Bring a Glove

ESPN had a gold glove preview which I enjoy because it lists the three finalists and not just the winner https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/30246554/mlb-gold-gloves-preview-which-stars-elite-field so we get 27 candidates to think about for each league.

The weakness of the Twins is really apparent - there were two Twins listed. Byron Buxton of course and Kenta Maeda. As usual there is a caveat about Buxton - "Buxton would be a good choice, but he played in only 39 games."

In addition the discussions about each position adds six more - no Twins.

In baseball Reference Byron had a 1.2 dWAR. Then we had six players with 0.3 dWAR - Garver and Avila both had this (Jeffers was 0.0). Next were our two utility players - Gonzalez and Adrianza were both 0.3. And finally Arraez and Cave (4th outfielder) had 0.3 dWAR which meant that Buxton and Arraez are the only two position players with 0.3 or above dWAR. Two more reserves - Wade and Whitehead were the next in line below the 0.3 level.

Sano was at the bottom of the list -0.7 dWAR.

The Twins have had 13 individuals win Gold gloves and two years with three winners - Kaat/Battey/Power and Kaat/Versalles/Power. But many with two. I have no idea how this list might have looked if I had all the nominees like this year and not just the winners. The most gloves go to Kaat, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/7787-glove-love-major-league-baseballs-all-time-fielding-team Here is a list of winners http://www.espn.com/mlb/history/teams/_/team/Min/history/awards

But the point is, we need gloves. I believe in fielding. The 2013 Orioles and Rays had the best fielding percentage of all time (and I know most don't like fielding pct, but it is a good start). In an article on the best fielding teams of all time David Schoenfield had the 1984 Twins team in the discussion https://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/67824/the-best-defensive-teams-of-all-time

The emphasis on flyballs has changed the fielding component just like the shift. There are fewer plays in the infield than in the past and OF defense is rising in importance (go Buxton) plus the shift is demanding more flexibility in IF play since 3B players are put at SS and SS move to 2B while 2B play short field.

I cannot figure out how we judge the players by position, but I do know fielding and getting on base are still essential skills and we are currently lacking in both areas.