Atlanta Braves Gold Glove candidates against the rest part 3: Outfielders
By Fred Owens
(Former) Braves right fielder is favorite
Historically left field Gold Glove winners includes those selected as the best of a weak pool of candidates. On the other hand, right field typically hosts some of the better defenders in the game. That’s why Markakis’ nomination caught so many by surprise.
Related Story. Markakis - The right man at the right time. light
Markakis played more games in right than any other NL outfielder by a wide margin. McCutchen ranked second in innings player but his days of being a premier defender anywhere but left field are in the past.
In general, this season didn’t produce sterling metrics from any NL right fielder. The highest ranking NL right fielder on the Fielding Bible list came at number 6.
| Right Field | FB Points | SDI | UZR | DRS | IE | DEF | FRAA | Rtot | OAA |
| Nick Markakis | 22 | 0 | 1.4 | 2 | 5 | -5.8 | 6.3 | 1 | 0 |
| Jason Heyward | 62 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 3 | 22 | -0.1 | 8.7 | 6 | 4 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 6 | 3.0 | 4.8 | -7 | 6 | -0.4 | 7.7 | -8 | 2 |
| Brian Anderson | 2 | -0.4 | 5.0 | 4 | 16 | 1.1 | -9.5 | 2 | -3 |
| Gregory Polanco | 5 | -1.7 | -1.0 | -5 | 20 | -6.6 | 1.3 | -5 | -2 |
| Yasiel Puig | 34 | -2.6 | -3.6 | 6 | 17 | -8.5 | -4.3 | 6 | -5 |
| Andrew McCutchen | 2 | -2.6 | -0.2 | 2 | 24 | -6.0 | -6.6 | 2 | -11 |
| Nick Williams | 0 | -6.1 | -8.3 | -15 | 15 | -12.3 | -11.1 | -17 | -7 |
| Bryce Harper | 3 | -10.2 | -7.4 | -16 | 12 | -11.9 | -12.0 | -26 | -12 |
| John Jay | 12 | N/R | 2.7 | 8 | 2 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 7 | -4 |
Markakis fell to a distant third and won’t win the award. Heyward’s reputation and a weak field make the award his.