A-Rod, Renteria Should Win First Gold Gloves
By Dave Campbell
Special to ESPN.com
September 20, 2002
A Gold Glove winner, in my view, isn't necessarily someone who's always appearing on the Web Gems segment of "Baseball Tonight." A Gold Glove winner makes the routine play consistently and has special skills above and beyond the norm.
There's a caveat related to my selections: I often defer to my conversations with major-league managers and coaches. Sure, they'll drum up their own players, but the only way to realize the true value of a player's defense is to see that player (and thus his team) play every day. In my line of work as a national broadcaster, that's impossible. And while someone will promote a player they know well, you can also tell by their excitement and description when a player's defense is genuinely special.
That said, here are my picks for the 2002 Gold Glove awards in each league:
American League
1B: Scott Spiezio, Anaheim Angels: Spiezio has committed just four errors in his last 260 games. People in the Anaheim organization have been raving about him. Doug Mientkiewicz, last year's winner, is exceptional -- and this year Spiezio has been good enough to dethrone him (this would be Spiezio's first). I can see a long Gold Glove rivalry developing between these two. Runner-up: Mientkiewicz (Twins)
2B: Bret Boone, Seattle Mariners: Boone hasn't been as stellar offensively as last season, but his defense has remained steady. This would be his first Gold Glove; Roberto Alomar, now in the NL, won 10 of the last 11 AL awards (Chuck Knoblauch won in '97). Runner-up: Luis Rivas (Twins)
SS: Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers: Offense should have nothing to do with the Gold Glove award, but A-Rod deserves it strictly on his defense. This would be his first, ending a nine-year streak by Omar Vizquel. Mike Bordick, who is working on a consecutive errorless games streak (98), has also been superb (the previous record was 95 by Cal Ripken Jr., and the NL record is 101 by Rey Ordonez). Runners-up: Vizquel (Indians), Bordick (Orioles)
3B: Corey Koskie, Minnesota Twins: Koskie gets the ever-so-slight nod to win his first over Troy Glaus and Eric Chavez, last year's winner. All three make the acrobatic play, but Koskie has committed fewer errors. Runners-up: Chavez (A's), Glaus (Angels)
OF: Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins: He has a superior throwing arm, he makes the routine play and he makes the spectacular play (who can forget his robbing Barry Bonds of a homer in the All-Star Game?). The AL's answer to Andruw Jones.
OF: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners: One of the top five right fielders I've seen in my 35-plus years in baseball (along with Roberto Clemente, Dwight Evans, Al Kaline, Larry Walker and maybe Roger Maris).
OF: Mike Cameron, Seattle Mariners: He's had a sub-par year offensively, but his presence in center is a great comfort to Seattle's pitching staff. Coming in or going back, he'll make the play.
Note: Each outfielder above won his first Gold Glove last year.
Runners-up (OF): Carlos Beltran (Royals), Darin Erstad (Angels), Trot Nixon (Red Sox)
C: Dan Wilson, Seattle Mariners: He's in the upper-echelon of defensive catchers, but never has gotten his due because of Ivan Rodriguez, who has won the last 10. Pudge is still the best at throwing out baserunners, but a back injury has limited his mobility. Runners-up: Bengie Molina (Angels), Ramon Hernandez (A's)
P: Kenny Rogers, Texas Rangers: Rogers has not allowed a stolen base this season and gets a slight nod over Mike Mussina, who has won five of the past six. Runner-up: Mussina (Yankees)
National League
1B: J.T. Snow, San Francisco Giants: He's the best defensive first baseman in the game. Snow had won four straight until Todd Helton won last year. Runner-up: Derrek Lee (Marlins)
2B: Fernando Vina, St. Louis Cardinals: He still makes the pivot on the double play better than anybody in the league; this would be his second (and back-to-back). Runner-up: Pokey Reese (Pirates)
SS: Edgar Renteria, St. Louis Cardinals: He should win his first due to extremely steady overall play, getting the slight nod over Jimmy Rollins and the ever-improving Rafael Furcal. Runners-up: Rollins (Phillies), Furcal (Braves)
Note: If Cesar Izturis had won the regular job in L.A., he could have nabbed the award, but he platoons (playing against lefties); still, he's the most spectacular shortstop in the league.
3B: Scott Rolen, St. Louis Cardinals: He gets the slight nod over Vinny Castilla. Rolen, who has won three of the last four, has more range. Runners-up: Castilla (Braves), David Bell (Giants)
OF: Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves: He plays shallow and takes away the bloop hit, and a batter needs to hit it extremely deep to get it over his head. I give Jones the slight edge over Torii Hunter for the title of "baseball's best outfielder" (Jones has won four straight).
OF: Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies: He and Ichiro rank among the best right fielders I've seen in the past 35 years (see list above). He's already won six.
OF: Jim Edmonds, St. Louis Cardinals: He has a tremendous first step as he runs down flyballs; he's already won four.
Runners-up: Vladimir Guerrero (Expos), Mark Kotsay (Padres), Corey Patterson (Cubs)
C: Brad Ausmus, Houston Astros: He handles the staff well, has a good arm and is intelligent. Mike Matheny might be a bit better than Ausmus, but he doesn't play everyday. Runner-up: Matheny (Cardinals)
P: Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves: He fields the position so well that he allows the second baseman and shortstop to cheat toward first and third, although he's prone to giving up the stolen base; he's won 12 straight. Runner-up: Mike Hampton
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