Yankees LF Brett Gardner Named As Finalist For AL Gold Glove Award

New York Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner has been named as one of the three finalists for the 2016 American League Gold Glove award.

Yankees LF Brett Gardner Named As Finalist For AL Gold Glove Award

Sports retail giant Rawlings announced the three finalists at each position for the awards on Thursday, and Gardner is one of the standout defenders from this season being considered for the honor. The winners of the awards will be revealed on Nov. 8.

As a natural center fielder forced over to left by the Yankees’ acquisition of Jacoby Ellsbury, Gardner, 33, has long maintained a reputation as one of MLB’s better defensive corner outfielders, although he has never won any awards for his stellar performances.

The other two finalists for the Gold Glove are the Kansas City Royals’ Alex Gordon and the Houston Astros’ Colby Rasmus. 

Gordon is seen as the favorite after winning the prize four times in the last five years. With defensive awards, reputation generally matters more than metrics, and Gordon has definitely built himself a good reputation.

By most defensive metrics, the award should probably go to Rasmus, who recorded an incredible 20 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 14.8 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), despite just playing 107 games in the field this year.

The two most popular defensive metrics are split on Gardner and Gordon. Gardner has a clear advantage by DRS at 12 vs. 4, while Gordon’s 8.0 UZR surpasses Gordon’s 2.2 mark. Gardner is also very fast, and has made some amazing catches over the years. He had 86 Out of Zone (OOZ) plays to Gordon’s 62. Despite Gordon’s stronger arm, Gardner also had more outfield assists (9 vs. 6).

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 24: Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees makes the catch for the out on a hit by Kevin Pillar of the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on May 24, 2016 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)