Gold Glove Winners Announced And the 2018 Red Sox Were All Over Them
We had the Gold Glove Award winners announced yesterday in classic MLB fashion. Could you have done it before the huge Sunday Night Football game between the Patriots and the Packers? Yeah, probably. But why not just throw the announcement out there during one of the most highly anticipated football games of 2018.
Congrats to the 2018 AL Gold Glove winners! pic.twitter.com/OkFgY6UyVy
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 5, 2018
Ian Kinsler, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. The first thing I want to say is, regardless of the Twitter reaction, Ian Kinsler deserved that award. The first thing I did when I heard that the awards were announced was check Twitter because what else would you do?
As I expected, people were all over the Ian Kinsler announcement. Red Sox fans who probably never watched Ian Kinsler play while he was with the Angels earlier in the season were shocked. How could Ian Kinsler win a Gold Glove? Is this the same guy who made us want to claw our eyes out when he botched the game-winning throw over to first base in what ended up being an 18-inning marathon of a game?
Ian Kinsler might need to enter witness protection after this game. pic.twitter.com/zn3dEJpfBt
— BASEBALL VAULT™ (@BSBVAULT) October 27, 2018
Okay, maybe it was, but what people have to realize is Kinsler is one of the best defenders at second base in the game and according to the Gold Glove, he’s apparently seen as the best in the AL.
He was brought to this team once the Red Sox came to the realization that Dustin Pedroia will not be able to make a return in 2018. For what it’s worth, he was solid at what was asked of him. All the team needed was a serviceable to good second baseman who could get the job done. And did Ian Kinsler do that? Absolutely.
The reason why Kinsler is getting so much heat is because of the recency bias. It’s literally the worst in regards to having sports conversations. You could roll all season long and consistently be one of the best at your job but people will only remember the latest thing that you did, good or bad.
Now would I have been shocked if he didn’t get the award? I mean, no, I wouldn’t have. Because I did think that he was slightly overrated at the field at this point of his career. But he is still one of the best defensive second basemen in the game.
Kinsler finished off the season with a fielding percentage of .983% which is solid. Whether Twitter wants to buy into it or not, Kinsler deserved this season’s Gold Glove Award. And yeah, I know I buy too much into Twitter reaction.
As for Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley, duh. Of course, these two are the 2018 Gold Glove award winners.
Evergreen Tweet: Mookie Betts made a ridiculous catch. pic.twitter.com/GvLZUjnUYq
— NESN (@NESN) April 25, 2018
Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Jackie Bradley, Jr. pic.twitter.com/1NszHTwI13
— Austin J. Eich (@Eich_AJ) November 5, 2018
I mean, are we serious? Was there a doubt that at least Betts wasn’t walking away with a third Gold Glove? JBJ, okay maybe that wasn’t an absolute surefire thing but that’s only because he deserved it last year too and it started to seem like the MLB didn’t want to give it to him. He’s Superman when it comes to center field and yeah, his bat goes silent at points but for the most part, he makes it up by making completely unfathomable plays like the one above.
The Sox just can’t stop winning. I’m over winter already. I need the Sox back and injected directly into my veins.
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-Nick Quaglia (@NickQuag)