Fielding Bible Award Explained

A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on statistical analysis.[1] [2] John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process, which commenced in 2006.[3] The awards are voted on by 10 sabermetrically inclined journalists and bloggers including Dewan, sabermetric pioneer Bill James, and writers such as Peter Gammons, NBC Sports' Joe Posnanski, SB Nation editor Rob Neyer, and ESPN analyst Doug Glanville.[4] [5] [6] The awards have historically been announced before the Gold Glove Awards, the traditional measurement of fielding excellence.[7] Dewan wrote that this award cannot equal the prestige of the Gold Glove, which started 50 years earlier, but it provides an alternative.[8]

Voting process

Dewan felt that statistics in addition to visual observation and subjective judgment are integral in determining the best defensive players. The Fielding Bible Award attempts to address the deficiencies Dewan saw with the Gold Glove Award, previously the only organized subjective judgment of fielding. The voting for the Fielding Bible Awards are for the entire MLB, and not separated between the National League and the American League; playing defense was not perceived to be any different between the two leagues. The voters select the best defensive player at each position with the best player given 10 points, the second best nine points and so forth. From the award's inception, the specific outfield positions have been picked individually instead of choosing three generic outfielders,[9] a practice employed by the Gold Glove Awards from 1961 to 2010.[10] Each voter selects 10 players for each position. The candidates for each position are defined beforehand to eliminate the possibility of a vote going to a player who was not really playing the position.[11] (Rafael Palmeiro won the 1999 AL Gold Glove at first base despite being primarily a designated hitter and appearing in only 28 games as a first baseman that season.[12]) In 2014, a multi-position award was introduced to honor a player who plays multiple positions, with a minimum of 600 innings played at any position but no more than 70 percent of those innings at a specific position.[13] The voting for awards is summarized and published for each position, identifying who everybody voted for. This aims to instill accountability among the voters and provide insight into the process to the public.[11]

Voters use sabermetrics to account for a defenders' range. The traditional standard of a high fielding percentage could be impacted by a player who does not make many errors but also does not get to many balls.[14]

Critical reception

There have been some major differences between the player selections made for the Fielding Bible Awards and the Gold Glove Awards.[15] [16] [17] The Boston Globe writer Peter Abraham said the Fielding Bible Awards "are far more accurate (and accountable)" than the Gold Glove awards since statistics are used along with the opinions of the expert panel. The Gold Gloves are selected by managers and coaches that may have seen a player as few as six times all season.[18] Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times said the votes for the Gold Gloves rely largely on a player's past reputation.[2] Jeff Wilson of The Southern Illinoisan believes that Gold Glove results are unduly influenced by a player's offensive prowess.[14] Derek Jeter, winner of multiple Gold Gloves, believes that many defensive factors cannot be quantified.[19] Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star noted that people "point out the primitive nature of defensive stats — even if that's more perception now than reality."[20]

In 2013, the Gold Glove award partnered with Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) to add a sabermetric component to its vote. Afterwards, Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Gold Gloves "appear to have significantly closed the gap on their more statistically-driven counterparts."[21]

