St. Louis Cardinal Kolten Wong missed out on his first Gold Glove Award on Sunday, and some in the media who watch the Hilo second baseman play everyday were quick to call it a snub.
“Kolten Wong now knows what it’s like for all the batters who hit a ball anywhere in his general vicinity in 2018… HE GOT ROBBED,” tweeted Brenden Schaeffer of KMOV-TV in St. Louis.
The Colorado Rockies’ D.J. LeMahieu claimed the National League’s top fielding honor at second for the third time.
The advanced metrics favored Wong.
The 2008 Kamehameha graduate led major league second baseman with 19 Defensive Runs Saved in 2018, though LeMahieu was just behind him with a career-high 18. Wong also had a higher Ultimate Zone Rating – another sabermetric statistic used to measure fielding – than LeMahieu 13.4-11.0.
Wong, however, made more errors (9-4) in fewer games played.
Earlier in the week, Wong won Fielding Bible’s honor as the finest second baseman in the major, edging LeMahieu in one of the closest votes of the year, according to Baseball Info Solutions.
The Chicago Cubs’ Javier Baez was also a Gold Glove finalist.
Perhaps Wong’s candidacy was hurt by two stints on the disabled list that limited him to 98 starts, though Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest wasn’t buying that Sunday night, tweeting, “The Kolten snub is more egregious than Dances With Wolves beating out Goodfellas for best picture in 1991.”
Meanwhile, Mookie Betts and the Boston Red Sox just keep winning.
Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler won Gold Gloves for the World Series champion Red Sox, and the Atlanta Braves also were recognized for their fielding excellence this season.
The 26-year-old Betts won for the third straight year.
He also is a top contender for the AL MVP award.
Kinsler got his second Gold Glove at second base, and Bradley won for the first time in center. Teammate Andrew Benintendi also was nominated, but Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon took home his sixth Gold Glove instead.
Atlanta added three Gold Gloves to its surprise NL East title this season. Freddie Freeman and Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo tied for the award at first base, and center fielder Ender Inciarte and right fielder Nick Markakis also were honored for the Braves.
It’s the third straight Gold Glove for Inciarte. Markakis won for the first time in the NL and third time overall, ending Jason Heyward’s run of four in a row.
Oakland, Colorado and Arizona each had two Gold Glove winners in the infield.
First baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Matt Chapman were recognized for the Athletics, and third baseman Nolan Arenado won for the Rockies. Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke got his fifth consecutive Gold Glove award, and teammate Nick Ahmed won for the first time at shortstop.
St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina took home his ninth Gold Glove, but his first since 2015. It was a similar situation at catcher in the AL, with Salvador Perez winning for Kansas City for the fifth time after he was unseated by Martin Maldonado last year.
Pittsburgh left fielder Corey Dickerson rounds out the NL winners. Houston pitcher Dallas Keuchel and Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons also won in the AL.
