Posted November 2, 200520 yr comment_3815745 The Winners: C- Jason Varitek, Bos 1B- Mark Teixeira, Tex 2B- Orlando Hudson, Tor SS- Derek Jeter, NYY 3B- Eric Chavez, Oak OF- Torii Hunter, Min OF- Vernon Wells, Tor OF- Ichiro Suzuki, Sea P- Kenny Rogers, Tex The Win Shares system selects Teixeira, Hudson, Juan Uribe, Chavez, Wells, Aaron Rowand, Grady Sizemore, and Joe Mauer. The system does not credit pitchers for defense. Chone Figgins collected more defensive win shares than Chavez, but split equal time among three positions and did his best work in center field. The good picks: Hudson, Wells and Chavez are all consensus picks. Teixeira is an outstanding pick given that I was unsure if his defensive ability was widely recognized. It would make sense for Teixeira to excel given that he would be a third baseman if not for Hank Blalock. The So-so picks: Ichiro's still living off the carcus of a brilliant throw he made in his rookie season. There are more deserving AL outfielders snubbed every year because Ichiro's an automatic. Jeter's selection is questionable given his noteable lack of quality fielding statistics, but his defensive statistics have improved remarkably the last two years. My only concern is that something screwy is going on with the stats. Players generally do not become better fielders as they enter their 30s. Kenny Rogers like most gold glove pitchers is living off his reputation. Is a 40 year old really the best fielding pitcher in the league? The Bad Picks: Torii Hunter and Jason Varitek. Hunter's another reputation pick. Great defensive outfielder, but he played less than 100 games this season. Varitek is simply an awful pick. There is nothing in Varitek's statistical profile that indicates any kind of defensive excellence whatsoever. Is it intangibles? It is hard to imagine how Varitek can earn credit for his pitch-calling skills or on field leadership when his team finished 11th in runs allowed and had a lower team ERA when he didn't catch. Just to emphasize the point, if you had the best defensive catcher in the league on your team, would you bench him when your knuckleballer pitched?
November 2, 200520 yr comment_3819532 I have a distinct feeling that, now that Jeter finally woke up and had an above average defensive season last year, he'll be getting gold glove awards every year, even after he retires. Juan Uribe was a superior shortstop, a fact which was amplified by his amazing defensive performance in the playoffs. There is one point to consider with Varitek: his catching stats are insulated by the fact that he never catches Tim Wakefield, meaning that: 1) he can't even handle his entire pitching staff 2) his stats are the worse for it, as Wakefield was arguably the best pitcher that the Red Sox had last year (16-12, 4.15 ERA). Worse off is that Joe Mauer completely destroys Varitek in virtually every defensive metric.
November 2, 200520 yr comment_3820697 But people know who Jason Veritek is! I've got more of a beef with Tori Hunter getting the award. Dude missed the last two and a half months and he's still the best candidate in center?
November 2, 200520 yr comment_3820732 Looks like they just went with the safe picks for the most part. I think Rowand should have gotten it over Hunter but I fear that's just bias speaking.
November 2, 200520 yr comment_3820850 Nah, I was actually going to say he deserved some serious consideration. He had some crazy adventures out there that last week of the season, but other than that, he was making the plays he needed to make and then some. That's the problem with these things. It should go to the most reliable player at a given position, but glitz and flash wins out more times than not.
November 2, 200520 yr comment_3821047 And while you know I'm a Sox fan, I don't really see how Uribe would have gotten it over Jeter anyways, that insane catch or not.
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