Ranking the Biggest Surprises of the 2015 MLB Gold Glove Awards
The 2015 Gold Glove award winners were announced on Tuesday night, and as always, there were a few surprises among the 18 players who will be adding awards to their trophy rooms.
The Kansas City Royals had three winners—Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar—which was no surprise given that defense played a major role en route to a World Series title.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina won his eighth career Gold Glove to pass Bob Boone and move into third place among catchers.
However, the focus here will be on the five biggest surprises of this year's Gold Glove honors, and there were some significant ones.
5. Lorenzo Cain Being Snubbed as a Finalist
1 of 5
The Gold Glove finalists were announced back on Oct. 29, and the exclusion of Lorenzo Cain still ranks as a big enough shock to earn a spot here.
Let me preface this by saying that no one was going to beat Tampa Bay Rays star Kevin Kiermaier for AL center field honors.
He put together one of the greatest single-season defensive performances we've ever seen with 42 DRS, a 40.7 UZR/150 and 15 outfield assists.
However, the fact that Cain was not even chosen as one of the three finalists boggles the mind.
Just look at the defensive metrics:
| Lorenzo Cain, KC | 18 | 14.5 | 6 | 15.7 |
| Mike Trout, LAA | 5 | 0.3 | 7 | 2.6 |
How in the world was Mike Trout picked over Cain?
Anyway, let's move on to the biggest surprises among the actual winners.
4. AL Left Fielder: Yoenis Cespedes, Detroit Tigers
2 of 5
AL Left Field Finalists
| Yoenis Cespedes, DET | 15 | 22.2 | 13 | 13.6 |
| Brett Gardner, NYY | 1 | -0.9 | 7 | -5.8 |
| Alex Gordon, KC | 7 | 10.5 | 4 | 2.4 |
There is no question Yoenis Cespedes was deserving of a Gold Glove award this year, as he ranked second among left fielders in DRS, first in UZR/150 and again showed off his cannon arm with 13 outfield assists.
However, after spending the final two months of the season playing for the New York Mets in the National League, there was some question as to how the voters would handle him as an AL candidate.
Significant time missed by Alex Gordon, who had won the award four years running, no doubt played a part in Cespedes getting the nod, as there was no clear-cut AL-only candidate.
Chalk this one up as a mild surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.
3. AL Third Baseman: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
3 of 5
AL Third Base Finalists
| Adrian Beltre, TEX | 18 | 13.0 | 14.0 |
| Evan Longoria, TB | -1 | 12.3 | 9.3 |
| Manny Machado, BAL | 14 | 8.4 | 10.8 |
Manny Machado has been a standout defensive third baseman since he first broke into the league and moved to the position after coming through the Baltimore Orioles' system as a shortstop.
He was the Platinum Glove winner in 2013, and despite playing just 51 games as a rookie and 82 games last year, he's piled up 62 DRS over the course of his four big league seasons.
That being said, this year's Gold Glove should have gone to Texas Rangers veteran Adrian Beltre.
The 36-year-old had Machado beat in both DRS and UZR/150, and he did it while battling a thumb injury that would have sidelined most players.
That toughness, combined with the edge in defensive metrics, appeared to have Beltre poised to win his fifth career Gold Glove.
Instead it went to Machado, who was by no means a bad choice but still a somewhat surprising one.
.png?w=256)
2. NL Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants
4 of 5
NL Shortstop Finalists
| Brandon Crawford, SF | 20 | 11.9 | 17.1 |
| Adeiny Hechavarria, MIA | 9 | 17.7 | 21.6 |
| Andrelton Simmons, ATL | 25 | 17.5 | 23.9 |
Entering the 2015 season, it's fair to say Andrelton Simmons was the consensus top defensive player in baseball, and he had quickly established himself as an all-time great with the glove.
He was fantastic once again this past season, leading all shortstops in DRS, ranking second in UZR/150 and trimming his error total from 14 to eight.
However, Brandon Crawford closed the gap significantly with a terrific defensive season of his own, and the voters rewarded him with his first career Gold Glove.
On reputation alone, Simmons seemed like a relatively safe bet to win for a third consecutive year, so this one is certainly a surprise.
1. AL Second Baseman: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
5 of 5
AL Second Base Finalists
| Jose Altuve, HOU | 3 | 4.8 | 5.5 |
| Brian Dozier, MIN | -5 | 1.2 | 3.7 |
| Ian Kinsler, DET | 19 | 6.7 | 8.5 |
The NL shortstop selection of Brandon Crawford over Andrelton Simmons was a surprise, but it was nothing short of shocking that Jose Altuve walked away with top honors among AL second basemen.
To his credit, Altuve did take significant strides with the glove in 2015 after grading out as a below-average defender (-7 DRS, -14.7 UZR/150) the previous season.
However, Ian Kinsler should have been a fairly easy choice for the voters, as he was in a league of his own among AL second basemen.
Despite leading the position with 98 DRS since the start of the 2009 season, Kinsler is still searching for his first Gold Glove award.
The search will continue for the 33-year-old, and the selection of Altuve ranks as the biggest surprise of the 2015 Gold Glove selections.
All defensive statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.
.png?w=480)
