Topic!!!

Vizquel.

Visquel, still.

Reyes with a close second to Vizquel, but I suck at defensive stats so don't value my opinion.

Thoughts:

1) I can't believe that anybody is posting a poll regarding Gold Glove at shortstop without including Derek Jeter. IMO, Derek Jeter is as deserving of the NL Gold Glove as he is deserving of the AL Gold Glove. :lol:

2) David Eckstein? I like David Eckstein, but dirty uniforms don't translate to effective fielding. Eckstein is an average MLB shortstop. Average isn't Gold Glove-caliber.

3) Vizquel isn't my choice, but a strong argument can be made for him. He leads the NL in ZR, the most important fielding stat, and he's got the career rep as a superb fielder.

But my choice...

(drumroll)

Troy Tulowitzki.

Troy Tulowitzki is third in ZR but he's first in Range Factor by a mile among qualified NL shortstops with 5.49 plays per game, half a play more than the second-place candidate. That's astonishing--that's like two shortstops who were identical on defense, but one got half a single more at the plate more than the other one. That would be 81 hits in 162 games, or around 125 points in batting average.

If second-best shortstop hit .275, and the best hit .400, and their defense were the same, who would be the better player? Put that way it's a no-brainer.

We should look at such a huge differential in Range Factor--supported by excellent ZR and a whopping 78 out-of-zone plays--the same way as a .125 point difference in batting. Troy Tulowitski is the clear leader for NL Gold Glove, if one considers actual current-year performance as the key metrics behind the decision.

If not, hey, Omar Vizquel had a good year.

So did Derek Jeter. ;)

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I almost didn't get the sarcasm in it.

I didn't mean anything by it, I picked those names off the top of my head...

Anyways my vote is with Reyes (surprise surprise). Call it biased if you want, but he's an above average fielder who makes very few errors & makes tough plays with ease with the strong arm that he has. Honestly I'm not all that sure how anyone else is doing, so forgive my ignorance...

Really?

Reyes is second in ZR to Vizquel among NL shortstops, and he has the fewest errors of any NL shortstop who's played two-thirds of his team's games at that position.

I don't support Reyes, but one can make a case for him.

Omar Vizquel

Yeah, it was good thing he put the smiley in there.

Tulowitzki in a land slide.

Definitely.

Vizquel had a good season i'd like to see him add to his collection of gold gloves

Easily Troy Tulowitzki