine runs, three more than the next-best catcher. In addition, Lucroy drew 114 extra strikes with his framing ability, which resulted in 14 strike zone runs saved, a new component of overall defensive runs saved that measures a catcher's ability to draw extra strike calls because of framing. (It will be released to the public in the upcoming "Fielding Bible" (Volume IV), which is scheduled for release in March 2015.) Hopefully, the proliferation of some of those newer measurements of catcher defense will cast the spotlight on Lucroy, perhaps the most underappreciated great player in baseball.
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