Dan Connolly

Longoria beats Machado for AL Gold Glove at 3B

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If you watched him all year – really, all of his young career – you know just how good of a defensive third baseman Manny Machado is. His reputation in the field is exemplary, though he has only been in the majors since 2012.

But the 25-year-old Orioles third baseman will not pick up his third Gold Glove in five seasons.

In a televised announcement on ESPN on Tuesday night, Machado lost to Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria, who wins the third of his career and first since 2010. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez was the other AL finalist. Colorado’s Nolan Arenado, the player Machado is often compared to, won his fifth straight in the National League.

Machado studied film of how Longoria and last year’s winner, Adrian Beltre, played third base when Machado made the switch from shortstop in 2012. This year, Machado continued to excel in the field despite making 14 errors, the second most of his career. He continues to increase the level of difficulty with the plays he makes, and was third among AL third baseman in defensive runs saved this year with six. Longoria led the AL with 11.

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The award is voted on by the game’s managers and coaches, but it also incorporates advanced defensive statistics into the equation.

Machado won the award in 2013 and 2015. This is the second consecutive year the Orioles had no Gold Glove winners.

Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly has spent more than two decades as a print journalist in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate first covered the Orioles as a beat writer for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record in 2001 before becoming The Baltimore Sun’s national baseball writer/Orioles reporter in 2005. He has won multiple state and national writing awards, including several from the Associated Press Sports Editors. In 2013 he was named Maryland Co-Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. And in 2015, he authored his first book, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." He lives in York, with his wife, Karen, and three children, Alex, Annie, and Grace.

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GSISDANNO says:

November 8, 2017 at 12:29 am

Of all of MLB awards, the Gold Gloves have the least credibility. Longoria is a very good third baseman but he never makes the type of plays that Manny makes. In fact, to me, the infield of Machado, Hardy, Schoop and Davis should be strong GG candidates.
- Dan Connolly says:
  
  November 8, 2017 at 4:01 pm
  
  I think Davis deserved consideration. There were a lot of really good second basemen.