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First Base – Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks were the best defensive team in baseball in 2015, and Paul Goldschmidt is one of the reasons why. He saved 18 runs with his defense showing tremendous range for a first baseman, especially to his right. He was listed first on 10 of the 12 ballots receiving 118 out of a possible 120 points in the voting. Second Base – Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers Ian Kinsler was runner-up to Dustin Pedroia in the voting for The Fielding Bible Award in 2014. But this year, partially thanks to Pedroia's injury but mostly due to his defensive brilliance, Kinsler wins his first Fielding Bible Award. Over the last three years he is by far the leader in Defensive Runs Saved with 50 compared to DJ LeMahieu's second highest total of 29 runs saved. Kinsler saved 19 runs for the Tigers in 2015 and finished with 106 points in the voting. Dee Gordon was second in Runs Saved (13) at second base in MLB and was also second in the voting. Third Base – Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies His teammates gave him the nickname "Sharknado" because of his aggressive approach charging groundballs and his ability to make whirling throws to gobble up hitters at first base. Nolan Arenado has been consistently superb defensively since arriving on the scene for the Rockies in 2013, saving 30, 16 and 18 runs in the three years he's been in the majors. He garnered 116 points in the voting. Previous Fielding Bible Award winners, Adrian Beltre and Manny Machado, finishing second and third with 102 and 101 points respectively. Shortstop – Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves Here are the words used to describe Andrelton Simmons in The Fielding Bible—Volume IV: "long, freakishly athletic, and extremely smooth", "quick hands", flawless transfers", "best arm strength in the game", "makes throws from deep in the hole routine". This pretty much describes everything needed to become the ultimate defensive shortstop in baseball. It is no surprise that he is already being compared to Ozzie Smith in his short career thus far. It is now three straight years that panelists have made Simmons a unanimous choice for the shortstop Fielding Bible Award. Simmons and Giant Brandon Crawford were first and second on every ballot. Left Field – Starling Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates Starling Marte leapt into the void left by an injury to Alex Gordon, the left field Fielding Bible Award winner of the last three years. It is not without merit. Marte is a center fielder playing left covering more ground than any other left fielder in the game. He is a constant source of highlight-reel plays, and he gunned down baserunners like no other with 14 baserunner kills, the best in the majors in 2015. He received 116 out of 120 points in the voting. Center Field – Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays Kevin Kiermaier did what no other defensive player has ever done. He recorded 42 Defensive Runs Saved, the highest total since Baseball Info Solutions developed this metric in 2003. The thing that sets him apart from all other center fielders is his ability to range deep in center stealing doubles and triples right and left. The metric that really highlights this is: he saved an incredible 65 bases on the plays he made compared to an average center fielder. That's a lot of dead doubles and triples! The next best center fielder in bases saved was Arizona's A.J. Pollock, far behind with 38. Kiermaier was a unanimous choice by the voters. Royal Lorenzo Cain was second on every ballot. Right Field – Jason Heyward, St. Louis Cardinals Jason Heyward now has six straight years of double-digit Defensive Runs Saved and three Fielding Bible Awards. He has been able to accomplish this by starting and finishing every play extremely well. He excels at picking up the ball off the bat and rarely takes the wrong angle. He is not afraid to dive, demonstrating tremendous body control when doing so. He plays deeper than most right fielders enabling him to track down deeply hit balls saving extra bases. Every Fielding Bible Award voter listed Jason Heyward first on their ballot in 2015. Catcher – Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants After so many years of unparalleled offense as a catcher, Buster Posey has now been recognized for his defense as well with his first Fielding Bible Award. Posey has always been superb defensively. He has averaged 12 Defensive Runs Saved per year over the last six years and was tied with Kevin Plawecki for the lead among backstops with 17 in 2015. It's just that when there is a person on the planet by the name of Yadier Molina, it's hard to win an award for defensive excellence at the catcher position. But he outperformed Molina in 2015 and was recognized by the voters with 116 of 120 points for the award. Pitcher – Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros Dallas Keuchel helped himself reach 20 wins for the Astros by saving the most runs defensively as a pitcher in the game. Those 13 Defensive Runs Saved are more than any pitcher could help himself with the bat. For example, Madison Bumgarner, the best hitting pitcher in baseball, had 10 Runs Created in a super year with the bat for a pitcher. It is also the second best DRS figure posted by a pitcher since BIS began tracking the stat. Kenny Rogers had 15 in 2008. Keuchel outpointed Zach Greinke 115-107 in the voting. Multi-Position – Ender Inciarte, Arizona Diamondbacks Ender Inciarte is the second winner of the new Multi-Position Fielding Bible Award, which was first awarded to Lorenzo Cain in 2014. It was the closest ballot of the year as Inciarte received 94 points in the voting compared to 90 points for Cubs rookie Addison Russell. Inciarte showed extreme versatility and excellence manning every outfield position. He saved 12 runs in left, 4 runs in center and 13 runs in right field defensively for the Arizona Diamondbacks. |
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