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Dodgers Justin Turner Named Gold Glove Finalist

By Alex Campos

Oct 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner (10) throws to first base during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs in game two of the 2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner (10) throws to first base during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs in game two of the 2016 NLCS playoff baseball series at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Dodgers have one Gold Glove finalist this year, and he’s a free agent this offseason.

The Dodgers were one of the highest-rated defensive teams this year. Surprisingly, that only led to one Gold Glove nomination.

It’s sort of safe to assume he won’t win, but Justin Turner received a nomination for the third base Gold Glove award in the National League. Anthony Rendon was also nominated, and Nolan Arenado will likely win.

I was supposed to post this yesterday, but a bunch of websites were down. Apologies for the untimeliness.

Now that I can access BBREF and FanGraphs, I can write this piece with stats instead of saying “believe the eye test”.

Turner led NL third basemen in UZR, which “attempts to quantify how many runs a player saved or gave up through their fielding prowess” (per FanGraphs). Turner’s 14.1 was second in all of baseball, only behind former Dodger Adrian Beltre among third basemen. His UZR/150, which is a rate stat rather than a counting stat, was the best among third basemen (17.2, 4.0 more than Beltre’s).

The two other NL nominees topped Turner in Defensive Runs Saved. Turner’s seven was the sixth-best in baseball, behind Rendon’s eight and Arenado’s 20 (lol). DRS and UZR are the two most commonly-accepted defensive measures. Errors and fielding percentage tell part of the story, but they don’t account for range, just for the plays the fielders should make.

Turner made nine errors this season, which is tied for the second-fewest among qualified third basemen. His .972 fielding percentage was tied for seventh-best.

It’s nice to see Turner get recognition, but it’s still surprising that only one Dodger is a finalist. Adrian Gonzalez had been a finalist for four consecutive years and won it in 2014, but isn’t a finalist this year. Despite his struggles on the mound, Zack Greinke received his third straight nomination. As you’ve probably figured out by now, he’s not a Dodger anymore, and the Dodgers’ usual GG representative (Clayton Kershaw) missed two months of the season.

Next: Qualifying Offer Decisions

The winners will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 8th. They’re chosen by a combination of manager/coach votes and their Saber Defensive Index, found here.

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