Mets' Francisco Lindor, Yankees' Anthony Volpe among Gold Glove finalists at shortstop
Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe could bring home hardware this offseason. Credit: Jim McIsaac
During their otherwise miserable seasons, both New York baseball teams received high-end defense at one of the most important positions.
Shortstops Francisco Lindor of the Mets and Anthony Volpe of the Yankees are finalists for the Gold Glove Award at their shared position in their respective league, Rawlings announced Wednesday.
The Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo also is a finalist for the American League first base honor.
Gold Glove winners will be announced Nov. 5.
Lindor, a two-time Gold Glover in six seasons with Cleveland, is looking for his first such honor with the Mets. His competition is the Cubs’ Dansby Swanson and Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar.
He seemed to benefit from — and certainly enjoyed — the limits on defensive shifts implemented by MLB this season. Teams were required to put two infielders on each side of second base, which allowed Lindor to put his athleticism to better use in what then-manager Buck Showalter called “freestyle” mode.
“I love it. I love it. I love it,” Lindor said in April. “It’s just so much fun, that I can go to the baseball and don’t have to worry about running into anybody. I have a lot of real estate to cover and I gotta be on my toes the whole entire time, I gotta anticipate, I gotta be in the game.”
Volpe, a rookie, is in the final three alongside Carlos Correa of the Twins and Corey Seager of the Rangers. Although his offensive output underwhelmed, he rated well in some defensive metrics, including tying for first among AL shortstops with 16 Defensive Runs Saved.
Rizzo, a four-time Gold Glover who missed the final two months of the season because of post-concussion syndrome, is up against the Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle and Rangers’ Nathaniel Lowe.
Rawlings, the sporting-goods company, has given out the annual defensive honors since 1957. Winners are determined largely by a vote of managers and coaches (who are not allowed to include their own players on their ballots), with advanced defensive statistics also factored in.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
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