Wright, Young named Gold Glove finalists
Third baseman seeks third defensive honor; outfielder eyes first
ST. LOUIS -- The Mets have two finalists this year for Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, though standout rookie center fielder Juan Lagares is not among them.
David Wright and Eric Young Jr. are finalists at third base and left field, respectively, Rawlings announced Friday. Winners will be announced Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Wright, 30, is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and was a finalist last season. He rated positively in most advanced metrics for the second straight year, including ultimate zone rating (UZR) and defensive runs saved (DRS). Wright is up against fellow finalists Nolan Arenado of the Rockies and Juan Uribe of the Dodgers for this year's award.
Young, 28, was a full-time big league starter for the first time in his career after coming to the Mets in a July trade with the Rockies. A natural second baseman, Young provided most of his value in left. He, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies and Starling Marte of the Pirates are the NL's three left-field finalists.
Lagares, 24, was not a finalist, even though he set a Mets rookie record with 15 outfield assists and ranked second in baseball among center fielders in UZR and DRS -- trailing only Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez in each category. Gomez, Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen and Washington's Denard Span are the NL's three finalists.
Lagares' snub came despite the fact that voting for the awards was slightly altered this year. Since its inception in 1957, Rawlings had previously relied solely on Major League managers' and coaches' votes to determine the best defensive players. For the first time, Rawlings collaborated with the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) to incorporate sabermetrics as a component of the Gold Glove Award this year.
A committee of experts in baseball analytics and defensive measurement devised the SABR Defensive Index (SDI), which draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball, location-based data, and those collected by from play-by-play accounts.
The three metrics representing batted ball data include DRS (from Baseball Info Solutions), UZR (developed by sabermetrician Mitchel Lichtman), and runs effectively defended (created by SABR's Chris Dial). The two metrics included in the SDI from play-by-play data are defensive regression analysis, created by committee member Michael Humphreys, and total zone rating.
The plan, according to Rawlings and SABR, is to have the SDI complement the judgment of the managers and coaches. The SABR Defensive Index will account for 30 total votes -- or approximately 25 percent -- of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process, and will be added to the votes from the managers and coaches, who received their ballots along with revamped statistical resource guides.
The complete list of finalists:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Pitcher
Mark Buehrle, Blue Jays
R.A. Dickey, Blue Jays
Doug Fister, Tigers
Catcher
Joe Mauer, Twins
Salvador Perez, Royals
Matt Wieters, Orioles
First base
Chris Davis, Orioles
Eric Hosmer, Royals
James Loney, Rays
Second base
Robinson Cano, Yankees
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
Ben Zobrist, Rays
Third base
Adrian Beltre, Rangers
Evan Longoria, Rays
Manny Machado, Orioles
Shortstop
Alcides Escobar, Royals
Yunel Escobar, Rays
J.J. Hardy, Orioles
Left field
Yoenis Cespedes, A's
Andy Dirks, Tigers
Alex Gordon, Royals
Center field
Lorenzo Cain, Royals
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox
Adam Jones, Orioles
Right field
Nick Markakis, Orioles
Shane Victorino, Red Sox
Josh Reddick, A's
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pitcher
Patrick Corbin, D-backs
Zack Greinke, Dodgers
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
Catcher
A.J. Ellis, Dodgers
Russell Martin, Pirates
Yadier Molina, Cardinals
First base
Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs
Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers
Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
Second base
Darwin Barney, Cubs
Brandon Phillips, Reds
Mark Ellis, Dodgers
Third base
Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Juan Uribe, Dodgers
David Wright, Mets
Shortstop
Ian Desmond, Nationals
Andrelton Simmons, Braves
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
Left field
Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
Starling Marte, Pirates
Eric Young Jr., Mets
Center field
Carlos Gomez, Brewers
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
Denard Span, Nationals
Right field
Jay Bruce, Reds
Jason Heyward, Braves
Gerardo Parra, D-backs