MLB

Starling Marte Should Win 2014 NL Left Field Gold Glove

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By @Tweets_ByJ

Starling Marte

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The Gold Glove is awarded to the best defensive players at every position in each league. This award is not as sought after as others, but for players who aren’t MVP caliber and pride themselves on their defense, this award means a lot. One of the players who would love to receive this award and played well enough to deserve it is Starling Marte.

Marte was a great defensive player for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. He made some amazing diving catches and other athletic plays while roaming left field for the Pirates, but that’s not why he should win. Every outfielder makes those amazing catches at some point, but Marte is unique because he made plays this season that no other left fielder could make. Because of his speed, Marte is able to run down fly balls that would normally be doubles if another player were playing in his spot, which is why he was sixth in the NL in fielding percentage in left field. This prevents base runners and runs, the exact definition of great defense.

Marte should also win the Gold Glove because of what he did with his arm this year. Marte is listed by some coaches as having the best arm of any outfielder in the league and it was on display last season. He had a lower amount of assists than usual this past season, but this is because Marte’s arm often prevented runners from moving up so he could get those assists. There were multiple instances where a runner on second would hold at third base on a base hit to left field because Marte would throw a laser to home plate. And that fear and display of Marte’s arm adds to his defensive qualifications.

And finally, Marte has the offensive numbers to win the award. One may ask why offensive stats matter for a defensive award, but MLB does not want to give their awards to people no one has heard of so they will give them to players who are more known. And more known players are often known for their offense. So looking at Marte’s offensive numbers, his triple slash of .291/.356/.453 should be enough to help his case for the award.

Looking at the evidence, there seems to be no better option for the NL Gold Glove in left field than Marte. He makes amazing catches in the outfield while maintaining a high fielding percentage. He has an arm that makes many players afraid to run on him, and he even has the offensive numbers to maintain a campaign for the award. Marte is a player who could contend for an MVP in the near future, but for now, he is the ideal candidate to win the NL left field Gold Glove.

Justin Broyles is a Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @Tweets_ByJ, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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