Awards season has been a bag of mixed results for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the latest example being Mookie Betts winning a Gold Glove Award for right field but Cody Bellinger falling short to San Diego Padres center fielder Trent Grisham.
Betts previously took home a Fielding Bible Award but lost out to Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman for National League Outstanding Player in the 2020 Players Choice Awards. Betts remains in the running for NL MVP.
For Bellinger, he was denied a second Gold Glove in as many seasons. On the surface it was somewhat of a surprise that Gresham beat out not only Bellinger but Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. as well.
Walker Buehler and Alex Wood shared their thoughts to the results, with the latter explaining Bellinger spending time at first base arguably was a factor that worked against him.
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) November 4, 2020
Cause he played 19 games at 1st base. https://t.co/g4CHCbDaSo
— Alex Wood (@Awood45) November 4, 2020
Grisham led NL center fielders this season with seven defensive runs saved and was second to the Bellinger’s eight outs above average, with six.
Gold Glove Award winners are typically determined by a vote of managers and their coaches. However, due to the nature of the 60-game schedule in a shortened season, this season’s winners were only based on the Society for American Baseball Research’s Defensive Index (SDI).
It was first incorporated in 2013 to account for approximately 25% of the overall vote. SDI utilizes MLB Advanced Media’s Statcast, Sports Information Solutions data, and STATS, LLC data as well as traditional statistics with advanced analysis.
2020 Gold Glove winners
National League
Pitcher: Max Fried (Braves)
Catcher: Tucker Barnhart (Reds)
First base: Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)
Second base: Kolten Wong (Cardinals)
Third base: Nolan Arenado (Rockies)
Shortstop: Javier Báez (Cubs)
Left field: Tyler O’Neill (Cardinals)
Center field: Trent Grisham (Padres)
Right field: Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
American League
Pitcher: Griffin Canning (Angels)
Catcher: Robert Pérez (Indians)
First base: Evan White (Mariners)
Second base: César Hernández (Indians)
Third base: Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Rangers)
Shortstop: J.P. Crawford (Mariners)
Left field: Alex Gordon (Royals)
Center field: Luis Robert (White Sox)
Right field: Joey Gallo (Rangers)
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