If you have lost patience with the Gold Glove Award as a measure of defensive excellence, the Fielding Bible Awards are here to help.
Voted on by a 10-person panel which includes the likes of Bill James, Peter Gammons, Rob Neyer, Joe Posnanski, Doug Glanville, John Dewan and the video scouting team at Baseball Info Solutions, the award aims to recognize the best defensive player at each position in major league baseball. This is the seventh year of the award.
Below are the 2012 winners:
C – Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B – Mark Teixeira, Yankees
2B – Darwin Barney, Cubs
SS – Brendan Ryan, Mariners
3B – Adrian Beltre, Rangers
LF – Alex Gordon, Royals
CF – Mike Trout, Angels
RF – Jason Heyward, Braves
P – Mark Buehrle, Marlins
Buehrle, a unanimous choice, has won the award in four straight years while Beltre was the only other repeat winner. Trout, Teixeira, Barney, Ryan, Gordon and Heyward are all first-timers. Molina, who previously won at catcher from 2007-2010, took the award back after Matt Wieters won last year.
This year’s Gold Glove Award winners for the National League and American League will be unveiled during a special broadcast of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight next Tuesday.
