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The 2014 Fielding Bible Awards were announced earlier this week, and to no one's surprise, the Detroit Tigers were shut out. Ian Kinsler, who was far and away the Tigers' best defender according to multiple defensive metrics, finished second to Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox. Five of the 10 award winners came from the American League, with two -- Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals -- playing in the AL Central. Three players -- Gordon, Andrelton Simmons, and Jason Heyward -- were unanimous winners.
Position | Player | Team |
C | Jonathan Lucroy | Milwaukee Brewers |
1B | Adrian Gonzalez | Los Angeles Dodgers |
2B | Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox |
SS | Andrelton Simmons | Atlanta Braves |
3B | Josh Donaldson | Oakland Athletics |
LF | Alex Gordon | Kansas City Royals |
CF | Juan Lagares | New York Mets |
RF | Jason Heyward | Atlanta Braves |
P | Dallas Keuchel | Houston Astros |
Multi | Lorenzo Cain | Kansas City Royals |
The Fielding Bible Awards, which were first established in 2008, offer a more saber-friendly alternative to the Gold Glove awards handed out by the Baseball Writers Association of America every year. The Fielding Bible Awards are selected by a panel of experts, but primarily based on Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), a statistic invented by The Fielding Bible. The awards are also featured in the Bill James Handbook every year. The voters of the Fielding Bible Awards only select one player per position instead of the two (one from each league) selected for a Gold Glove every year. This season, the voters added a "multi-position" category to recognize the efforts of players like Lorenzo Cain and Ben Zobrist, who play multiple positions at a high level.
Kinsler finished a distant second to two-time winner Dustin Pedroia, who garnered a possible 114 out of 120 points. Pedroia was one of two award winners who did not finish first in baseball in DRS at his respective position, though. Kinsler was worth +20 DRS in 2014 compared to Pedroia's +17. However, Pedroia had a higher Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games (UZR/150), and made more out of zone players (OOZ) than Kinsler. Kinsler was the only Tigers player to finish within the top 10 at any position.
The Tigers' last Fielding Bible Award winner was Austin Jackson, who won the center field award in 2011. Former Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers is the only other Tiger to win a Fielding Bible Award. Rogers won the inaugural award for pitchers in 2008.