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October 30, 2013 13-14 Offseason Joe Janish

Mets Shut Out of Gold Gloves

The Gold Gloves were passed out, and no member of the New York Mets received one. A couple former Mets did, however — Carlos Gomez and R.A. Dickey.

What does it mean? Who really cares? I know there are fans who think Juan Lagares deserved consideration, and there was some argument that David Wright stepped up his defense, but, really, it’s not surprising that the Mets are without a Gold Glove in 2013. Even if a Met did deserve a Gold Glove, there seems to be at least one or two head-scratchers among recipients every year (i.e., Rafael Palmeiro ’99) — I’m not sure what goes through the minds of the voters during their process of selection. It appears to be more of a popularity contest than anything else.

If anything was surprising, it was that Eric Young, Jr. was a “finalist” for a Gold Glove. Huh? I get Lagares being passed over — partly because he was a rookie, partly because he played only a partial season, partly because as great as Mets followers think he is, he’s simply not been seen enough by others. I don’t get, however, Young getting serious consideration. No disrespect to Young — I like him as a ballplayer, but I just don’t see him as one of the elite defenders in the world.

For all the Gold Glove recipients, see ESPN.

Your thoughts?

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. crozier October 30, 2013 at 8:03 pm
    I never gave the Gold Glove award much thought before, other than to think it’s meaningless and kind of embarrassing. If people think the MVP is decided without factoring the more nuanced statistics, well, at least decent choices get made most years. Best as I can tell, Gold Glove awards are determined by watching highlight reels, scanning fielding percentages, and (mysteriously) considering offensive performance.

    So, you know, whatever.

  2. Rob October 30, 2013 at 8:31 pm
    Awards are relevant to fans when the players that you know and root for are nominated and selected. Otherwise, who cares. If nine Mets had been selected for Gold Gloves, we’d all be whooping for joy…for reasons that pretty much escape us because we didn’t actually win the award and had nothing to do with the players performance. I equate all of this stuff to the annual awards ceremonies from Hollywood, Broadway and Cleveland. It’s a bunch of self-congratulatory nonsense that has that has nothing to do with the fans and simply promotes debate about who should win this year and who shouldn’t. But if it makes them feel better to give out awards, let them do it. I pay little attention…unless it’s a Met…and then only because it gives me bragging rights over other fans of other teams.
  3. TJ October 30, 2013 at 9:25 pm
    Joe,
    Welcome back.

    I think defense should be acknowledged, because it is an important facet of the game and until recently overlooked by some. However, as the gold glove awards prove, there is still no way to evaluate defense with any consistency. Even before the widespread use of SABR metrics, when Palmiero was given the glove it made a joke of the award.

    I agree on Young, how he was a finalist is a head scratcher. He is shaky out there, and does not judge balls well, but his speed allows hi to make up for those deficiencies. Lagares, on the other hand, looks like a natural and is really impressive in person. Hopefully his bat will be serviceable, and in future years he will get more recognition.

  4. Joe Janish October 30, 2013 at 9:47 pm
    Have to agree with all of your views, especially Rob’s — it’s all about creating news and debate.

    Awards like MVPs, Gold Gloves, etc., seemed really neat when I was 9 and 10 years old, but with each year, they lose their shine for me — especially since I’m not into celebration of the individual.

    On another note, my apologies for being MIA lately. My “real” job is in the wine business, and we make about half of our revenues in the final quarter — so, I’m pretty damn busy. Luckily, there hasn’t been much news to report.

    Things at work should slow down a bit in a few weeks, so I’ll be posting more often. I sincerely appreciate everyone’s continued support and contribution to the conversation at MetsToday.Thank you!

