“ This year, the voters returned to [Orlando] Hudson [for the NL second baseman Gold Glove Award], once again spurning Utley, who still doesn’t have a Gold Glove despite being arguably the league’s top defensive second baseman for five seasons running. And not over the last five seasons; I mean in each of the last five seasons. Who cares, right? Well, someday Utley’s going to be on a Hall of Fame ballot, and at least a few voters will say, ‘Gosh, I love the guy’s hitting stats, but why didn’t he win any Gold Gloves?’ The answer isn’t that Utley wasn’t a great fielder; the answer is that the Gold Glove voters just weren’t paying attention.
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Rob Neyer with some sharp commentary on the Gold Gloves. (via willdo)
And on Utley’s teammate:
“Victorino didn’t make a great number of plays this season, either. But one can almost forgive the voters, because Victorino was solid last season (when he won his first Gold Glove) and even better in 2007 as a right fielder. Players typically peak early as fielders, but Victorino’s (apparent) decline has been precipitous, and I have a hard time holding the voters responsible for tracking Victorino.”
(via thefallclassic)
