Finalists Ryan Mountcastle and Colton Cowser came up empty, as the O’s had no Gold Glove winners for the eighth time in nine years.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Baseball’s awards season has begun, and the Orioles were left out in the cold in last night’s Gold Glove honors. The Birds’ two finalists, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Colton Cowser, each were edged out in the vote by the Twins’ Carlos Santana and the Guardians’ Steven Kwan, respectively.
Neither result was a huge surprise, based on both reputation and defensive statistics. Kwan, now a three-time Gold Glove winner in his first three major league seasons, led the left field finalists with 10 Defensive Runs Saved to Cowser’s 4. At first base, Santana has long been known as a quality defender and has now won his first career Gold Glove at age 38. He and Mountcastle tied with a league-leading 8 DRS at first base, but Santana led Mountcastle in Outs Above Average, 14 to 2.
The Orioles aren’t a bad defensive team, but they’ve been in an extended Gold Glove drought of late. They’ve come up empty-handed in eight of the last nine seasons, with only Ramón Urías’s surprising 2022 win at third base keeping them from being completely shut out in that span. That comes on the heels of a prolific half-decade in which the O’s were rife with Gold Glovers. From 2011-2015, the Orioles had 12 Gold Glove winners, including four consecutive seasons of two or more.
Ultimately the Orioles’ success as a team doesn’t hinge on how many Gold Glove awards they win. They’ve been doing just fine without earning individual defensive honors. Still, I wouldn’t complain if one or more O’s players garnered some recognition for a standout performance with the leather. There’s always next year.
Links
Orioles’ Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle miss out on Gold Gloves – Baltimore Banner
Andy Kostka makes the case that Cowser should have won instead of Kwan, given Colton’s advantage in other key stats aside from DRS. He may have a point. Hopefully Cowser has a nice, long career ahead of him to earn more Gold Glove opportunities.
Another look at Orioles’ starting candidates for spring training – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff reviews the Orioles’ current options for the rotation, and…yeah, they’re going to need to sign another starter. Or three.
First offseason edition: Several questions for O’s fans – Steve Melewski
My answers: 1: More money than the Orioles will give them. 2: Zach Eflin. 3: 130 and yes. 4: Coulombe, O’Hearn, Pérez, Dominguez. 5: Sure, why not? 6: Injury and 2023.
Mailbag leftovers for breakfast – School of Roch
Roch Kubatko answers questions from readers on the eve of undergoing open-heart surgery. Now that’s commitment. Best wishes to Roch on a speedy recovery.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Three former Orioles were born on this day: outfielder Larry Bigbie (47), right-hander Doug Corbett (72), and the late outfielder Tito Francona (b. 1933, d. 2018), father of current Reds manager Terry.
On this date in 1975, Jim Palmer won the second of his eventual three AL Cy Young Awards, a well-deserved honor after the most statistically dominant season of his Hall of Fame career. Palmer threw a career-high 323 innings and also set personal bests in wins (23), ERA+ (169), shutouts (10), and WAR (8.4), all of which led the league.
And on this day in 2014, three Orioles earned AL Gold Glove awards, part of the Birds’ aforementioned streak of seasons with multiple winners. Shortstop J.J. Hardy and center fielder Adam Jones each took home their third straight Gold Glove, while right fielder Nick Markakis won the second of his career.