Joe Crede has been magnificent at third base for the Twins in 2009. Not only is his fielding percentage the best in the AL, but he also has the least errors at the position. In addition to this, there's a stat called the UZR, which measures a player's effectiveness at a position relative to how many runs it costs his team. Crede's UZR here is best of breed.
Aside from the regular offensive contributions that Crede gives to the team, his UZR and his fielding stats have been top notch, and even better than his hitting. This has been invaluable to the Minnesota ball club.
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
With dominant numbers like this, you have to wonder why Joe Crede doesn't get more respect. In fact, hardly anyone realizes just how good he is at the position.
Crede is one of those players who is often overlooked. Since his hitting numbers don't stand out and players are credited for their offense more than their defense, Crede gets little due for what he does.
Crede should be the hands down favorite for the Gold Glove, and I'm going to predict that he won't win it. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to these things.
Unfortunately, the Twins get little respect when it comes down to voting. Look at snubs like Luis Castillo, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer, all of whom deserved Gold Gloves and never got them.
The Gold Glove voting, like voting for most awards in sports, is sugarcoated with bias. This is unfortunate, especially in the face of such a great campaign like Crede's at 3B this season.
Aside from the regular offensive contributions that Crede gives to the team, his UZR and his fielding stats have been top notch, and even better than his hitting. This has been invaluable to the Minnesota ball club.
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
With dominant numbers like this, you have to wonder why Joe Crede doesn't get more respect. In fact, hardly anyone realizes just how good he is at the position.
Crede is one of those players who is often overlooked. Since his hitting numbers don't stand out and players are credited for their offense more than their defense, Crede gets little due for what he does.
Crede should be the hands down favorite for the Gold Glove, and I'm going to predict that he won't win it. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to these things.
Unfortunately, the Twins get little respect when it comes down to voting. Look at snubs like Luis Castillo, Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer, all of whom deserved Gold Gloves and never got them.
The Gold Glove voting, like voting for most awards in sports, is sugarcoated with bias. This is unfortunate, especially in the face of such a great campaign like Crede's at 3B this season.
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