Here we are, deep into the fall. Now it flatters what has been said, and the season is always as heated and hectic. The general manager’s meeting just ended with unsettled replay and free agency hot topics, and – by the way – it’s time for all the decisions. Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP are just a few of them, but one thing I want to focus on is the award given to players based on their unique field performance, or the Gold Glove Award.
No, I’m not writing about the winners this year. What, then, when in a few days it will be an old report? I had a better idea. Why not group the greatest Gold Glove Team of all time? Of course, I couldn’t do this without bringing up who has won the most Gold Gloves at any location.
Remember that when it comes to outsiders, this term “individual site” is a moot point, because consideration does not distinguish between left, right and center field. And this was the reason for the arguments of some who felt in defense that the higher positions were not equal. Also, I will count the winners of the all-time team based on the announcement of the all-star game in this last year, and then follow that with my choices and my reasons behind those choices versus fan opinion.
I’ll start by listing the leaders at each position to receive the most Gold Gloves. You may be surprised to know that not all players are still players. When it comes to the all-time Golden Gloves team, you might be surprised that not all of them are from past players, but there are more.
Let’s start with the number one position that is listed on the defensive field, that is the pitcher. Greg Maddux holds the record with 17 Gold Gloves including one for the past season in 2007. Not only does he hold the most for a pitcher, but with the exception of 2003, Maddux has won it every year since 1990. In the AL, the all-time leader is Jim Kaat who has won 14 awards each year it is. 1962-75.
Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez holds the birdie honor with 13, while Johnny Bench comes in second with 10 in all they were won from 1968-77 (ten years in a row). But Rodriguez also has a streak of 10 streaks from 1992-2001.
Keith Hernandez takes first base honors with 11 in a row from 1978-88. Don Mattingly is the runner with 9. Roberto Alomar finishes second most for a second baseman with 10 and Ryne Sandberg with 9, all in a row from 1983-91. At third base, Brooks Robinson has 16 hits every year from 1960-75; the second most is Mike Schmidt with 10 string nine in a row from 1976-84.
It should be no secret that the all time leader at shortstop is the one and only “Oz”. Ozzie Smith holds the record for 13, all in a row from 1980-92. Omar Vizquel is your runner up with 11, nine in a row in the AL from 1993-2001, and now two in a row in the NL in 2005-06. But with all that said, I don’t think we’ll see a baseball game short of Ozzie Smith’s cap ever again.
In the AL outfield we have Al Kaline and Ken Griffey, Jr. each with 10. Griffey, Jr. won 10 in a row from 1990-99. In the NL, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente both have 12 and both have hit streaks — Mays. from 1957-68 and Clemente from 1961-1972. And Mais received the inaugural award the first year. On a side note, Atlanta’s Andruw Jones just won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove as an outfielder and if he stays healthy, he could review the books.
So there you have your winners of all time with the most Gold Gloves in each area. Now we’re going to get to the meat of the article and discuss all the teams chosen by the fans of the past and announced in the classic solstice. So here is the all-time pain point for baseball fans.
Starting at pitcher, he was the obvious choice as Greg Maddux won his 17th this past season and 17 of the last 18 years. My pick would probably be Maddux as well, but I’m leaning a little more towards Jim Kaat, mostly because he was a lefty and very ungainly in stature. But he was able, as I fear, to get out of the mound as if it were no business. So I’ll settle and start Maddux and keep Kaat as a lifter or closer.
Where the catcher was involved I was in total agreement on this one — Johnny Bench was the fans choice; so he declares to be mine. Although Pudge has 13 Gold Gloves to bank 10, it doesn’t matter to me. Johnny Bench was clearly the best catcher the game has ever seen and far more class than Rodriguez could ever hope to be.
The first base is the one that just really threw me for a loop. Benedict Parker was the fans choice. How do you choose Wes Parker over the likes of Keith Hernandez? Parker won six Gold Gloves, but Parker? Right now, my choice is Don Mattingly over Hernandez and it’s because Mattingly was a far more talented first baseman. Hernandez was good, but he either hit it out of the park or choked it at the plate. He had more psychological problems. Mattingly was one of the best pure hitters in the game, and had a lifetime fielding percentage of .996 and a .307 lifetime batting average. Hernandez was nearly as good, having a .994 fielding percentage, but his batting average was 11 points less than Mattingly’s at .296, and he had 60 fewer runs home Forget Benedict Parker; Give me Donnie Baseball.
Again there is a dilemma with second base. The players choice was Joe Morgan; mine is Ryne Sandberg. If you want to know why not Robbie Alomar just look at his character and sportsmanship. Despite his abilities on the field, Alomario will never be respected for what he did against the referees on the road. I think Morgan is the fans choice because of the popularity and part of the Big Red Machine in Cincy. But Sandberg clearly had better numbers and nine Gold Gloves compared to Morgan’s five. Goodbye Alomar, you have no class.
There is no debate about third base—Brooks Robinson hands it over. This is the best in the books, and the clearest choice of fans, and in my opinion, the greatest offensive third that has ever played a hot corner. Not only is no one close, but no one is playing today who will finish his 16th Gold Glove career at third base.
The same is true with shortstop. I have spoken to the books, I have spoken to the fans, now I have spoken. Ozzie Smith is the greatest of all time. Like Brooks Robinson, Smith was a man vacuum cleaner in the middle of the villain. Though Omar Vizquel is close second as far as amount goes with 11 Gold Gloves, that’s what it is and that’s why the great and wonderful Oz still carries #1 and always will in my book.
Now it’s time to start breaking out the outfield with AL. And now we are faced with the dilemma of another position here. The fans picked a total of three — two center fielders (Mays and Griffey, Jr.) and one right fielder (Clemente). Granted, Griffey, Jr. he was in the AL, but as it stands, he is now in the NL so all the choices are NL players now.
The AL outfielders selected in the record books were Al Kaline and Ken Griffey, Jr. with 10 GG’s in pairs. But what about Mickey Mantle? Mantle won only one Gold Glove in 1962, two parts of the way through his career, but before the Gold Glove award began in 1957, he probably received at least 10. Prior to Mantle, Jimmy Piersall and Minnie Minoso won the award over Mantle. The irony here is that Piersall was the biggest psychopath to ever put on a uniform and Minoso was not a full time player being used more as a pinch hitter than a fielder. Coat’s stats are certainly some of the best for the toughest position in the outfield with 536 career homers (the most ever by a transition-hitter), a .298 lifetime batting average, and a .987 slugging percentage. I won’t even bother with Mi-no-show and Fatum-sall. Neither can reach “Mick”.
The NL is right on the money with Clement and Mays and so are the fans. This is not open to debate. But there can only be three outsiders so for my money it’s Clemente, Kaline, and Mays with Kaline playing in left field in this game. a>.
There you have it; the greatest gold glove team of all time. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will answer them as quickly as I can.
Sources:
Baseball Almanac http://baseball-almanac.com
Baseball Library http://www.baseballlibrary.com
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.com
