San Francisco Giants: Examining the Cases for Gold Glove Finalists

Two San Francisco Giants are finalists for Gold Glove awards for the 2017 season, but how do their cases compare to past years?
Gold Glove finalists were announced on Thursday, and the San Francisco Giants have two players in contention for the awards given for fielding excellence. Brandon Crawford is seeking a three-peat as the National League’s best defensive shortstop, while catcher Buster Posey is looking for his second straight win after finally dethroning Yadier Molina last year.
By taking a preliminary look at the most basic defensive stats, Crawford’s candidacy this season matches up well against his previous victorious seasons. He committed 11 errors this year, the same number as 2016 and two fewer than in 2015. His .982 fielding percentage is right in line with those years as well, compared to a .983 in 2016 and .979 in 2015.
Looking at the more advanced statistics, however, suggests that Crawford wasn’t the same defensive player this year that he was in those years. His nine defensive runs saved still ranked fourth-best among NL shortstops, but well below the benchmark he’d set for himself. In 2016, he saved 19 runs to rank him second among all positions players in the NL, while he was second among shortstops with 20 DRS in 2015.
Likewise, his 8.4 UZR/150 in 2017 was second among NL shortstops, but much worse than his 2016 (22.1) and 2015 (11.9) totals. But, his 13.2 defensive rating (according to Fangraphs) led all NL shortstops and was third among all positions in the NL.
In a similar way, Posey didn’t have the same season in 2017 that he did when he won his first career Gold Glove. Though he threw out a career-high 38 percent (22 of 58) of potential base thieves (his fourth straight season with an increase), his metric statistics went down. After saving 12 defensive runs with an 11.2 defensive rating in 2016, he was worth a negative run saved and had a 9.1 defensive rating in 2017.
His pitch framing was also not as good as it was last year, either. Nine percent of pitches caught outside the strike zone were called strikes for Posey in 2016, but that number dropped to 7.5 percent in 2017. Yadier Molina was better at it in 2017, stealing strikes on 8.8 percent of pitches caught outside the zone.
One area that Posey was excellent was in the passed ball department. Posey allowed just one passed ball in 826.1 innings behind the plate. The league average was one passed ball every 156 innings as a catcher.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
A disadvantage for Posey comes from his lack of playing time behind the plate. He played 99 games as a catcher, including 96 starts, but spent the vast majority of his time down the stretch as a first baseman. With the team so far out of contention, plus backup catcher Nick Hundley playing quite well, the risk of injury was not worth the reward of having him play.
Truth be told, this award should not go to either of the previous winners up for contention. Cincinnati Reds’ catcher Tucker Barnhart had an absolutely tremendous season behind the plate. He led baseball by throwing out 44 percent (32 out of 73) of would-be base stealers, while he led NL defenders with 21 defensive runs saved and was second with a 14.9 defensive rating.
Both Giants’ guys boast good cases, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the Giants had zero winners this season. If that were the case, it would be the first time since 2014 that the Giants had no representation for the Gold Glove awards.
Joe Panik will not have a chance to defend his Gold Glove as an NL second baseman, as he is not a finalist for the award. He has one of those cases where the statistics don’t match the eye test. The eye test showed that Panik had another solid year as the Giants’ second baseman, but the numbers tell a completely different story.
Panik was second-worst among qualified NL second baseman with -11 defensive runs saved, while he made a career-low 30 plays “out of his zone”, the lowest total among his position group. His -1.4 UZR/150 was also well below his Gold Glove’s season total.
A player that should be getting more recognition in this aspect is first baseman Brandon Belt. Though a concussion suffered in early August limited him to 98 games at first base, he had the best defensive season of his career, and was having the best defensive season among NL first baseman before his injury as well. At the time he went on the disabled list, Belt was leading his position group in defensive runs saved and UZR/150.
Even still, Belt finished the season tied for the major league first baseman’s lead in defensive runs saved with 11, and led them by a fairly wide margin with an 11.7 UZR/150. If Ben Zobrist can be a Gold Glove finalist at second base despite playing only 81 games at the position, there isn’t much reason that Belt can’t be a finalist at his own position.
Next: Giants CF Trade Options: Hamilton
The full list of Gold Glove finalists, including their team and the number, if any, of previous Gold Gloves:
National League:
Catcher – Yadier Molina (STL – 8), Posey (SF – 1), Tucker Barnhart (CIN)
First Base – Paul Goldschmidt (ARI – 2), Anthony Rizzo (CHC – 1), Joey Votto (CIN – 1)
Second Base – Dee Gordon (MIA – 1), DJ LeMahieu (COL – 1), Ben Zobrist (CHC)
Third Base – Nolan Arenado (COL – 4), David Freese (PIT), Anthony Rendon (WAS)
Shortstop – Crawford (SF – 2), Freddy Galvis (PHI), Corey Seager (LAD)
Left Field – Adam Duvall (CIN), Marcell Ozuna (MIA), Gerardo Parra (COL – 2)
Center Field – Billy Hamilton (CIN), Ender Inciarte (ATL – 1), Michael Taylor (WAS)
Right Field – Jason Heyward (CHC – 4), Yasiel Puig (LAD), Giancarlo Stanton (MIA)
Pitcher – Zach Davies (MIL), R.A. Dickey (ATL – 1), Zack Greinke (ARI – 4)
American League:
Catcher – Yan Gomes (CLE), Martin Maldonado (LAA), Salvador Perez (KC – 4)
First Base – Eric Hosmer (KC – 3), Mitch Moreland (BOS – 1), Carlos Santana (CLE)
Second Base – Brian Dozier (MIN), Ian Kinsler (DET – 1), Dustin Pedroia (BOS – 4)
Third Base – Evan Longoria (TB – 2), Manny Machado (BAL – 2), Jose Ramirez (CLE)
Shortstop – Elvis Andrus (TEX), Francisco Lindor (CLE – 1), Andrelton Simmons (LAA – 2)
Left Field – Brett Gardner (NYY – 1), Alex Gordon (KC – 4), Justin Upton (DET/LAA)
Center Field – Byron Buxton (MIN), Lorenzo Cain (KC), Kevin Pillar (TOR)
Right Field – Mookie Betts (BOS – 1), Kole Calhoun (LAA), Aaron Judge (NYY)
Pitcher – Alex Cobb (TB), Chris Sale (BOS), Marcus Stroman (TOR)