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First Base – Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt had an MVP-worthy season and defense was an important part of the equation. On offense, Goldy led all National leaguers with the highest slugging percentage (.551) and highest OPS (.952). And now, on defense, the Fielding Bible Award panel declares that Goldschmidt is the best defensive first baseman in the game. Baseball Info Solutions Video Scouts cover every pitch and every play of every game and one of the many things they chart are Good Fielding Plays. They've been tracking this for ten years now, and in 2013 Goldschmidt was the first player to record over 100 Good Fielding Plays. He had 113. He saved 13 runs with his defense for the Diamondbacks, finishing second among first basemen to Anthony Rizzo (16) with the Cubs. Goldschmidt tallied 110 points to 98 for Rizzo in the Award voting. Second Base – Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox With the most Defensive Runs Saved at second base in 2013 (15), and the most Defensive Runs Saved at that position over the last three years (44), Dustin Pedroia wins his second Fielding Bible Award in those three years. Pedroia has the highest total of Good Fielding Plays ever by a second baseman, with 89. He is especially adept at making plays going to his left; he has made 32 more plays than an average second baseman to his left over the last three years. His sure-handedness is legendary. He has the fourth-best fielding percentage of all-time at second base at .991 with a minimum of 500 games played. He has never had a single season below .990 playing regularly. Pedroia beat out 2012 award winner Darwin Barney in the voting by garnering 11 out of 12 first-place votes, good for 118 points. Barney finished second in the voting with 98 points. Third Base – Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles At age 21, Manny Machado is the youngest player ever to win a Fielding Bible Award, and he did it unanimously as the award panelists put him in the top position on each of their ballots. Machado is a shortstop playing third base. He has all the skills to be one of the best at shortstop, the most demanding position in the infield defensively. It comes as no surprise to everyone who has seen him play shortstop that he excels at third base as well. But the level of excellence is off the charts. He saved 35 runs playing third base for the Orioles last year. In this season of many "best defensive seasons" on record, Machado's performance is the best by a third baseman, topping Ryan Zimmerman's total of 25 runs in 2009. His range is tremendous in all directions, whether to his right, to his left, or straight on. Compared to an average third baseman, Machado made 11 more plays to his right, 14 more to his left and 15 more straight on. No other third baseman has had double-digit totals in every direction before. Nolan Arenado came in second in the voting with 100 points and was no slouch himself as he saved 30 runs for the Rockies defensively in 2013. Shortstop – Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves Is Andrelton Simmons the second coming of Ozzie Smith? It sure looks like it. He has everything that Ozzie had: soft hands, a quick release, tremendous range, an incredible flair for the shortstop position. And even one skill a little better than The Wizard of Oz: a stronger throwing arm. We won't crown Simmons with the alltime title just yet, but saving 41 runs in one year is the best on record. That's on top of having saved 19 runs for the Braves in about a third of the 2012 season. The competition wasn't even close this past year. The next best runs saved totals at shortstop were 12, 12 and 11 (Pedro Florimon, Clint Barmes and Elvis Andrus). The Awards panel rewarded Simmons with a unanimous vote. Left Field – Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals First Carl Crawford. Then Brett Gardner. Now Alex Gordon repeats in consecutive years as The Fielding Bible Award winner in left field. Gordon has great range but it's his throwing arm that sets him apart. He is always aware of how to set himself up to make the best throw possible after fielding the ball. He has 39 baserunner kills in the last three years, the most in baseball. (A baserunner kill is a direct throw to a base or the plate to nab a runner.) Gordon has been consistent about it too, with 12 kills in 2011, 14 in 2012 and 13 in 2013. Overall, Starling Marte of the Pittsburgh Pirates saved a few more runs than Gordon (20 to 17) and actually tied Gordon in the award vote with 112 points. We had to go to the first tie-breaker to determine the winner, with Gordon winning the Fielding Bible Award by a one-vote margin, six first-place votes for Gordon to five for Marte. Center Field – Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers Carlos Gomez was an All-Star for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013 as his offensive production took a leap upwards. But defensively, Gomez has always been an All-Star and his leaping ability is no small part of his arsenal of defensive skills. In 2013, Gomez robbed five home runs as they were going over the fence, the highest single-season total since Baseball Info Solutions began tracking this ten years ago. No one else had more than two in 2013. Those home run robberies accounted for eight Defensive Runs Saved. Gomez has tremendous range, and, not only does he prevent home runs, he prevents a ton of doubles and triples by ranging deep into territories where most other center fielders don't venture. His throwing arm is above average as well. His total of 38 runs saved is the third-highest season total on record behind the records set this year by Andrelton Simmons (41) and Gerardo Parra (40). Gomez received 11 first-place votes out of 12 for 119 points. Juan Lagares of the Mets was placed second on nine ballots and received 100 points overall. Right Field – Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks Andrelton Simmons got all the ink, but Gerardo Parra quietly tied Simmons for the highest single-season runs saved total on record (41) this past season. He did it primarily playing right field (36 runs saved), but his prowess extends to all the outfield positions as he added five more runs saved in limited action playing left and center fields. Parra had the best range of any right fielder in baseball, with 23 of his 36 runs saved making plays that other right fielders don't make. But he also had the best throwing arm of any right fielder, with 10 runs saved throwing out runners and preventing others from advancing. Parra received 11 out of 12 first place votes by the panelists for a total of 117 points overall. Shane Victorino of the Red Sox received the remaining first place vote and was second overall with 106 points. Catcher – Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals Yadier Molina stands alone. His six Fielding Bible Awards in the eight-year history of the awards are more than anyone else has received (Albert Pujols has five). Yadier, one of the Catching Molina Brothers, also has six seasons with double-digit Defensive Run Saved totals, including 12 in 2013. He threw out over 40 percent of runners trying to steal once again (seventh time in his career). Looking at all the pitches thrown in the dirt while he was behind the plate with runners on base, Molina blocked 97 percent from becoming wild pitches, the highest rate in all of baseball. Molina had some good competition for the award from Russell Martin (Pirates) and Salvador Perez (Royals). Molina had 114 votes to 102 and 101 for Martin and Perez respectively. Pitcher – R.A. Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays Mark Buehrle won the previous four Fielding Bible Awards at pitcher. In 2013, Buehrle joined the Blue Jays and teammate R.A. Dickey wins the Award. Did Mr. Buehrle give Mr. Dickey a few pointers? Maybe. But the fact is that Dickey has been a superlative defender for quite some time now. He has been in the top 10 among 175 qualifying pitchers in Defensive Runs Saved in each of that last four years. He excels in all facets of defending his position. As a knuckleballer, Dickey always puts himself in good fielding position after each pitch. He covers bunts very well, and has a tremendous pickoff move. He has picked off 12 runners in the last three years, which is tied for the second-most in baseball behind James Shields (19) among right-handed pitchers. The vote totals: Dickey 105, Zack Greinke (Dodgers) 98, Buehrle 73. |
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