Mookie Betts is lone Red Sox Gold Glove winner

MLB and Rawlings announced their Gold Glove winners on Tuesday night, kicking off an awards season that will run into next week. We all know that this particular award doesn’t mean much and that we still aren’t nearly good enough at judging defense for Gold Gloves to be taken as gospel. That being said, things are a lot better than they were even just a few years ago. For one thing, the voting pool as a whole is a lot more educated and responsible than they were in years past. Furthermore, the voting structure has changed so that some of the vote total is from defensive metrics. Granted, single-season defensive metrics are far from the most reliable source, but compared to some old voters, it’s a step up.

If you’ll recall, the Red Sox had four finalists this year. Those were Mookie Betts, Mitch Moreland, Dustin Pedroia and Chris Sale. As it turns out, just one of them actually went home with the award.

Betts was something of a no-brainer for this award, as he is one of the truly elite defensive players in the game. There is some hesitance for putting that title on someone who plays in a corner, and that’s fair. However, Betts plays next to Jackie Bradley who is another elite defensive player, and he also plays in Fenway’s right field, one that is unlike any other right field in baseball. Betts has elite range, a wildly strong and accurate arm and a flair for the dramatic just for a little extra cherry on top. We are truly lucky for being able to watch his work in the outfield. It was his second straight Gold Glove.

Unfortunately, none of Pedroia, Moreland and Sale could take home the award. The real surprise of this group was at second base, where Brian Dozier won. Granted, Dustin Pedroia probably didn’t deserve it just based on his lack of playing time through the year, but it seemed like Ian Kinsler was the safe bet here. Meanwhile, Eric Hosmer — he who is already linked to the Red Sox — won at first base while Marcus Stroman took home the award for pitchers.