Gold Glove Winners

Yesterday Major League Baseball announced its annual Gold Glove winners and Philadelphia’s own Jimmy Rollins and Aaron Rowand each took home some hardware. Aaron Rowand lead the National league in centerfield assists with 11, while committing just 2 errors in 405 chances. JRoll put up similarly staggering numbers with 11 errors in 717 chances at arguably the most difficult position in baseball. I’m pretty sure Jimmy was also rewarded for his consistency since he did play in every single game this season. For both players it marks their first career Gold Glove.

The accolade for JRoll adds to his already strong resume for National League Most Valuable Player, which will be announced on Tuesday, November 20. It is notable that the other frontrunner for the award, Matt Holliday, was left out of the Gold Glove winner’s circle, despite having the second best fielding percentage at his position. So, if Holliday isn’t even the best fielder at his position, does he still have a shot at MVP? Of course, but Friday will tell us more about his and Jimmy’s chances as the Silver Slugger Awards will be handed out that day for the best hitter at each position. JRoll surely is a front runner for that position, despite his All-Star snub in favor of J.J Hardy and Jose Reyes. Neither of those guys will likely take home the Silver Slugger, but there will be stiff competition from Florida’s Miguel Cabrera. Still it seems the MVP-question now hinges on Friday’s Silver Slugger decision. If JRoll were to win both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, one would think he’d be a lock for MVP even if Holliday won a Silver Slugger too…right?