2010 Gold Gloves

Digging through the Subway receipts and old soy sauce packets in a drawer at DMBL headquarters, the 2010 Gold Glove Awards were unearthed as league executives this week presented the belated accolades. Fielding percentage isn't the only indicator of solid leather and to avoid making a mockery of the defensive awards (You listening, Rafael Palmeiro?), all stats were taken into account in the selection process.

PITCHER: Jason Marquis, Marietta
Marquis led all pitchers in assists per game (1.37) and total chances per game (2.10) in his 28 starts.
Honorable mentions to Newark rookie Brad Bergesen, who led all pitchers in total chances (45) and along with Sardine City's Josh Johnson led the league in assists (31). Philly's C.C. Sabathia led all pitchers with 18 putouts, along with Jordan Zimmermann of Sardine City and Carlos Zambrano, who did it despite being cut by Blue Ridge midseason and playing briefly for New Jersey.

CATCHER: Joe Mauer, Las Vegas

Mauer led the league in putouts per game (8.84) and total chances per game (9.17) while throwing out 20 would-be base-stealers for a .697 clip and just six passed balls in 106 starts.

Yadier Molina of Arkansas had impressive numbers as well, trailing only Mauer in most categories while putting up a 1.000 fielding percentage and less than six passed balls, but made fewer starts, despite appearing in 136 games for the Golden Falcons.

Honorable mention also goes to Marietta's Kurt Suzuki, who led the league in baserunners gunned down with 25 (.753); Philly's Victor Martinez, who was tops in putouts (1,122) and total chances (1,164).

FIRST BASE: Prince Fielder, Carolina

Another razor-thin race, Carolina's Prince Fielder edged Marietta's Adrian Gonzalez and Adam LaRoche of Amityville. Fielder led the league in total chances (1,478), chances per game (9.31), putouts (1,834) and putouts per game (8.72) while making 162 starts and sporting a .997 fielding percentage and being in on 162 double plays. Considering his reputation for his girth, you might be surprised that he was even in the running for Gold Glove. Or you might just say it was a long time coming for Prince.

Gonzalez was right behind him in most every category with 1,435 chances (8.95/game) and 1,337 putouts (8.34/game) and a .994 fielding percentage. LaRoche was tops in fielding percentage (.999) but appeared in only 134 games.

Honorable mention also goes to Kendry Morales, who split his year between Blue Ridge and Newark, led the league in assists (119) but also committed 11 errors for a .992 fielding percentage.

SECOND BASE: Dustin Pedroia, Carolina
Not quite the runaway race that shortstop was, but still a wide margin for Carolina's Dustin Pedroia as he led all second basemen in total chances (826/5.17), assists (524/3.28) and double plays (138) and fielding percentage (.995), all while starting 162 games for the Mudcats.

Honorable mentions go to Vancouver's Chase Utley, who was second in most categories including chances (825/5.09) and assists (503/3.10) and double plays (135), but also was second in errors (16), for a .981 fielding percentage. Robinson Cano of New Jersey and Marietta's Alberto Callaspo led the league in total putouts (312) and matched Hillsborough's Ben Zobrist for most putouts per game (2.03).

SHORTSTOP: Troy Tulowitzki, Carolina
This was probably the least suspenseful race because Tulowitzki led all shortstops in every major category: 795 total chances/5.0 per game; 224 putouts/1.41 per game, 559 assists/3.52 per game, and 118 double plays. He was among a number of iron men shortstops, making all 162 starts, while ranking third in fielding percentage (.985) with 12 errors.
Honorable mention: Hoboken's Hanley Ramirez finished second to Tulo is most every category but committed 21 errors, which isn't bad, especially when you look at league leader Miguel Tejada's 37 E's. Vancouver rookie Elvis Andrus also made 162 starts and was among the league leaders in this bunch.