Past winners

C
Catcher
1BFirst baseman
2BSecond baseman
3BThird baseman
SSShortstop
LFLeft fielder
CFCenter fielder
RFRight fielder
PPitcher
MPMulti-position
DPOYDefensive Player of the Year
Player Name Name of winner
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
YearC1B2B3BSSLFCFRFPMPDPOYRef
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Yadier Molina leads fifth annual "Fielding Bible Awards" . Aaron . Gleeman . Aaron Gleeman . NBCSports.com . 2010-11-01 . 2010-11-10 . Voted on by a 10-person panel that includes Bill James, Peter Gammons, Joe Posnanski, Rob Neyer, and John Dewan as well as the entire video scouting team at Baseball Info Solutions, the award sets out to recognize the best defensive player at each position, regardless of league..
  2. News: Mariners eye Durham, Datz for coaching positions; Ichiro wins Fielding Bible Award . Geoff . Baker . The Seattle Times . 2010-11-01 . 2010-11-11 . Unlike the Gold Glove awards, chosen by coaches and based largely on reputation, the Fielding Bible Awards are picked by a panel of experts relying heavily on new-wave statistical analysis for defense..
  3. News: Gold Glove results mixed, as usual . Rob . Neyer . Rob Neyer . ESPN.com . 2010-11-09 . 2010-11-10 . Every year, John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct their own process, the Fielding Bible Awards..
  4. News: As award season dawns, more Silver and Gold for Zimmerman? . Adam . Kilgore . The Washington Post . 2010-11-09 . 2010-11-10 . And in The Fielding Bible Awards, a vote by various sabermetrically inclined journalists and bloggers, Zimmerman narrowly lost out to Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (voters didn't differentiate between leagues)..
  5. News: On Giants, free agents, Bourn's award and bad predictions . Zachary . Levine . The Houston Chronicle . 2010-11-02 . 2010-11-11 . From a news release, here's the makeup of the group that gave Bourn his award in a statistically-guided decision as Bourn is figured to have saved the Astros 16 runs..
  6. Web site: The Panel . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20111105105647/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-panel.asp . November 5, 2011 . dead .
  7. News: Ichiro wins third Fielding Bible award for defensive prowess . John . Hickey . Seattle PostGlobe . November 1, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101222200757/http://seattlepostglobe.org/2010/11/01/mariners-ichiro-wins-third-fielding-bible-award-for-defensive-excellence . December 22, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . The awards have historically been announced before the Gold Glove awards, which are the traditional barometer for fielding excellence. . dead.
  8. [#james2006|James 2006]
  9. News: No talks yet with Chen on new deal . Bob . Dutton . The Kansas City Star . 2010-11-01 . 2010-11-11 . The three outfield positions are judged separately instead of simply choosing three outfielders..
  10. News: Connolly . Dan . Orioles' Markakis and Wieters win Gold Gloves . November 1, 2011 . The Baltimore Sun . https://archive.today/20130125030036/http://www.herald-mail.com/sports/bal-orioles-markakis-wieters-gold-glove-1101,0,3175934.story . January 25, 2013 . dead .
  11. [#james2006|James 2006]
  12. Web site: Baseball's rubber stamp . Luft . Jacob . September 17, 2003 . SI.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20121024223936/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/baseball/mlb/09/17/beat_goldgloves/ . October 24, 2012 . November 17, 2010 . dead.
  13. News: Short . D. J. . 2014 Fielding Bible Award winners announced . October 30, 2014 . NBCSports.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20141031194218/http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/30/2014-fielding-bible-award-winners-announced/ . October 31, 2014 . live .
  14. News: Wilson . Jeff . Offense has no place in Gold Gloves . November 2, 2012 . The Southern Illinoisan . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104031357/http://thesouthern.com/sports/offense-has-no-place-in-gold-gloves/article_414a7edc-2498-11e2-b794-001a4bcf887a.html . November 4, 2012 . live .
  15. News: Baseball voting all over the field . Bob . Wolfley . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . November 15, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101119081138/http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/108222049.html?page=1 . November 19, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . There is a profound disconnect between those who vote for the Gold Glove Awards, Major League Baseball managers and coaches, and those who vote for the Fielding Bible Awards, 10 expert baseball observers, some of whom favor a sabermetrics approach to the game. . dead.
  16. News: Simon . Mark . Gold Glove voters miss on Brett Gardner . November 1, 2011 . ESPN.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20111104173911/http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/25170/gold-glove-voters-miss-on-brett-gardner . November 4, 2011 . live .
  17. News: Jedlovec . Ben . The worst Gold Glove selections . November 2, 2011 . ESPN.com . November 3, 2011.
  18. News: Yadier Molina leads fifth annual "Fielding Bible Awards" . Peter . Abraham . The Boston Globe . 2010-11-01 . 2010-11-10 . These awards are far more accurate (and accountable) than the Gold Gloves in that statistics are employed along with the opinions of a large panel of experts..
  19. News: Kepner . Tyler . Jeter's Gold Glove an Error, Metric Indicates . The New York Times . B19 . 2010-11-10 . 2010-11-10 . Jeter — like many players — dismisses defensive statistics as meaningless because of the many factors that cannot be quantified..
  20. News: Dodd . Rustin . Gordon, awards and a transformation . November 2, 2011 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20111105215843/http://royalsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node%2F944 . November 5, 2011 . dead .
  21. Jaffe . Jeff . Gold Gloves join the stat revolution and it's harder to quibble with the winners . October 30, 2013 . Sports Illustrated . https://web.archive.org/web/20141019054644/http://www.si.com/mlb/strike-zone/2013/10/30/gold-glove-winners-fielding-bible-molina-machado-jones-gomez . October 19, 2014 . live .
  22. Web site: The 2006 Fielding Bible Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20101110080140/http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/the-2006-winners.asp . November 10, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . dead .
  23. Web site: The 2007 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20101110102147/http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/the-2007-winners.asp . November 10, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . dead .
  24. Web site: The 2008 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20101111062247/http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/the-2008-winners.asp . November 11, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . dead .
  25. Web site: The 2009 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20101105001529/http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/the-2009-winners.asp . November 5, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . dead .
  26. Web site: The 2010 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20101111062319/http://www.billjamesonline.net/fieldingbible/the-winners.asp . November 11, 2010 . November 17, 2010 . dead .
  27. Web site: The 2011 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20141031181755/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-winners.asp . October 31, 2014 . dead .
  28. Web site: The 2012 Awards . October 25, 2012 . ACTA Sports . https://web.archive.org/web/20121027035418/http://www.actasports.com/stats_detail/?StatId=345 . October 27, 2012 . dead .
  29. Web site: The 2013 Awards . October 28, 2013 . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20141031181755/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-winners.asp . October 31, 2014 . dead .
  30. Web site: The 2014 Awards . The Fielding Bible . https://web.archive.org/web/20141031181755/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-winners.asp . October 31, 2014 . dead .
  31. Web site: The 2015 Awards. November 1, 2015. The Fielding Bible. https://web.archive.org/web/20151111034811/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-winners.asp. November 11, 2015. live.
  32. Web site: The 2016 Awards. October 28, 2016. The Fielding Bible. https://web.archive.org/web/20161028203857/http://www.fieldingbible.com/the-winners.asp. October 28, 2016. live.
  33. Web site: Fielding Bible. fieldingbible.com.
  34. Web site: Fielding Bible. fieldingbible.com.
  35. Web site: Bellinger makes Fielding Bible Award history . mlb.com. David. Adler. October 31, 2019. October 31, 2019.
  36. Web site: '20 Fielding Bible Award winners announced . David. Adler. MLB.com. October 29, 2020. October 29, 2020.
  37. Web site: The 2021 Fielding Bible Award Winners. Sports Info Solutions Blog. October 28, 2021. January 3, 2022. November 6, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211106181206/https://sportsinfosolutionsblog.com/2021/10/28/the-2021-fielding-bible-award-winners/. dead.
  38. News: Casella . Paul . Winners of Fielding Bible Awards Announced . November 1, 2022 . . October 27, 2022.
  39. Web site: Mark . Simon . 2023-10-26 . 2023 Fielding Bible Award Winners . 2023-10-27 . Sports Info Solutions . en-US.

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