This afternoon, Rawlings officially announced the finalists for the 2021 Gold Glove awards at each position. Highlighting the list for Rockies fans is the sole representative for the 2021 Colorado Rockies: Ryan McMahon.
2021 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists - Third Base - NL: Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado, Ryan McMahon #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/IgU6UVUi05
— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 28, 2021
McMahon has been nominated as a finalist for the Gold Glove at third base alongside his former teammate Nolan Arenado (St. Louis) and NL West rival Manny Machado (San Diego). To be blunt... The Gold Glove should be his to lose after a fantastic season where he outperformed both of his fellow nominees.
NL Third Base Gold Glove Finalists
| Player | Innings | PO | A | E | DRS | UZR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Innings | PO | A | E | DRS | UZR |
| Ryan McMahon | 848.2 | 64 | 171 | 5 | 13 | 6.1 |
| Manny Machado | 1238.1 | 94 | 260 | 13 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Nolan Arenado | 1312.0 | 125 | 287 | 11 | 6 | 5.7 |
McMahon had big shoes to fill with the departure of Arenado, and while his bat didn’t break out as expected, his sterling defensive play was a standout of the Rockies’ season. He spent time at both second and third base this season, though mostly settled in at the hot corner after the emergence of Brendan Rodgers as an everyday player.
At third base alone, McMahon was a better overall defender than Machado and, surprisingly, Arenado. McMahon had more than double the DRS of the eight-consecutive Gold Glove winner, with a superior UZR and only five errors to Arenado’s 11. Machado stands even further back from McMahon in terms of UZR and errors.
What makes Ryan McMahon stand out even further from his peers is that he was defensively excellent at two positions this year. As a second baseman, McMahon still has more DRS than Arenado and Machado do at third base with nine. He also could have a case for the Gold Glove at second base over all three of the National League’s finalists: St. Louis’ Tommy Edman, Milwaukee’s Kolten Wong, and Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies.
Ryan McMahon and NL Second Base Finalists - 2021
| Player | Innings | PO | A | E | DRS | UZR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Innings | PO | A | E | DRS | UZR |
| Ryan McMahon | 368.1 | 76 | 132 | 2 | 9 | 2.9 |
| Tommy Edman | 1032.1 | 198 | 305 | 4 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Kolten Wong | 937 | 164 | 229 | 2 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Ozzie Albies | 1358.2 | 231 | 389 | 8 | 1 | 2.1 |
Where McMahon falters at second base is playing time compared to the other nominees, causing his put-outs and assists to be much lower. However, he still has more DRS than any of the three nominees, and only Kolten Wong has a better UZR.
McMahon finished his season as the league’s overall DRS leader with 22. His split time between two positions shows just how valuable to the Rockies he was this season, but might also hinder his chances for the award when his competitors are bigger names with more innings at third.
Regardless, his excellent 2021 fielding campaign is difficult to understate. Sorry Nolan, but I think Ryan McMahon is an incredibly deserving successor to your Gold Glove streak.