Gold Glove eludes Ryan Braun

The Milwaukee Brewers took a big step forward defensively in 2012. Still, it wasn't enough to net them their first Rawlings Gold Glove winner since Robin Yount in 1982.

Despite posting the best fielding percentage in the National League, Aramis Ramirez was beaten out in his quest for his first career Gold Glove on Tuesday. Ryan Braun, a Gold Glove finalist for the second consecutive season, also fell short.

As a result, the Brewers now have gone 30 years without having a player regarded as the best defensively in their league. They're also the only team in the major leagues to not have a player win a Gold Glove in the 2000s.

Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres was the winner at third base, where David Wright of the New York Mets was the other finalist. Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies was the winner in left field, where Martin Prado of the Atlanta Braves was the third finalist.

That Ramirez was even in the conversation as one of the top fielders at third was noteworthy, considering his reputation coming from the Chicago Cubs as an offense-only performer.

But from the outset of 2012 Ramirez played as well as anybody, displaying good range and excelling at rushing in to field bunts.

Ramirez finished the year with a .977 fielding percentage, a career high for him and a hair better than Headley's mark of .976. He also cut his error total in half, committing only seven after finishing with 14 in 2011 with Chicago.

History suggested that Ramirez would have a hard time winning the award despite his numbers, as year-after-year winners seem to be chosen more on reputation than anything. But defense can also be a tough category to quantify, with fielding percentage and errors no longer providing a complete picture of a player's ability in the field.

According to Rawlings, each manager and up to six coaches on his staff vote from a pool of qualified players from their league and cannot vote for players on their own team.

Braun, meanwhile, finished seventh in fielding percentage among NL leftfielders at .979. He had six assists and committed six errors. For comparison's sake, Gonzalez finished with a .982 fielding percentage, seven assists and four errors.

Interestingly, none of the top four leftfielders as far as fielding percentage in the NL - Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs, Jason Kubel of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ryan Ludwick of the Cincinnati Reds and Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals - made the cut as a finalist .

Braun was beaten out by Arizona's Gerardo Parra in 2011 despite committing just one error.

The Brewers have had nine Gold Glove winners in all: George Scott (five, at first base); Cecil Cooper (two, at first base); Sixto Lezcano (one, outfield); and Yount (shortstop).

One former Brewers player, J.J. Hardy, won the Gold Glove at shortstop in the American League for the Baltimore Orioles.


(jsonline.com)