How Eddie Rosario became a Gold Glove finalist despite mediocre defense

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Chase discussed the Gold Glove candidates when the list was first released. Please understand that I like Eddie, but I’m pragmatic enough to understand that he’s not a .300 hitter or a .340 OBP guy, and his play in left field is often an adventure. Rosario has a one-in-three chance of winning because only a few players qualified for consideration.

How does a player qualify for a Gold Glove?

Information on qualification and voting comes from Gold Glove Selection Criteria and SABR.

Unlike other awards, players must hit all these marks to qualify:

All pitchers must have 138 innings by his team’s 138th game,
Catchers must have played in at least 69 games,
Position players must have:
Played in the field for at least 698 total innings at a position after the team’s 138th game. This keeps DHs and part-time players off the list. The player’s position is where the manager penciled him in the most this season.

In 2023, the Atlanta Braves played game 138 on September 6. After that game, Travis d’Arnaud didn’t qualify because he had only 400 innings as a catcher on September 7, while Murphy qualified because 785 of his 830 innings came as a catcher.

This isn't President Reagan's SDI

In 2013, SABR formed a committee to create the SABR Defense Index (SDI). SDI is similar to WRC+ and OPS in the way that it reaches a final value. Here’s how SABR describes it.

The SABR Defensive Index draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts, including data from MLBAM’s Statcast, Sports Info Solutions, and STATS Perform.
(Source: SABR.org/SDI)

SDI originally combined and weighted Total Zone (TZ), DRS, Runs Effectively Defended (RED), and UZR to create a value. I have a spreadsheet that includes the 2013 formulas, but I haven’t seen a publicly available update showing how SDI incorporates the latest Statcast metrics.

Atlanta Braves starter Max Fried won a Gold Glove in 2022. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Who votes and how?

SABR provides a resource guide containing the latest statistical data and a list of qualified players for each team, along with seven ballots.

The manager of each team and up to six coaches may vote. They may only vote for players in their league but may not vote for players on their team.

It’s impossible to know how much voters rely on the data, but I suspect they study the numbers closely, particularly for players they haven’t seen often, and use it to validate what they saw when watching the player.

After filling out their ballot, voters must sign and return it to SABR. While the signature is required before the ballot is considered complete, how each voter marked their ballot remains confidential.
Now, back to how they selected Rosario as a finalist.

Narrowing the field

When the season ended,10 outfielders had at least 698 innings in left field. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was one of them, but after his team’s 138th game, he had only 620 innings and didn’t make the cut.

The nine remaining left fielders were: Brayan De La Cruz, David Peralta, Ian Happ, Jurickson Profar, Bryan Reynolds, Eddie Rosario, Kyle Schwarber, Juan Soto, and Christian Yelich.

The fog surrounding Rosario’s selection should be lifting for you by now.

Schwarber is a DH, and Soto should be a DH,
Profar is an infielder moved to the outfield and not an everyday player on a contending team.
De La Cruz doesn’t own a positive defensive metric, and
Yelich wasn’t a defensive wizard before back and shoulder injuries took him out of the running.

The last three standing became this year’s finalists.

Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II is a finalist for the 2023 Rawlings Gold Glove. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Who will win?

Unless something goes terribly wrong, I suspect David Peralta will win his second Gold Glove in left field. Peralta’s metrics are better than those of Rosario and Happ.

Ron Washington may eventually make Riley a Gold Glove winner but Ke'Bryan Hayes and Ryan McMahon have superior metrics to him. I see Hayes adding hardware to his trophy case this year.

I’d love to be optimistic about Michael Harris II winning a Gold Glove, but I can’t. Benton Doyle patrols the largest center field in the league and has eyewatering metrics.

Doyle posted 19 DRS, a 24.5 UZR, a 16 OAA, and on August 13, he had an 11.7 SDI, while Harris posted a 2 DRS, 5.3 UZR, 6 OAA, and a 3.3 SDI.

Sorry Mikey, maybe next year.

That’s a Wrap

Before Eddie’s fans send out a lynching party, let me remind you that I wanted to add Eddie in 2019 and was happy to see him arrive in time to help win the World Series, but I think we all know he’s not a Gold Glove defender.

There’ll be other years for Harris and Riley, but it isn’t going to get easier. Individual awards are great ways to recognize talent, but the real award is postseason play and rings. I know Harris, Riley, and the rest of the roster the same.

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