The 2019 Fielding Bible Awards

Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Fielding Bible Awards. This marks the 14th season that BIS has honored the best defensive players in MLB. The awards are voted on by a panel of experts.

This year’s winners are:

Matt Olson was a unanimous pick at first base. He won for the second straight year. He led all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved. Over the last two seasons, Olson has 67 Good Fielding Plays for throw handling. No other first baseman has more than 60.

Kolten Wong was also a unanimous winner at second base, winning the award for the second straight year. He led all second basemen in Defensive Runs Saved. Wong made 38 plays in which he sprinted to field a ground ball or pop up, the most of any second baseman.

Nick Ahmed ended Andrelton Simmons’ six-year reign as a Fielding Bible Award winner at shortstop. He led all shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved after tying with Simmons in that stat a season ago.

Matt Chapman won the award for the second straight year at third base. Chapman led all third basemen in Defensive Runs Saved and had the fewest Misplays & Errors on a per-inning basis of any third baseman. Chapman has 66 Defensive Runs Saved the last three seasons, twice as many as Nolan Arenado, who ranks second with 33.

David Peralta won the award in left field for the first time. Peralta tied Michael Brantley of the Astros in voting but won via our tiebreaker (first place votes). He finished tied with Brantley and Mike Tauchman of the Yankees for the MLB lead in Defensive Runs Saved in left field.

Lorenzo Cain became the first center fielder to win the award in consecutive seasons since the award was introduced in 2006. Cain finished second among center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved. His five home run robberies tied for the most since BIS began tracking them in 2004 (Carlos Gomez had five in 2013, Josh Reddick matched Cain this season). He’s won three Fielding Bible Awards in his career, including one for Multi-Position excellence in 2014.

Cody Bellinger became the first player to win two Fielding Bible Awards in the same season. His 19 Defensive Runs Saved matched Aaron Judge for most by a right fielder. He’s the first Dodgers outfielder to win a Fielding Bible Award. Bellinger’s strong play at both center field and first base helped him win the voting for top Multi-Position player as well.

Roberto Pérez won his first Fielding Bible Award. He led all catchers with 29 Defensive Runs Saved, one shy of the most in a season by a catcher since BIS began tracking the stat in 2003. Pérez ranked second in our pitch-framing metric (Strike Zone Runs Saved), second in Catcher Block Rate (blocking potential wild pitches) and was above average in base-stealing deterrence.

Zack Greinke won his second straight Fielding Bible Award by keeping busy. His 68 chances were the most in the majors by a pitcher. He led the majors in putouts, tied for the lead in assists, and was the runaway leader in double plays converted with 12 (no one else had more than five).

“Once again, our panel has done an outstanding job utilizing all available resources to pick the best defensive players in baseball,” said Baseball Info Solutions owner John Dewan. “The performance of these players represents a combination of preparation, skill, and athleticism that is highly admirable for its excellence.”

The awards are determined by a panel of 12 baseball experts, who rank the top 10 players at each defensive position (including the multi-position players left out of Gold Glove voting) on a scale from 1 to 10. A first-place vote gets 10 points, second place gets nine points, third place gets eight points, etc. Total up the points for each player, and the player with the most points wins the award. A perfect score is 120 points.

A complete list of ballots and the history of the Fielding Bible Awards (which began in 2006) can be found online at FieldingBible.com and in the 2020 Bill James Handbook, which is available at ActaSports.com.

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Baseball Info Solutions (also known as Sports Info Solutions) is committed to providing the most accurate, in-depth, and timely professional baseball and football data, including cutting-edge research and analysis, striving to educate professional teams and the public about sports analytics.