As you know if you've been watching baseball this month, Lorenzo Cain is the greatest center fielder since center field was invented.
Okay, I exaggerate. I do think that the reaction to Cain not making the list of Gold Glove finalists is due largely to his series of highlight plays on national television in the last few weeks. Which doesn't mean the reaction isn't justified ...
Cain played more center field this season than anything else. Here are the three finalists among American League center fielders, along with their games started at the position:
Jackie Bradley (105)
Adam Eaton (121)
Adam Jones (153)
Lorenzo Cain started only 93 games in center field, plus another 29 in right field, mostly when Nori Aoki was out of action.
Now, here are these same four CFs, along with fielding runs above replacement (per FanGraphs):
Lorenzo Cain - 17
Jackie Bradley - 15
Adam Jones - 10
Adam Eaton - (negative) 2
I think we can make a case against Lorenzo Cain. Wait a minute, and I will. But what is Adam Eaton doing here? UZR doesn't like him, his arm doesn't grade well ... But somebody obviously liked him. Baseball Info Solutions' Defensive Runs Saved likes him pretty well, too. In fact, Eaton's 12 DRS almost exactly match Bradley's and Cain's 14 DRS apiece (while Jones doesn't fare nearly so well).
Of course, Eaton played significantly more center field than Bradley and Cain. And that's what makes this situation so tricky: the best center fielders just didn't play a ton.
You know who we haven't even mentioned yet? Jarrod Dyson, Cain's teammate. Routinely, if the Royals were ahead late in a game, Dyson would replace Aoki in the lineup and take over in center field, with Cain shifting to right. Now, you might assume that (and still) is purely because of Cain's stronger arm. But you would probably be wrong, because Dyson is a tremendous, Willie Mays-level center fielder. And he played nearly as much center field as Cain this season.
Can't you understand a Gold Glove voter who says, "Well, hell. How can I vote for Cain when he's not even the best center fielder on his own team?"
I'm not saying that's a good reason. I'm saying it's a reason I can understand. What I can't understand is why Eaton's a finalist and Leonys Martin, who played a ton of games in center field and racked up pretty good numbers, is not. Adam Jones also isn't one of the three best center fielders, but at least he played a lot.
Bottom line, Cain's not a finalist because he ranked just 12th in the American League in innings at the position in question. And even if we make allowances for his demonstrated ability to play center field every day, I would vote for Bradley.
p.s. If you're wondering how on earth Kevin Kiermaier and his 526 innings in right field could possibly merit a spot among the finalists, I'll see you in the comments.
p.p.s. As a reader kindly pointed out, Cain's arm is actually not as good as Dyson's. Which only strengthens the case that Dyson is the better defender, whether in center field or right.
