Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Avila shut out of Gold Glove awards

The Baseball Writers Association of American announced their 2014 Gold Glove winners tonight, and Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, and Alex Avila were shut out. The three Tigers were all named finalists last week, but only Kinsler was considered a legitimate shot to win. Kinsler lost out to four-time winner Dustin Pedroia, while Cabrera and Avila were bested by a pair of Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez. Hosmer's Gold Glove is the first of his career, while Perez won his second consecutive honor.

Kinsler, who also finished second to Pedroia in the Fielding Bible Awards this year, ranked among the best second basemen in baseball in both old-fashioned and advanced metrics. Kinsler committed nine errors and finished with a .988 fielding percentage. He ranked first among second basemen in the American League with +20 defensive runs saved, while his 13.0 UZR ranked second to Pedroia.

Kinsler's performance resulted in nearly three wins above replacement from defense alone -- the highest total in the American League -- contributing to his season total of 5.5 WAR. This was Kinsler's highest WAR total since 2011.

Despite his reputation as a plodder, Cabrera was an above average defender at first base in 2014. He was worth -1 defensive runs saved, but posted a 4.3 UZR. Cabrera committed five errors during the season and finished the year with a .995 fielding percentage.

Avila further cemented his reputation as one of the better defenders in the American League, earning his second Gold Glove nomination in three years. Avila ranked second to Perez in the AL with +5 defensive runs saved, and he threw out an AL-best 36 base runners. He threw out 35 percent of attempted base stealers, up from 17 percent in 2013.