Adrian Beltre Wins 2012 Fielding Bible Award At Third Base
Joey MatschulatI'm about to commence with a real, concerted attempt to get back on track here, and I suppose the best way to get back on that path is to shout out something like Adrian Beltre winning a 2012 Fielding Bible Award at third base:
THIRD BASE—ADRIAN BELTRE, TEXAS RANGERS (90 POINTS)
Adrian Beltre had some competition from a couple of new kids on the block with the defensive emergence of Mike Moustakas and Brett Lawrie at third base. Beltre edged Moustakas and Lawrie by four and seven points, respectively. Beltre has been tremendous defensively his entire career and is now the proud owner of four Fielding Bible Awards at third base.
The full list of results, and the voting methodology, can be viewed here. I know you all will be shocked and appalled to find that no other Rangers even placed as runner-ups or honorable mentions ... I imagine both Elvis Andrus and Craig Gentry are somewhere around the fringes of honorable mention territory, though. Beltre, however, churned out yet another exceptional defensive season and further solidified his standing as one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball history:
| Player | Rfield | From | To | Age | G | Pos | Tm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Tannehill | 113 | 1903 | 1912 | 22-31 | 1090 | *56/34 | CHW |
| Gary Gaetti | 127 | 1981 | 2000 | 22-41 | 2507 | *53/D67149 | MIN-CAL-TOT-KCR-STL-CHC-BOS |
| Mike Schmidt | 128 | 1972 | 1989 | 22-39 | 2404 | *53/64 | PHI |
| Graig Nettles | 141 | 1967 | 1988 | 22-43 | 2700 | *5/739D68 | MIN-CLE-NYY-SDP-ATL-MON |
| Robin Ventura | 154 | 1989 | 2004 | 21-36 | 2079 | *53/D641 | CHW-NYM-NYY-TOT-LAD |
| Clete Boyer | 160 | 1955 | 1971 | 18-34 | 1725 | *56/4 | KCA-NYY-ATL |
| Scott Rolen | 172 | 1996 | 2012 | 21-37 | 2038 | *5 | PHI-TOT-STL-TOR-CIN |
| Buddy Bell | 174 | 1972 | 1989 | 20-37 | 2405 | *5/986D374 | CLE-TEX-TOT-CIN |
| Adrian Beltre | 185 | 1998 | 2012 | 19-33 | 2115 | *5/D64 | LAD-SEA-BOS-TEX |
| Brooks Robinson | 292 | 1955 | 1977 | 18-40 | 2896 | *5/46 | BAL |
[This list is a bit misleading in that it also comprises (Total Zone) fielding runs above/below average compiled at other positions; every player on this list did, however, amass at least 50 percent of their career playing time at third base, and it is evident that most of these names were career third basemen anyway. Case in point: I don't think Brooks Robinson's 47 lifetime innings at 2B/SS have much bearing on his career TZR figure.]
So, yeah, stay hard Adrian. In theory, the defensive aging curve is pretty forgiving to third basemen, so hopefully he can avoid hitting an age-34 wall and continue beasting the hot corner for at least a couple more years. What I'm saying here is that if this ever stops happening, nothing will ever be okay again:
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