masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSo much for the Orioles having four Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners in their infield.
The best they can do is two after first baseman Chris Davis and third baseman Manny Machado were named finalists yesterday in the American League.
No team has sported four Gold Glove winners in the infield in the same season, but the Orioles came close in the past. Brooks Robinson, Mark Belanger and Davey Johnson won the award in 1969 and 1971, and Robinson, Belanger and Bobby Grich won it from 1973-1975….

So much for the Orioles having four Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners in their infield.

The best they can do is two after first baseman Chris Davis and third baseman Manny Machado were named finalists yesterday in the American League.

No team has sported four Gold Glove winners in the infield in the same season, but the Orioles came close in the past. Brooks Robinson, Mark Belanger and Davey Johnson won the award in 1969 and 1971, and Robinson, Belanger and Bobby Grich won it from 1973-1975. It’s quite a leather legacy in Baltimore.

The 2000 Indians had Travis Fryman, Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar. The 2010 Yankees had Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira.

The Orioles considered the possibility in 2016, but shortstop J.J. Hardy and second baseman Jonathan Schoop were excluded from the list of finalists.

Davis has pretty much conceded the award to the Royals’ Eric Hosmer, who’s won it the past three seasons, but he’s a deserving finalist with more scoops than Baskin-Robbins. Machado was a lock for the final three and should be considered the favorite over the Rangers’ Adrian Beltre and the Mariners’ Kyle Seager. I don’t need the defensive metrics recited to me.

I did, however, turn to them while considering Schoop’s omission.

I watch him on a daily basis – he’s the only guy in the majors to start 162 games – and marveled at plays he made and the strength of his throwing arm. I couldn’t find anyone better at turning a double play, but again, bias comes from prolonged exposure.

schoop-fielding-gray-sidebar.jpgSchoop committed eight errors for a .989 fielding percentage. Robinson Cano committed three for a .996 percentage, Dustin Pedroia committed six for a .990 percentage and Ian Kinsler committed nine for a .988 percentage.

Now take a look at defensive runs saved, as chronicled by FanGraphs.com. Schoop is at -1, Pedroia and Kinsler are 12 and Cano is 11. Schoop also has a -2.4 ultimate zone rating (UZR) and -1.8 UZR150, which computes value over 150 games played.

Pedroia has a 12.5 UZR and 13.9 URZ150, Kinsler has an 8.5 UZR and 7.5 UZR150, and Cano has a 1.5 UZR and 2.2 UZR150.

I’ll need someone with a stronger defensive metrics background to explain the discrepancy. I’m taking volunteers.

The nominees at each position were determined by manager and player voting and an assortment of defensive statistics beyond the standard error count.

* Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was chosen as the Sporting News Player of the Year. He received 84 votes to outdistance the Red Sox’s Mookie Betts with 64.

Orioles closer Zach Britton finished eighth with 14 votes and Machado was 11th with two.

Anyone find it interesting that Britton was ahead of Machado? I’m assuming that Machado receives more MVP votes than Britton from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, but I promise nothing.

* Outfielder Henry Urrutia no longer is playing winter ball in Venezuela. Leones del Caracas released him on Tuesday after only 15 games.

Urrutia got off to a hot start, hitting .357 in his first week, but he had four hits in his last 23 at-bats over seven games, committed an error in the outfield and was cut loose. He was batting .264/.322/.321 with three doubles, seven RBIs, five walks and seven runs scored. He was 7-for-18 against left-handers.

At least two other teams expressed interest in Urrutia, but a rule prohibits foreign players from signing with another team in the league in the same year after being released, so he’s headed back to the U.S. today.

“This year has been so hard,” Urrutia wrote in a text message.

He isn’t kidding.

Urrutia also was designated for assignment and demoted from Triple-A Norfolk to Double-A Bowie. He batted .316/.354/.425 in 75 games with the Baysox.

* I can confirm that Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh was under consideration for the vacant manager’s position with SK Wyverns in the Korean Baseball Organization. Coolbaugh never spoke with anyone about the job, which went to Astros bench coach Trey Hillman, because he’s still under contract with the Orioles until Nov. 1.

Hillman received a two-year deal worth $1.6 million in U.S. dollars, according to reports. The salary alone would have intrigued Coolbaugh, who played for the KBO’s Hyundai Unicorns back in 1998.

Coolbaugh is waiting to hear from the Orioles about a new contract. Manager Buck Showalter said he expects his staff to return in 2017, with pitching coach Dave Wallace the only exception. Wallace is retiring from major league coaching, but he could stay in the organization in an instructional role.

* A reminder that the seventh annual KidsPeace 5K/1-mile walk with Buck and Angela Showalter is Saturday at Camden Yards. I suggest that you visit www.kidspeace5K.org.

Since the Showalters arrived in Baltimore, they made it a priority to become deeply involved in the community. It’s not just for show.

“I think it’s one of those things where it shocks me when people are thanking us so much for being involved and they are so appreciative and continually tell you how much they appreciate you coming out and being a part,” Angela said yesterday in a conference call with reporters.

“I guess that really shocks me because I think, why wouldn’t you do that? The best way you know the city and the town you live in is to be involved. The people you’re supporting, they thank you, the kids in foster care and the foster care parents. And I don’t want to forget them because these kids would all be in a group home if we didn’t have our foster care parents, which is something we always need more of.”

“It’s been more impactful in our lives than anything else,” Buck added. “You realize the avenue or the venue that you have and it’s about how we use our lives to impact others. Really when it’s all said and done, that’s what it’s really going to be about. It’s going to be what you’ve left behind, your impact on your own children and impacting other people’s lives. I don’t think, and Angela and I feel the same way, will ever be able to repay the impact that Baltimore’s had on our lives and our children. It’s not always take.

“The bottom line is it’s the right thing to do. It’s got nothing to do with making you feel better about yourself or whatever. It’s just the right thing to do and there’s a certain sincerity about this. It’s been twice as impactful on our lives as it is the other way around. That’s saying a lot.”

Interest in the race and participation continues to grow with each passing year.

“The first year we had it, I remember like it was yesterday, the weather was terrible and there were probably 30 people in it,” Buck said. “The Orioles have been kind enough to let us use Camden Yards, which has been a big draw for everybody. It’s just been amazing to me how it’s grown, and it has a lot to do with the organization Angela and the group have done.”

“We’ll have our numbers,” Angela said, “and they’ll say we have like 700, and it seems in the last few days it really goes crazy. People on the spur of the moment decide to come down. Hopefully, we get a lot of walk-up people. It can change overnight.

“We’ve had to increase our shirt count every year. I know that.”

Participants are encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes. It’s evolved into a family event.

“It gives you a chance to communicate with your own children that there are kids out there that don’t necessarily live the same way you do,” Angela said. “It is about family, it is about community, and it does take a village to raise a child and so the whole city of Baltimore has become a village for these kids in foster care.”

Buck wrote a blog entry for MASNsports.com that expands on the race and the Showalters’ involvement.