Detroit Tigers: Jonathan Schoop named gold glove finalist

Schoop had a rough year at the plate, but the Detroit Tigers 2B is being recognized for a strong year defensively

Jonathan Schoop was the worst qualifed hitter in all of baseball in 2022 in terms of wRC+ (57). However, he led all of baseball with 27 outs above average in the field. For that reason, the Detroit Tigers second baseman is being rewarded for his efforts.

The MLB gold glove finalists were announced today, and Schoop is one of three finalists named for the American League at second base. The other two are Cleveland’s Andres Gimenez and Texas’ Marcus Semien.

To find the last Tiger to be nominated for a golf glove, you don’t actually have to look back that far. Niko Goodrum was nominated in 2020 at shortstop. Yes, that was actually a thing. He would go on to lose the award to Seattle’s J.P. Crawford.

When it comes to a matter of whether Schoop is deserving on the nomination, the answer is a profound yes. Again, he led *all of baseball* in outs above average—not just second baseman. The entire league. You could make the argument that Schoop was the best defensive player in all of baseball.

As for whether he should win the award, the answer, is once again, a profound yes. The closest second baseman to him in OAA was Gimenez at 12. Semien was at 8. As for traditional stats, Schoop only had three errors all season, while Gimenez had nine and Semien had seven.

The only stat that doesn’t favor Schoop is defensive runs saved (DRS), which favors Gimenez at 16 compared to Schoop’s 8. Semien also ranks higher than Schoop at 13 DRS.

Most of the stats say Schoop was the better defender this year. He should win the award. But, let’s address the elephant in the room.

The Detroit Tigers were 66-96 this season. The Texas Rangers were 68-94. The Cleveland Guardians were 92-70, won the AL Central, and took the Yankees to game 5 in the ALDS. Schoop was also terrible offesively as previously mentioned, while Gimenez had a breakout year on that side of the ball and was an All-Star this season. Semien was much better at the plate as the season went on.

We all know how the voters work. They take everything into consideration instead of looking at just the players’ defense. I think this will end up going to Gimenez because his team made the playoffs and he had a good year with the bat. But it *should* go to Jonathan Schoop.

The Gold Glove Award winners will be announced on Nov. 1.