Joe Crede has been magnificent at third base for the Twins in 2009. Not only is his fielding percentage the best in the AL, but he also has the least errors at the position. In addition to this, there's a stat called the UZR, which measures a player's effectiveness at a position relative to how many runs it costs his team. Crede's UZR here is best of breed.
Crede is a very valuable Minnesota Twin offensively. Relative to where he hits in the order, his numbers are solid to the point where any team would be happy to have such numbers later in the lineup. His fielding has been better though.
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
It'd seem that Joe Crede should be a shoe-in for the Gold Glove at 3B. All of his stats beat out the competition. Somehow, no one really seems to know what he's accomplished at the position.
Crede gets very little respect for what he does. He's a solid hitter and people recognize this, but virtually no one ever discusses his efficient play as a third baseman. He's simply been phenomenal this year.
There's no question that Crede should win the gold glove at third base this season, in my opinion. Looking at the stats, he dominates his competition in UZR, fielding percentage, and errors. I don't see why he wouldn't.
The Twins seemed to get snubbed for these awards every year. Save for Morneau's recent MVP award, there have been quite a few worthy fielders in recent years who haven't won the award. Castillo, Morneau, and Mauer, to name a few.
The voters for the award are far from objective, and this unfortunately shows. With a small market team like Minnesota, it's hard to get the "pull" that the bigger cities have.
Crede is a very valuable Minnesota Twin offensively. Relative to where he hits in the order, his numbers are solid to the point where any team would be happy to have such numbers later in the lineup. His fielding has been better though.
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
It'd seem that Joe Crede should be a shoe-in for the Gold Glove at 3B. All of his stats beat out the competition. Somehow, no one really seems to know what he's accomplished at the position.
Crede gets very little respect for what he does. He's a solid hitter and people recognize this, but virtually no one ever discusses his efficient play as a third baseman. He's simply been phenomenal this year.
There's no question that Crede should win the gold glove at third base this season, in my opinion. Looking at the stats, he dominates his competition in UZR, fielding percentage, and errors. I don't see why he wouldn't.
The Twins seemed to get snubbed for these awards every year. Save for Morneau's recent MVP award, there have been quite a few worthy fielders in recent years who haven't won the award. Castillo, Morneau, and Mauer, to name a few.
The voters for the award are far from objective, and this unfortunately shows. With a small market team like Minnesota, it's hard to get the "pull" that the bigger cities have.
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