THIRD BASE: Scott Rolen, Vancouver

This was the toughest race to call with Bridgewater's Ryan Zimmerman and Vancouver's Scott Rolen neck and neck in virtually every category. Zimmerman led the league in total chances (407/2.55), just ahead of Rolen (403/2.49), who was tops with 297 assists (1.84) to Zimm's 281 (1.76). Zimmerman also had the most errors (23) and double plays (40).

Evan Longoria of Sardine City and Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas tied for the lead in putouts (109). Longoria also had the best fielding percentage (.969), just ahead of Rolen (.968). Then you had Adrien Beltre of Blue Ridge and Marietta's Chone Figgins, who got some consideration for their per-game averages but didn't quite make enough starts to warrant the hardware. Beltre qualified for a league-leading 2.62 total chances per game while Figgins was second in assists per game with 1.83.

LEFT FIELD: Franklin Gutierrez, New Jersey

Gutierrez only committed four errors for a .989 fielding percentage, led all left-fielders with 2.55 chances per game and trailed only Matt Holliday in total chances. His 10 assists were fourth-best and Gutierrez patroled New Jersey's left field in 158 games; only three left-fielders played all 162 games.

Honorable mention goes to Marietta's Jason Bay, who led all left-fielders with 16 assists and along with Ryan Braun of Sardine City and Newark's Manny Ramirez finished with a 1.000 fielding percentage.

CENTER FIELD: Denard Span, Hoboken
There's no shortage of speedy center fielders to choose from. New Jersey's Shane Victorino led the league with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage but it was Hoboken's Denard Span who led all centerfielders by a wide margin in total chances (510/3.22) and putouts (493/3.11) in 162 starts. Despite his 7 errors (third most), he had a .986 fielding percentage and was third with 10 assists.

Andrew McCutcheon of Blue Ridge had the high mark with 13 assists. Honorable mentions also go to Carlos Beltran of Bridgewater, who was second in total chances (420/2.98) and putouts (407/2.89) and Vancouver's Adam Jones and Hillsborough rookie Carlos Gonzalez.

RIGHT FIELD: Hunter Pence, Blue Ridge
Right field is where the arm is, so it would be easy to hand this year's Gold Glove to Nelson Cruz of Amityville, who led the league with 10 assists. You could also go with the wily veteran Ichiro Suzuki of Marietta, who was second in total chances per game (2.52) and putouts per game (2.42). But he made only 124 starts and committed seven errors for a .972 fielding percentage.

Meanwhile, New Jersey's Seth Smith was the only right fielder to start 162 games and he had a sterling 1.000 fielding percentage and was second in total chances (349/2.23), total putouts (340/2.17), and assists.

We went with Pence for his solid .990 fielding percentage (4 errors) while leading all right fielders in total chances (384/2.55) and putouts (378//2.51). Honorable mentions also go to Newark's J.D. Drew and Nick Markakis of Sardine City, who also sported 1.000 fielding percentages.

First half, ROY review

A losing record probably kept Sardine City’s Joba Chamberlain off the all-star team, but the '09 Listach Award may be in sight for the 2008 first-rounder. Drafted as an ineligible third overall, he ended the first half leading the league in K/9 at 11.1 and led all rookies with 116 strikeouts and a 3.43 ERA, through 94 1/3 inning. But Joba managed only a 5-7 record despite 9 of 16 quality starts and a 1.35 WHIP.

Chamberlain's competition for the Listach may not come from any fellow starters or first-round picks. This year's first round featured a bumper crop of starters, but many have struggled through the first half. Ricky Nolasco of Arkansas leads all rookies in IP with 114 2/3 but was 4-9 with a 4.87 ERA in 17 starts (8 QS). Likewise, New Jersey's Edinson Volquez, taken third overall (the first pitcher), has made 8 of 17 quality starts and cracked 100 IP but was just 4-7 with a 5.19 ERA. Amityville's Chris Volstad stood at .500 (6-6) and made 9 of 16 quality starters, but would have to bring his 4.42 ERA and 1.40 WHIP down some to make a run in the second half. You have to get to the second round to find a starter above .500 and thats Jair Jurrjens of Arkansas, who was 8-4 in the first half despite a 5.21 ERA, with 6 of 15 starts quality. He leads rookies with 3 CG and 2 SHO.

