Centerfielder wins 9^th straight; Shortstop beaten out by Jeter

By: JT Onyett

The Gold Glove is what every defensive-minded player strives for, but sometimes history and reputation outweigh present and statistics. While Angels’ outfielder Torii Hunter picked up his ninth straight gold glove, Derek Jeter’s fourth award should come under scrutiny.

For years Derek Jeter has been the gold standard for a slick-fielding shortstop. Many remember his heads-up flip relay to get Jeremy Giambi in the playoffs against the A’s and who can forget his jump throws deep in the hole. But those are in the past, he is not that same shortstop anymore. Although Jeter had a better fielding percentage than the Angels’ shortstop, Aybar boasted a better range factor and turned more double plays than his New York counterpart.

What is range factor? A statistic created by Bill James to measure how many balls a player fields at his position, putting more importance on the number of balls that player gets to than on the amount of errors he might commit. This season Oriole Cesar Izturis (4.89) had the highest range factor of full time shortstops in the American League. Erick Aybar was third in that category with a 4.68 in twenty more games. Jeter’s Range Factor was only 3.90, proving he does not have the range we all remember.

The two had about the same fielding percentage, Jeter at .986 and Aybar at .983. However, Aybar’s range leads to much more put outs and assists than the Yankee Captain in less games. He also turned 102 double plays to Jeter’s 75. Aybar’s strong arm allows him to get assists and turn double plays that no other shortstop in today’s game can make.

While this year history was not on the flashy Angel’s side this season, here’s hoping things change in 2010.