Francisco Lindor’s calling card as he ascended through the minor leagues was his terrific defense. Now he has some major-league hardware to show for it.
Lindor, 22, on Tuesday night was named the Gold Glove recipient among American League shortstops, beating out the Los Angeles Angels’ Andrelton Simmons and the Detroit Tigers’ Jose Iglesias, who were also finalists.
It’s Lindor’s first career Gold Glove in his first year of eligibility. He fell just a few games shy of qualifying for the award in 2015. With it, he became the first Indians shortstop to win a Gold Glove since Omar Vizquel in 2001. He also became the youngest shortstop to win the award since Detroit’s Alan Trammell in 1980, according to Elias.
“It’s an honor, it’s a blessing, and I thank the people from Rawlings, and the coaching staff and teammates throughout the year that helped me,” Lindor said live on ESPN, the network that announced the winners. “It’s an honor, it’s a blessing just to be here, be nominated, and then now [to] win, it’s huge. Words can’t describe how great I [feel] right now. I can’t wait to show it off to my pops.”
Lindor finished the year with a .982 fielding percentage and committed 12 errors. Per FanGraphs, Lindor led AL shortstops in defensive rating (27.8) and Ultimate Zone Rating (20.8). Per ESPN’s statistics, he was best shortstop in baseball in turning balls hit up the middle into outs, with 13 above-average plays made. He was also second to Simmons in Defensive Runs Saved with 17.
It was a coming-out party of sorts for Lindor in 2016. He earned his first All-Star selection, played well on the World Series stage and now has his first Gold Glove after leading full-time AL shortstops with 6.3 WAR. The best news for the Indians is it was his first full season in the big leagues, and he won’t turn 23 until Monday.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