Martin, Marte named finalist for Gold Glove awards

Russell Martin and Starling Marte were named finalists Thursday for the Gold Glove awards, the defensive honors given to the top player in each league at each position.

In addition to Martin, Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy and St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina were finalists. Justin Upton of the Atlanta Braves and Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins joined Marte as finalists. 

The winners will be announced Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. Here is the list of finalists. 

Martin, 31, previously won a Gold Glove in 2007 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year, he saved 12 runs above average on defense, according to Baseball Info Solutions’ calculations. He threw out 39 percent of runners attempting to steal, second-best to Molina in the National League, and led the NL with 37 runners caught stealing. Martin blocked a lot of pitches in the dirt, preventing wild pitches and keeping runners from advancing.

Baseball Info Solutions’ Defensive Runs Saved statistic calculated that Marte, 26, saved nine runs above average. His speed helps him cover the spacious left field in PNC Park. He has the strongest arm on the team, allowing him to take chances on retiring runners that other outfielders couldn’t take. 

The Gold Gloves, presented by Rawlings, have been criticized in the past for rewarding players based on offensive production rather than defense and relying on voting from coaches and managers who did not properly evaluate defensive contributions. The increase in statistical information quantifying defense and the ongoing uncertainty over those calculations have changed the value of defense and how it is determined. To reflect those changes, Rawlings teamed with the Society for American Baseball Research last March to add a sabermetric component, creating the SABR Defensive Index that counts toward the voting and providing advanced metrics to the managers and coaches.