The Mariners went 1-for-3 in their Gold Glove aspirations Tuesday, with only right fielder Ichiro Suzuki so honored for defensive excellence.
Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, thought of by many as the best defensive center fielder in the game in 2009, was passed over, as was third baseman Adrian Beltre, who was slowed by injuries and had his two-year Gold Glove reign come to an end.
For Ichiro, the award was the ninth in his nine seasons in the major leagues, making him the first player ever to win a Gold Glove in each of his first nine seasons in the majors. The 36-year-old right fielder is the seventh outfielder to win at least nine Gold Gloves in a career. And that total doesn’t count the seven consecutive Gold Gloves he won in Japan while playing for the Orix Blue Wave before coming to the U.S.
Ichiro had four errors in 326 chances. Ichiro’s career fielding percentage of .993 with the Mariners is the second-highest for big league outfielders playing a minimum of 540 games. He has made just 24 errors in his career, and his 83 outfield assists are the most in baseball since he broke in with the Mariners in 2001.
Also winning Gold Gloves in the outfield were the Angels’ Torii Hunter and a former Mariner, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones. It was the ninth award for Hunter and the first for Jones, whose emergence got more respect from the voters than did that of Gutierrez, whose play in center field for the Mariners ranged from good to breathtaking. Gutierrez made seven errors to Jones’ five, but neither ranked in the top five for fielding percentage among the league’s center fielders. Gutierrez did, however, have 445 putouts, the most of any outfielder in the major leagues by a huge margin.
Former Mariner Mike Cameron, playing for the Brewers, had 404 putouts and Detroit’s Curtis Granderson had 400 as the only other big leaguers to record 400 or more putouts. Jones had nine assists to six for Gutierrez, but the determining factor may have been that Jones played on the East Coast and Gutierrez on the West Coast. The winners are chosen by major league managers and coaches, who are as susceptible as anyone to ESPN highlights each night who likely saw more of Jones than of Gutierrez, playing in the AL West, far from the scrutiny the AL East undergoes.
Here’s the complete American League team (the National League team will be announced Wednesday): Pitcher, Mark Buehrle, White Sox; catcher, Joe Mauer, Twins; first base, Mark Teixeira, Yankees; second base, Placido Polanco, Tigers; third base, Evan Longoria, Rays; shortstop, Derek Jeter, Yankees; outfield, Adam Jones, Orioles, Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners, Torii Hunter, Angels.