Hoboken's Clayton Kershaw, an ineligible 4th round pick in 2008, made only 7 starts in the first half after supplanting fellow rookie Nick Blackburn in the rotation but he was impressive, notching 5 quality starts while going 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.

Could the Listach be swiped by a reliever? Newark’s Joey Devine leads all rookies with 15 saves (2^nd in the league) in 27 games, along with a 2-1 mark. The 2009 first-rounder also has a tidy 2.10 ERA to go with a 1.17 WHIP. He would be only the second relief pitcher to win Rookie of the Year (John Rocker, 1999).

A few batters have played prominent roles in their team’s lineups during the first half and might well be on the inside track for the ROY hardware. Chris Davis leads all rookies, playing in all 82 games for Las Vegas mostly at DH with a smattering of 1B and 3B. He’s also tops in HRs (18), RBIs (58) and an eye-popping 112 strikeouts. Jay Bruce of DC was second to Davis in HRs (17) and RBIs (50), with both on pace to drive in 100 as rookies.

Shin-Soo Choo has helped pace Hillsborough’s league-best offense, leading rookies in batting average (.298), and slugging (.545), as well as doubles (23), while getting into 67 games for the Hitmen. Hillsbrough’s rookie backstop, Kelly Shoppach, has split time with Russell Martin behind the plate and made the most of it, with 19 doubles, 10 home runs and a .527 slugging percentage at the break.

New Jersey’s Elijah Dukes got an all-star nod thanks to his impressive first half, that include a rookie leading 47 runs scores, and along with Choo, a rookie-best .382 on-base percentage. He’s also knocked in 37 runs with 14 home runs and 16 doubles to make for a .536 slugging percentage. second among rooks.

There’s not much pop behind Denard Span, but he made all 80 starts in center field for Hoboken while stealing 6 bases and scoring 43 runs. Along with Philly’s Fred Lewis, Span leads all rookies with 6 triples in the first half and his 83 hits are just ahead of the 81 compiled by Davis and Carolina's Mike Aviles. Lewis and Aviles also lead rookies with 10 SBs.

Here come the Bombers

Watch out for the Blue Ridge Bombers! Yesterday's 5-4 win over Arkansas was the team's 4th straight, bringing them to 3 games under the .500 mark. Edwin Encarnacion and Carl Crawford each had 3 hits. Crawford, in fact, only needed a home run to hit for the cycle. The club broke a tie with Arkansas to move into 5th place alone.

Vancouver's Ryan Spilborghs was 2-4 yesterday, bringing his league-high hitting streak up to 14 games. Spilborghs, who is now batting .333 for the season, led the team to a 5-3 win over D.C. Jeff Clement and Jerry Hairston each were 2-3. The Fist suffered a blow though when starter Hiroki Kuroda, in only his second DMBL start, tripped over a blade of grass in the second inning. "They cut the honorable grass to high!" said Kuroda through an interpreter. This opens the door for the return of Vancouver legend Greg Maddux, who announced that this will be his final season in the DMBL. Maddux has already accepted a part-time role as pitching coach for the team.

Denard Span and Mike Napoli each had 4 RBIs in an 11-2 clubbing of Amityville. Span hit a two-run double and Napoli capped the same inning off with a grand slam in a 4th inning that saw the Cutters score 7 runs. Jeremy Guthrie limited the Ant Slayers to 4 hits in 6 innings of work to even his record at 3-3.

Las Vegas got revenge against Newark with a 9-3 victory, pounding Randy Johnson for 7 runs in 2.2 innings. Jeff Keppinger (3-5, 2 RBIs), Chris Davis (3-5, 2 homers, 3 RBIs) and Richie Sexson (3-4) led the Rat offensive and Tim Lincecum improved to 4-1. The Sugar Bears remained in a 2nd place tie with Marietta, who lost 6-5 to New Jersey, but both teams lost a game to the Rats in the standings.