You're forgiven if this year’s Gold Glove awards slipped below your radar. Rawlings announced the finalists during the most-watched World Series since 2004, and the company made the curious choice to unveil the winners on Tuesday evening, when the rest of the country was preoccupied with the results of a much bigger election. Timing aside, this year’s results are notable because they represent the strongest match between the winners and the plethora of advanced metrics that estimate fielding value.
Designed to recognize the best defender at each position in each league, the Gold Gloves once stood as the last word on fielding, albeit in an appeal-to-authority fashion.