Tulo's error marks end of impressive streak

Shortstop had yet to have defensive miscue in 59 games with Blue Jays

April 27th, 2016

TORONTO -- It was bound to happen at some point, but Troy Tulowitzki finally committed his first fielding error while wearing a Blue Jays uniform.
The streak ended when Chicago leadoff hitter Adam Eaton hit a sharp one-hopper to short in the first inning of the Blue Jays' 10-1 loss to the White Sox on Tuesday. Tulowitzki did not have to move very far, but the ball bounced off his glove and rolled away, allowing Eaton to reach first.
Tulowitzki went errorless in each of his first 59 games with the Blue Jays since he was acquired prior to last year's Trade Deadline. That put him six games shy of the Blue Jays' record for a shortstop, which was set by Tony Fernandez in 1988. Baltimore's Mike Bordick owns the big league record for shortstops with 110 consecutive errorless games in 2002.
"I didn't realize he was [six] short, that's too bad," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "You can't say enough good things about him, what he's done defensively for us. He's really changed the whole look of our team out there.
"He's the captain of the infield, he takes charge, he's in the right spot, all of those things and he's as steady as you're ever going to find. It was a great run. I would love to have seen him break that. I wasn't aware of that, but he's pretty good."
The 31-year-old Tulowitzki has garnered a well-earned reputation of being one of the most reliable infielders in the game. He entered Monday night with a career fielding percentage of .986 over 11 seasons in the big leagues, and he is about as smooth as it gets at his position.
Tulowitzki finished last season tied for fifth in the Major Leagues among shortstops with five defensive runs saved. He entered play Tuesday night tied for fourth in the Majors with three defensive runs saved, trailing Arizona's Nick Ahmed (six), Los Angeles' Andrelton Simmons (five) and San Francisco's Brandon Crawford (four).
The five-time All-Star had 258 defensive chances in a Toronto uniform before he committed his first error.