Rawlings, the primary glove provider for Major League Baseball players, announced the 2015 Gold Glove finalists at each defensive position in both the National League and the American League.
Two players on the Arizona Diamondbacks were nominated and neither one should surprise you. All-Star and MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt was nominated at first base, and All-Star A.J. Pollock was nominated in center field.
The award is given out to players with exceptional defensive excellence throughout the season, and is voted on by managers and coaches of all thirty teams. A statistical component is included.
Per Rawlings’ official site, there are several criteria that a player has to meet at a certain in order to qualify for the award:
- All pitchers must have pitched in at least 137 innings by his team’s 137th game;
- A catcher must have played in at least half of his team’s games by his team’s 137th game (a minimum of 69 games);
- All infielders and outfielders must have played in the field for at least 690 total innings through his team’s 137th game: this equates to playing in the field for approximately 7.5 innings per game in approximately 67% of his team’s games by his team’s 137th game; this ensures that only full-time players are considered);
- All infielders and outfielders with at least 690 total innings played qualify at the specific position where he played the most innings (i.e. where his manager utilized him the most).
Furthermore, here are the Voting Rules:
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award® represents overall fielding excellence, and it is not an award based solely on fielding metrics and statistics, nor does it factor offensive production.
Only the manager and his coaching staff on each Major League Baseball team vote, and each person must sign the completed ballot in order to be considered valid.
Managers and coaches cannot vote for their own players and can only vote for players in their own League.
- Cast votes for players at particular positions, not in general terms; i.e. qualified LF instead of three general OF.
- Eligibility for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award closely follows qualification standards set forth in MLB Rule 10.22 (Minimum Standards for Individual Championships).
- Only players listed in the resource guide are eligible for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award at the specific position listed. For rules on player qualification for a particular position, please see the “Notes & Glossary” section of the resource guide. Qualified players are sorted in alphabetical order.
- The votes are confidential between Major League Baseball and Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc.
The SABAR Defensive Index which measures how many runs a player has saved for his team is used as the statistical component.
At first-base Goldschmidt saved 9.4 runs and in center-field Pollock recorded 5.4 DRS. Both players are clearly deserving of the award.
Next: Arizona Diamondbacks' Andy Green Named Manger of San Diego Padres