Tag Archives: R.A. Dickey

Texas Rangers Star Adolis García Wins First-Ever Gold Glove Award

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It’s the golden hour for Adolis García.

The 30-year-old Cuban professional baseball player and Texas Rangers outfielder has earned his first-ever Gold Glove, an award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League. Garcia earned the award as a right fielder in the American League.

Adolis García While his career-high 39 home runs during the regular season and eight in the postseason made headlines, you can’t overlook García’s tremendous defense in 2023. He earned the award, the fourth by an outfielder in Rangers history, due in particular to his cannon of an arm — his average arm strength of 93 mph. García had a team-best 11 outfield assists this season, which was tied for third in the American League. It was his third straight season with 10-plus outfield assists. He ranked third among qualified MLB right fielders in defensive runs saved (seven).

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos is also first time winner. The 29-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher, known as “La Makina,” managed to bounce back from his worst season in the big leagues in 2022, when he struggled to a 5.23 ERA, to win a Gold Glove.

In ’23, he was more like the Berríos of old, posting a 3.65 ERA over 32 starts. But Toronto also got stellar defense off the mound from the right-hander, who joins Marcus Stroman (2017) and R.A. Dickey (2013) as the only pitchers in franchise history to win a Gold Glove Award.

Another first time winner… Houston Astros utilityman Mauricio Dubón. The 29-year-old Honduran professional baseball utility player appeared at every position on the diamond except pitcher and catcher for Houston in 2023, spending the majority of thetime either at second base or in center field.

He was a slightly below-average hitter, so most of his value came from his defense. Despite spending about half of a season playing second base (616 2/3 innings), he finished with five defensive runs saved at the position and two in the outfield.

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez won his second consecutive Gold Glove award. The 25-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop and second baseman led American League second basemen with 18 outs above average and 23 defensive runs saved.

 

Giménez is the second Cleveland player to win multiple Gold Glove Awards at second base, joining Roberto Alomar, who won three straight from 1999-2001.

 

Gabriel Moreno has become the first Arizona Diamondbacks catcher to win a Gold Glove award.

The 23-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball catcher led MLB backstops in defensive runs saved (20) and Statcast‘s caught stealing above average (nine) in 2023. And with only 19 Major League games played behind the plate entering the season, only two non-rookies (excluding pitchers) — Ramón Urías (10 games at third base entering 2022) and Pokey Reese (11 games at second base entering 1999) — played in fewer games at the position for which they won the Gold Glove Award. At 23 years and 229 days old, Moreno is the sixth-youngest catcher to win his first Gold Glove honor.

San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. has won his first Gold Glove.

Tatis took home the National League award in right field ahead of finalists Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lane Thomas of the Washington Nationals.

When Tatis was moved from shortstop to right field to begin 2023, we wondered how he’d fare out there. He was a revelation defensively, leading MLB with 29 defensive runs saved, and his average arm strength of 96.6 mph trailed only Rockies rookie Nolan Jones in the NL. Tatis’ 24 career games in the outfield before the ’23 campaign were the fourth fewest played at a position for which a non-rookie won a Gold Glove Award.

The Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs tied for the high among clubs with three winners each, Rawlings announced Sunday.

Berríos, and Giménez earned $50,000 bonuses in their contracts..

Voting was conducted among managers and up to six coaches from each team, who can’t select players on their own club. Since 2013, voting has been factored with a Society for American Baseball Research defensive index, which comprises about 25% of the total.

The utility category is based on a SABR formula and additional defensive statistics.

Carlos Beltran Among 14 Newcomers on MLB Hall of Fame Ballot

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Carlos Beltran is in the running for a special place in Major League Baseball history…

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican former professional baseball player is among 14 newcomers on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America‘s MLB Hall of Fame ballot.

Carlos BeltranBeltran played as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers.

Beltrán was the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1999 while with the Royals. He was named to nine MLB All-Star Games and won three Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards.

Beltrán was the fifth player to reach both 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases and just the fourth switch hitter with 400 home runs. He has the highest success rate in stealing bases (88.3%) of any major league player with 300 or more career attempts. He also joined the 30–30 club in 2004. In 2013, Beltrán was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. He retired after the 2017 season, winning a World Series title with the Astros.

Other players appearing on the ballot for the first time include John Lackey, Jered Weaver, R.A. Dickey, Huston Street, Francisco Rodríguez, Bronson Arroyo and Matt Cain. They’re joined by Jacoby Ellsbury, Jayson Werth, Mike Napoli, J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta and Andre Ethier, the Hall and the BBWAA announced.

Holdovers include Scott Rolen, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner. Rolen received 249 of 394 votes last year (63.2%), when David Ortiz was elected with 307 votes (77.9%), 11 more than the 75% needed. Helton was on 205 ballots (52%) and Wagner 201 (51%).

Voters denied several stars tainted by steroids and scandal.

Barry Bonds (260 votes, 66%), Roger Clemens (257, 65.2%) and Curt Schilling (231, 58.6%) were dropped after their 10th appearances on the ballot last year and are among eight players who will appear on the ballot of the Hall’s contemporary baseball era committee, which meets December 4 in San Diego ahead of baseball’s winter meetings.