    • DaveSchneck October 31, 2013 at 9:14 am
      Joe,
      I hope you did not take my welcome back a sarcasm, it was truly a welcome back. I appreciate the effort you put into this site, especially in light of the other demands life places on us. Your passion for baseball is clear and admirable. I nominate you for whatever the blogger version of the gold glove is – maybe the golden keyboard.
      • Joe Janish November 2, 2013 at 9:39 pm
        Dave, no, I absolutely did not take it as sarcasm, and appreciate the kind words. Thanks so much.
    • crozier October 31, 2013 at 10:33 am
      As one who was happily compensated with some great wine (also Scotch) for doing website work for a friend, I appreciate all you do for the wine business. These days, wine has been a whole lot easier to enjoy than the Mets.
  5. DanB October 31, 2013 at 8:44 am
    Welcome back Joe, you deserved a vacation. Sadly, it sounds like you were working more, not vacationing. I was wondering if Jeff Wilpon’s recent proclamations would lure back to the blog.
  6. DanB October 31, 2013 at 12:30 pm
    Crozier, are you saying the Mets are the baseball version of Two Buck Chuck wine?
    • argonbunnies October 31, 2013 at 3:51 pm
      Nah, 2BC is convenient. Mets fandom is the opposite.
    • crozier October 31, 2013 at 8:18 pm
      Dan, that’s such a great question that I’d love to see it as its own thread: “If the Mets were a wine (or do I mean winery), what would it be?” Joe would probably be the guy to answer this with the most authority.

      If I were to go generic with this, I’d say they were a California merlot over the last ten years. Emphasis on the low-end grape, flooding the market with mediocrity, cynical/dumb decisions that resulted in bland, characterless flavors.

      And it gets worse. Trading away the best cuttings for total crap, clueless vine coaches leading to root rot, pest infestation, and torn UCLs. Wait, I’m getting confused.

      Meanwhile, Tom Seaver’s producing Robert Parker top-rated
      Cabernets year-over-year. Ugh. It just kills me.

      • Joe Janish November 2, 2013 at 9:40 pm
        Your comparison to, and explanation of, California Merlot was spot on. Brilliant!
  7. Alex68 October 31, 2013 at 3:53 pm
    Sorry to see Wright miss out of the gold glove. He was robbed in 2012, but this year was close so it can go either way.

    We’re very lucky to have a leader and player like Wright.

    • Izzy October 31, 2013 at 4:24 pm
      This is not the Alex I know
  8. argonbunnies October 31, 2013 at 3:56 pm
    I always root for the deserving players to get the GGs. Sometimes it happens, and I’m glad. Other times, the voters give it to someone flashy or famous instead, so this year I had back-up options — “If they whiff on Arenado, maybe they give it to Wright!”

    Oh well.

    Glad Dickey finally got one. Winning an award that usually goes to the most athletic guys on the field, on your 39th birthday, has gotta be cool.

    • Izzy October 31, 2013 at 4:25 pm
      I think Dickey would have been happier had he figured out how to make the knuckles work indoors.
      • crozier October 31, 2013 at 8:04 pm
        In all fairness, Dickey was injured all year with neck issues. Not that he complained or blamed his performance on that. In the end, his season wasn’t horrible, just disappointing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him rebound in 2014.
      • argonbunnies November 1, 2013 at 1:28 am
        His road performance wasn’t too far off what you’d expect, and he almost led the league in innings (Shields had 4 more). His big problems were (a) walking people early in the year, when his neck problem was at its worst, and (b) fly balls leaving Rogers Center. I’d guess that his walk rate will return to normal, but I’m not sure what he can do about all the homers at home.
        • DaveSchneck November 1, 2013 at 8:08 am
          A return to citifield would certainly help that fly ball HR rate. Didn’t I hear that the Mets were looking for a dependable and quality innings eater for their rotation in 2014? I’m sure Niese would welcome pitching the day after that knuckler once again…it’s like upgrading two spots on the staff.
  9. DanB November 1, 2013 at 9:21 am
    Crozier, you are asking the wrong man. I have always enjoyed a Napa merlot though I have run into a couple dogs lately. How about the Mets being a bad Bordeaux since you still pay a high price and neighboring grapes can be great but the bad ones are really cheap tasting?
    • crozier November 3, 2013 at 12:24 pm
      Yeah, sure, that works. You might also add that even the good ones have a barnyard smell to them.