Gold Glove Fielding Awards Still Matter – Ep. 132

Here at Almost Cooperstown we believe there’s room for more at the Inn.  We’re not talking about boxing BTW!  When it comes to Gold Gloves (only awarded since 1957), a player who is a borderline Hall of Famer (an ‘Almost’ guy we like to say), can be pushed over the top by superior fielding and a collection of Gold Gloves.  There have been 8 players to win GG’s in both leagues which is kind of hard to do since often the incumbent would need to be unseated.  In the past Gold Gloves seemed to be earned on reputation as much as anything else. Not that the winners were not good or great fielders, more that some of the winners are players you would not expect (like Pete Rose) and were not renowned for their defensive prowess.  Today advanced analytics from Bill James, FanGraphs and other sources create the Fielding Bible Awards which are a more data-centric approach than traditional fielding %. Fielding range is more important than it’s ever been to separating a good from a great fielder.  

How important are pitcher Gold Gloves?  
Are there separate awards for RF, CF, LF?  
Who has won the most GGs? 

We answer these questions and a few more!  Thanks for listening and if you have an idea or comment you can email us at [email protected] or tweet to us @AlmostCoop or hit us on our FB page.  And Tuesday is AC Trivia Day! 

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