Posted by John Dewan on Dec 16th 2015
October 30, 2014
The outfield in particular featured some singularly outstanding defensive performances this year. Of the three winners, Alex Gordon and Jason Heyward were both unanimous selections in left field and right field, respectively, and Juan Lagares came up just one vote shy of being a unanimous selection in center field. Furthermore, Lorenzo Cain of the Kansas City Royals, who split his time between center field and right field, won the first ever Multi-Position award. Cain was so good in 2014 that if he had played either position full-time, he likely would have been a very serious challenger to Lagares or Heyward for their awards.
Cain's Fielding Bible Award is his first. In addition, the voting panel chose Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers at first base, Josh Donaldson of the Oakland Athletics at third base, Juan Lagares of the New York Mets in center field, Jonathan Lucroy of the Milwaukee Brewers at catcher, and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros at pitcher—all for the first time as well.
Repeat winners this year include four players. Atlanta Braves teammates Andrelton Simmons and Jason Heyward are both being honored for the second time at shortstop and right field, respectively. And earning their third award each are Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox at second base and Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals in left field.
A panel of 12 analysts, listed below, examined the 2014 seasons of every defensive player in Major League Baseball and then used the same voting technique as the Major League Baseball MVP voting. First place votes received 10 points, second place 9 points, third place 8 points, etc. A perfect score was 120.
One important distinction that differentiates THE FIELDING BIBLE AWARDSfrom most other baseball awards, such as the Gold Gloves, is that there is only one winner at each position instead of separate winners for each league. The goal of THE FIELDING BIBLE AWARDS is to stand up and say: "Here is the best fielder at this position in Major League Baseball last season." Another key feature of the system is that it also recognizes the runners-up for each position. A complete record of the voting can be found in The Bill James Handbook 2015.
Here are the results of THE 2014 FIELDING BIBLE AWARDS:
Position | Winner | Points |
First Base | Adrian Gonzalez | 110 |
Second Base | Dustin Pedroia | 114 |
Third Base | Josh Donaldson | 114 |
Shortstop | Andrelton Simmons | 120 |
Left Field | Alex Gordon | 120 |
Center Field | Juan Lagares | 119 |
Right Field | Jason Heyward | 120 |
Catcher | Jonathan Lucroy | 105 |
Pitcher | Dallas Keuchel | 109 |
Multi-Position | Lorenzo Cain | 92 |
The Panel
Complete results and voting on THE 2014 FIELDING BIBLE AWARDS are presented in The Bill James Handbook 2015, published on or before November 1 every year. For more information on THE FIELDING BIBLE AWARDS, visit www.fieldingbible.com.