Second baseman Gordon wins Gold Glove
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- All the accolades have yet to sink in for Dee Gordon. Still humbled by leading the National League in batting average, hits and stolen bases, the 27-year-old on Tuesday night was recognized as a 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.
Gordon is the first Marlins second baseman to receive the honor since Luis Castillo won three straight from 2003 to '05.
"That doesn't even register to me yet," Gordon said. "I'm still, like the same dude -- Papa John's [Pizza] and McDonald's."
Success certainly isn't going to Gordon's head, or changing his fast-food choices.
"I've been extremely blessed to be in a situation where all my hard work is starting to shine a light on me," Gordon said.
Acquired from the Dodgers at the 2014 Winter Meetings, Gordon was a Gold Glove finalist with DJ LeMahieu (Rockies) and Brandon Phillips (Reds).
In 2015, Gordon led all NL second basemen with a .992 fielding percentage, committing just six errors in 145 games.
Gordon also is a standout according to the analytics, which factor into the award. The speedy second baseman posted a 6.4 UZR (ultimate zone rating) and he had 13 defensive runs saved (DRS).
Gold Glove voting consisted of two components: 75 percent of the vote came from managers and coaches, who may not vote for a player on their own team, and 25 percent came from statistical analysis in collaboration with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).
Marlins pitcher Justin Nicolino tweeted his congratulations to his teammate: "Got to witness @FlashGJr make some unreal plays everyday! Congrats on another deserving award! #ohdontdoit #GoldGlove."
Gordon joins Mark Buehrle, Castillo, Charles Johnson, Derrek Lee, Mike Lowell and last year's winner, Christian Yelich, as Marlins to win a Gold Glove Award.
Gordon was one of three Marlins to be a Gold Glove finalist, but the lone winner. Yelich was again in contention among NL left fielders, but the award went to Starling Marte of the Pirates. And Adeiny Hechavarria was in the running at shortstop, but the nod went to Brandon Crawford of the Giants.
"Dee's just a special young man," Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. "When we traded for him, we were hoping to get that energy and that table-setter at the top of our lineup. Defensively, we always felt like, you put him with Perry Hill, he had a chance to win a Gold Glove, with his quickness, his lateral movement, his range. We felt like it was always in reach for him to win a Gold Glove."
Gordon credits Hill, Miami's highly touted infield coach, for his improvement in the field.
"In '14, I played second [base] my first full year, and then I got traded," Gordon said. "Honestly, that was one of the biggest things for me. I got with a coach who has taken my game defensively to another level, Perry Hill."
Speaking of great gloves, voting continues through Friday at MLB.com/awards to help decide the MLB Esurance Awards, and that includes such categories as Best Defensive Player and Best Defensive Play.The Platinum Glove winners for the best overall defensive player in each league will be unveiled on Friday, following a fan vote.