Red Sox superstar shortstop Xander Bogaerts was named a Rawlings 2022 Gold Glove award finalist Thursday, along with Carlos Correa and rookie sensation Jeremy Pena.
Bogaerts was a finalist for the award in 2015, as well.
Congratulations to Xander on being named a 2022 Gold Glove Award Finalist! pic.twitter.com/e5xj20vQnw
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 20, 2022
Bogaerts is Boston’s lone Gold Glove finalist and would be the first Red Sox to win the award since Mookie Betts in 2019.
Bogey will have more than earned the honor, having had the best defensive season of his career last year after having one of his worst in 2021.
Xander Bogaerts Earned This Honor
2021 was not good for Xander defensively.
Bogaerts had -5 Defensive Runs Saved, his third-best mark over a 162-game season since 2015, and -9 Outs Above Average, his second-worst mark in the Statcast era.
The eye test made Bogey’s defense look worse than it was. It seemed as though he couldn’t get to any of the balls that he used to or make any of the plays he’d made previously. But the eye test is deceiving.
Xander, who had -39 OAA and -55 DRS for his career entering 2021, was challenged by the Red Sox last offseason to improve his defense. He embraced the challenge and turned himself into an above-average defensive shortstop worthy of being a Gold Glove finalist.
The 30-year-old native of Aruba had 4 DRS and 5 OAA last season. His 4 DRS in 2022 was the first season in which his DRS was positive; his 5 OAA is only his second season in the Statcast era that was positive (2 OAA in 2017).
Bogaerts’ .983 fielding percentage (for you traditionalists) and 9 DEF (Fangraphs’ defensive metric) in 2022 were edged out only by his .984 fielding percentage and 9.9 DEF in 2015. His 2.9 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2015 is his second-highest UZR, behind only his 4.9 UZR last season.
The work Xander put in last offseason was evident very early on. He made a lot of plays that he had never made consistently before, if at all, including Derek Jeter-Esque jump-throws across his body almost every night the first couple of months of the season.
Remember when Bogaerts was making plays like this seemingly all the time the first couple months of 2022? Good times. pic.twitter.com/5bbeb91viQ
— Cody Bondeson (@cody_bondeson) October 20, 2022
Perfect timing for him.
How Bogaerts Stacks up to Gold Glove Rivals
2022 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists – Shortstop – AL: Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Jeremy Peña #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/lyqNPcV2nz
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 20, 2022
How does Xander Bogaerts compare to his competition, Correa and Peña, in the 2022 Gold Glove award race?
Pena had 15 DRS, 7 OAA, 10 DEF, a -6.3 UZR, and a .963 fielding percentage in 132 starts (1165 innings) last season. He had the third-most errors (19) among MLB shortstops in 2022.
Correa made 129 starts (1113.1 innings), accumulating 3 DRS, -3 OAA, a 1 UZR, a 2.5 DEF, and a .983 fielding percentage. He had eight errors in 136.1 fewer innings than Bogaerts, who had ten.
Bogey had more games started, more innings, and a better UZR than both Pena and Correa. Only Correa has fewer errors, and only Pena has more DRS, OAA, and a better DEF.
Xander Bogaerts, more than likely, is not winning the award this year, but the fact that he’s even in the conversation has implications for both him and the Red Sox.
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