Four Braves named finalists for the Gold Glove award

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Freddie Freeman

The Braves were one of the best defensive teams in baseball during the regular season, so unsurprisingly, several of their starters were named finalists for the Gold Glove award — Dansby Swanson, Matt Olson, Travis d’Arnaud, and Max Fried.

Congratulations to all four of them, but I have a bone to pick with this award because there seems to be no rhyme or reason why players are chosen.

With all due respect to Matt Olson, he has no business being a finalist for the award. But because he’s been an elite defensive first baseman in the past, he gets the nod over other deserving candidates. I think Dansby Swanson should win the award for shortstops, and Max Fried is consistently one of the best defensive pitchers in baseball. Catcher is anybody’s best guess, but d’Arnaud has been fantastic for the Braves behind the plate.

The one omission that perturbs me is Michael Harris II. Perhaps he didn’t play enough games to qualify, but he was unquestionably one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball this season. I thought he had a real chance of taking home the award, but somehow, he wasn’t even named a finalist. That’s not right.

I don’t think any of these players are going to lose sleep over not winning a Gold Glove, but the award has lost a lot of its lore in recent years because they’ve done a miserable of picking finalists and winners.

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Photographer: John Adams/Icon Sportswire

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