Other holdovers on the BBWAA ballot include Andruw Jones (163 votes last year, 41.1%), Gary Sheffield (160, 40.6%), Alex Rodriguez (135, 34.3%), Jeff Kent (129, 32.7%), Manny Ramirez (114, 28.9%), Omar Vizquel (94, 23.9%), Andy Pettitte (42, 10.7%), Jimmy Rollins (37, 9.4%), Bobby Abreu (34, 8.6%), Mark Buehrle (23, 5.8%) and Torii Hunter (21, 5.3%).

Kent, who received his highest percentage last year, will appear on the BBWAA ballot for the 10th and final time.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 24.

Any players elected will be inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown on July 23 along with anyone elected by the contemporary baseball era committee.

A-Rod, a three-time MLB MVP and 14-time MLB All-Star who hit 696 home runs, was suspended for the 2014 season for violating MLB’s drug policy and collective bargaining agreement, and Ortiz’s name was alleged to have appeared on a list of players who tested positive during 2003 survey testing.

Colon Agrees to One-Year, $12.5 Million Deal with the Atlanta Braves

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It’s a Brave(s) new world for Bartolo Colon…

The 43-year-old Dominican MLB pitcher has agreed to a one-year, $12.5 million deal with the Atlanta Braves, pending a physical.

Bartolo Colon

Colon will be joined in Atlanta’s rotation by R.A. Dickey, who agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal on Thursday.

The Braves haven’t confirmed the agreement with Colon, who produced a 3.45 ERA over 33 starts for the New York Mets this past season.

When the Braves entered this offseason, they aimed to target free-agent pitchers who were willing to take short-term deals, because they did not want to block the path of their young starting-pitching prospects who may soon be deemed Major League Baseball ready. Dickey and Colon were immediately projected as top targets, primarily because they have recently been effective and were likely to take a short-term deal at this stage of their careers.

If all goes according to plan, Atlanta will become just the eighth team in Major League history to have two pitchers at least 42 years old to make at least one start in the same season.

The 1990 Texas Rangers (Charlie Hough and Nolan Ryan), the ’87 Cleveland Indians (Steve Carlton and Phil Niekro) and the ’81 Braves (Niekro and Gaylord Perry) are the only teams to have had two of these 42-plus pitchers make at least 10 starts in the same season.

Initially, it was thought Colon would have preferred to remain with the Mets, but the Braves were helped by their lucrative offer (Colon made $7.25 million this past season) and the longstanding relationship the entertaining pitcher shares with president of baseball operations John Hart dating back to their days with the Indians in the 1990s.

Colon also was not guaranteed a spot within the Mets’ rotation, and he is just 11 wins away from matching Juan Marichal‘s record for the most wins (243) by a Dominican-born pitcher.

With Colon and Dickey, the Braves have added a pair of former Cy Young Award winners with a combined 769 career starts and 85 years of age to their starting rotation.

Colon has produced a 3.94 ERA over 500 starts during a career that dates back to April 4, 1997, when he was backed by an Indians lineup that included Atlanta’s current hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and Julio Franco, who at that time (at the age of 37) was still capable of playing second base.

After winning the 2005 American League Cy Young Award with the Angels, Colon battled the lingering effects of a partially torn rotator cuff and produced a 5.18 ERA while totaling just 47 starts over the next five seasons (2006-10). He missed the ’10 campaign while undergoing a stem cell shoulder surgery that drew MLB‘s attention, and he received a 50-game suspension in ’12 after testing positive for a testosterone that was in violation of MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Colon experienced a resurgence in 2013, when he posted a 2.65 ERA over 30 starts for the A’s at age 40. He signed with the Mets the following offseason and proceeded to produce a 3.90 ERA over the past three seasons.

Nationals Pitcher Gonzalez Earns His MLB-Leading 19th Victory

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There’s no denying Gio Gonzalez is making a strong case for this season’s Cy Young Award…

The 26-year-old Cuban American baseball earned his Major League Baseball league-leading nineteenth victory and his Washington Nationals teammates did their part with three home runs to defeat the New York Mets 5-1 on Monday night.

Gio Gonzalez

Gonzalez’s performance this season has helped make him a prime contender for the league’s coveted pitching prize. But that’s something he’s not thinking about right now.

“When you start looking at one thing, it’ll drive you crazy,” he said after the game. “If it comes, it comes.”

Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey currently has 18 wins and a better ERA than Gonzalez, and he’ll be starting against the Nationals on Tuesday. Asked whether he was eager for Washington to face Dickey — and perhaps dent his Cy Young chances — manager Davey Johnson had a simple answer.

“Not really,” he said.

Gio Gonzalez

Kurt Suzuki put the Nationals ahead with a home run right after catcher Kelly Shoppach dropped his foul popup for an error. Ryan Zimmerman launched a two-run shot later in the third inning and Ian Desmond added a two-run drive in the fourth.

That was more than enough for Gonzalez (19-7) and the team with the best record in the majors. The lefty gave up three hits over six innings, none until the Mets’ Scott Hairston homered in the fourth.

Gonzalez worked around five walks and extended his career high for wins. He seemed relaxed enough, chatting with fans in the front row while waiting in the on-deck circle in the sixth as Suzuki batted.

Gonzalez matched a season high for walks, but he lowered his ERA to 2.93.

“Couldn’t find the strike zone,” he said. “Drank a little too much coffee. I don’t know what it was.”

The Nationals opened a six-game swing that ends this weekend in Atlanta, where they’ll play their closest pursuers in the NL East.