Astros: Greinke wins, others miss out on Gold Glove Awards

Zack Greinke was the only Astros finalist to win a Gold Glove Award.

The Astros had five players named as finalists for Gold Glove Awards, but the results announced Sunday evening were not especially kind to them. Only one of the Astros’ nominated players, Zack Greinke, ended up winning the award, despite many having some deserving cases.

Everyone saw just how good of a defender Greinke is during his impeccable performance in World Series Game Seven. This is his sixth consecutive Gold Glove Award, and the fact that he won in the National League despite spending the season’s final two months in the American League underscores just how good he is.

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A comparison was made to Greg Maddux during the World Series, and the comp makes sense. Greinke is a superb defender in addition to being a crafty pitcher and is making a stronger Hall of Fame case with each passing year. He should be in the mix for his first AL Gold Glove next season.

At first base, Yuli Gurriel was nominated after making great strides defensively. He showcased his improvements in the postseason, making several excellent plays in the Astros’ drive to Game Seven of the World Series. He was beaten out by Matt Olson of the Athletics, who also won last year and had some superb stats.

Jose Altuve was nominated at second base, and he won the award previously in 2015. The defensive metrics were not kind to him, however, making his chances of winning this year quite slim. Ultimately it was Yolmer Sanchez of the White Sox who came away with the trophy.

MVP candidate Alex Bregman was nominated at third base, which was a long time coming. Bregman has always been viewed as a solid defender since he’s been in the majors. Unfortunately he was going up against defensive wizard Matt Chapman, one of the game’s top defenders at any position. Chapman ended up winning, of course.

Josh Reddick was nominated in right field after winning the award back in 2012. He made several highlight reel catches and home run robberies, justifying his spot in the lineup even when his bat was slumping. But the metrics loved defending winner Mookie Betts, as the Boston star takes home his fourth straight award.