Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rawlings named Francisco Lindor as one of three finalists for the National League Gold Glove at shortstop. Due to the shift ban, Lindor got the chance to display his athleticism this year and took advantage. Many view Lindor and Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson as the frontrunners for the award. The third finalist is Colorado Rockies rookie Ezequiel Tovar.
Francisco Lindor talks about life without the shift on defense:
“I love it. I think it’s just so much fun that I can just go to the baseball, I don’t have to worry about running into anybody. I have a lot of real estate to cover, I have to be on my toes the whole entire time” pic.twitter.com/UTNWm3GFnW
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 18, 2023
Francisco Lindor Named a 2023 Gold Glove Finalist
Lindor’s 2023 Defense
One aspect of the “analytics” movement in MLB tells evaluators to not heavily rely on their eyes when scouting players defensively. Since we can’t always believe what we see or remove our biases/preferences, judging defense through statistics like Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) or Outs Above Average (OAA) allows for purely objective evaluations.
A sign of a special defensive ability is when the player passes both the “eye test” and is graded well by the numbers. Lindor did just that in 2023.
The 29-year-old logged 1,365 1/3 innings at shortstop in 158 games last season. According to Statcast, Lindor earned 6 OAA, which was in the 90th percentile of all shortstops last year. He also earned 6 DRS. The metrics can be all over the place and often don’t agree (a player can be graded well on one and poorly on the other). For both stats, a mark of zero represents the league average. So, both stats indicate Lindor was well above average defensively last year.
Lots of hard contact so far against David Peterson, but his defense has been picking him up big-time. Check out this jumping catch from Francisco Lindor on a 107-mph line drive. pic.twitter.com/jsOkRrKzsz
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 31, 2023
Lindor had a very good season despite battling a bone spur in his right elbow the whole way. He recently underwent surgery and is expected to be ready for spring training.
Player and Team Gold Glove History
While this is the first time Lindor has received a Gold Glove nomination as a Met, he won the award twice with the Cleveland Guardians (2016 and 2019). Despite Jeff McNeil‘s standout play all over the diamond, Lindor represents the Mets’ sole nomination this season. Last year, catcher Tomas Nido was the team’s only nominee.
New York’s last Gold Glove winner came almost a decade ago when center fielder Juan Lagares won in 2014. Since 2000, only Lagares, David Wright (2007-08), and Carlos Beltran (2006-2008) have won the award as a Met.
Mets fans would like Lindor a lot better if he just had the right marketing. He’s 90% of Rey Ordonez defensively but can hit 30 HR and put up a 115-120 wRC+. Everyone would understand that value. But instead the Mets bat him #2 and #3 and people are disappointed.
— Good Fundies Brian (@GoodFundies) July 7, 2023
The Mets have not had a shortstop win a Gold Glove since Rey Ordóñez won his third in a row in 1999.
Criteria for Calculation
Rawlings determines the Gold Glove Awards based on a couple of factors. Votes from managers and coaches contribute to 75 percent of the calculation while the last quarter comes from the SABR Defensive Index. The Defensive Index uses Baseball Info Solutions’ DRS to factor analytical components and not rely solely on old-fashioned eye tests.
Each team gets seven votes for each league. Every team’s manager gets one vote per league and six coaches each get one (per league) of their own. They can not vote for players on their team. Each defensive position will get one award per league.
Additionally, this is the second year that each league also has a utility player category. Players are eligible to be nominated for both their main position and as a utility player. For the utility position, Rawlings and SABR created a specialized defensive formula distinct from the traditional selection process.
Rawlings states that all fielders, excluding pitchers, must have played at least 698 total defensive innings through his team’s 138th game in order to be eligible for the award.
Nolan Jones was simply ineligible for the GG
Per Rawlings voting criteria: “All infielders and outfielders must have played in the field for at least 698 total innings through his team’s 138th game”
By my math, he had roughly 655 innings give or take by the Rox 138th game on 9/5— Skyler Timmins (@SideLine_Crowd) October 18, 2023
When Will the Winners Be Announced?
ESPN will announce the winners on Baseball Tonight on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: © Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
