Platinum Gloves are handed out
The Platinum Gloves were handed out on Sunday, and those go to the top two defensive players in each league. This is different than the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year because this is given out by Rawlings (who also gives out the Gold Gloves) and for other reasons I don’t know. My current “get off my lawn” moment is yelling about there being way too many defensive awards. We get it, different companies make gloves! Anyway, the Red Sox did not get any Platinum Gloves. Instead, it went to a couple of guys out west with Matt Chapman and Nolan Arenado taking ‘em home. It’s a bummer that neither Mookie Betts nor Jackie Bradley Jr. got the American League award, and I think both had a chance. Though, more honestly, I’m not really sure how any of this works. Still, personally this makes me happy because as a former third baseman the hot corner is finally getting the attention it deserves. No other position is as fun to watch defensively. Fight me.
Quintin Berry has retired
Huge news on the retirement front coming right on the heels of Joe Mauer’s retirement. This time it’s another living legend with Quintin Berry hanging up the cleats. Is this being included in this space the sign of a super slow news day? You bet your ass it is. Still, Berry was part of the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox teams and as one of the best running specialists out there it was always fun to see where he’d end up in August to be ready for the postseason roster. For a few years in a row there, he’d end up in the World Series every single year. Now, it’s Terrance Gore’s turn to play the Quintin Berry role.
Bryce Harper could have been on the Astros
The other “big” news from Saturday was a trade from back in July that was agreed to but never completed. According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Astros had a deal in place to acquire Bryce Harper from the Nationals in exchange for a package of three prospects including 2017 first round pick J.B. Bukauskas. Both sides agreed to the deal, but then at the last second the Nationals ownership group nixed the deal, believing the team still had a chance to compete for a playoff spot. As a Red Sox fan, I’m obviously pretty thrilled this deal never went down. Harper had a disappointing year compared to the hype around him, but he still would have been an upgrade in that Astros lineup, and obviously the ALCS was closer than the 4-1 series victory would indicate. At this point, it’ll be interesting to see if the Astros show an interest in Harper as a free agent. I would guess their focus will be on pitching, but it’s not impossible.