Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced tonight, and the two Tigers nominees, center fielder Austin Jackson and catcher Alex Avila, were shut out in the AL voting.
Jackson and the Angels Mike Trout lost to the Orioles' Adam Jones, who won his second career Gold Glove
Avila, along with Russell Martin of the Yankees and, the White Sox's A.J. Pierzynski, were beat out by Orioles backstop Matt Weiters. Wieters is AL winner at catcher for the second consecutive season.
The complete list of 2012 Gold Glove award winners in each league:
American League
C: Matt Wieters, Orioles (2nd award)
1B: Mark Teixeira, Yankees (5)
2B: Robinson Cano, Yankees (2)
3B: Adrian Beltre, Rangers (4)
SS: J.J. Hardy, Orioles (1)
LF: Alex Gordon, Royals (2)
CF: Adam Jones, Orioles (2)
RF: Josh Reddick, Athletics (1)
P: Tie: Jeremy Hellickson, Rays (1); Jake Peavy, White Sox (1)
National League
C: Yadier Molina, Cardinals (5)
1B: Adam LaRoche, Nationals (1)
2B: Darwin Barney, Cubs (1)
3B: Chase Headley, Padres (1)
SS: Jimmy Rollins, Philles (4)
LF: Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (2)
CF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (1)
RF: Jason Heyward, Braves (1)
P: Mark Buehrle, Marlins (4)
As they say, it's an honor to just be nominated for such a prestigious award.
As they also say, a Gold Glove signifies a player's defensive prowess just as well as fielding percentage. Which is to say, it doesn't.
In Gold Glove voting, much like All-Star game selections, deserving players are often left on the outside looking in. Especially in the case of Jackson, who deserved both honors.
Jackson is arguably is the best defensive CF in baseball, yet still doesn't own a Gold Glove. That says it all about the validity of the Gold Glove awards.