Marcus Stroman awarded Gold Glove

Lost in the devastation of Roy Halladay’s passing was news that Marcus Stroman won the first Gold Glove of his career. He edged out Chris Sale and Alex Cobb as the American League’s best defensive pitcher, while Kevin Pillar was edged out by Minnesota’s Byron Buxton for the centre field Gold Glove.

Stroman becomes the second Blue Jays pitcher to win the award, as R.A. Dickey won it back in 2013. The Gold Glove is voted on by coaches and managers in each league, making it more reputation and eye-test driven than sabermetrically decided.

Stroman is a deserving pick for the award. Back in college he played the infield for the Duke Blue Devils and if you watch him practice in the field during warm ups, he honestly looks like he’s good enough to fill in at second base during a Major League game. Stroman is also a pitch-to-contact guy, making his fielding prowess all the more important.

Kevin Pillar was finalist for the centre field Gold Glove for the third season in a row, but again came up short. Byron Buxton was given the award, which is certainly the right choice. Pillar makes spectacular highlight reel catches, but Buxton does that as well and has superior underlying defensive numbers.

Up next for Stroman? A World Series MVP and a Cy Young would look nice in the trophy case.