A pair of former Smokies were honored by Major League Baseball on Tuesday evening with the announcement of the 2014 Gold Glove Awards. 2003 Smokies catcher Yadier Molina won his seventh straight Gold Glove honor at the catcher position, while 2011 Smokies infielder DJ LeMahieu earned his first Gold Glove Award among the National League’s second baseman.
Molina paced all National League backstops with a .998 fielding percentage at that position, making only two errors and yielding only three passed balls. In addition, Molina owned the best caught stealing percentage of all NL catchers, gunning down 21 of 44 would-be basestealers for a .477 percentage. That was a full .092 percentage points ahead of second-place Russell Martin of the Pittsburgh Pirates (.385, 37 of 96).
LeMahieu tallied a .991 fielding percentage at second base for the Colorado Rockies in 2014, committing six errors in 676 total chances. LeMahieu also helped turn a league-high 99 double plays. In 50 games with the Smokies during the 2011 campaign, the infield committed four errors while playing at second and third base.
See below for the full list of Gold Glove winners from both leagues:
AL first baseman: Royals’ Eric Hosmer
AL second baseman: Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia
AL shortstop: Orioles’ J.J. Hardy
AL third baseman: Mariners’ Kyle Seager
AL left fielder: Royals’ Alex Gordon
AL center fielder: Orioles’ Adam Jones
AL right fielder: Orioles’ Nick Markakis
AL pitcher: Astros’ Dallas Keuchel
AL catcher: Royals’ Salvador Perez
NL first baseman: Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez
NL second baseman: Rockies’ DJ LeMahieu
NL shortstop: Braves’ Andrelton Simmons
NL third baseman: Rockies’ Nolan Arenado
NL left fielder: Marlins’ Christian Yelich
NL center fielder: Mets’ Juan Lagares
NL right fielder: Braves’ Jason Heyward
NL pitcher: Dodgers’ Zack Greinke
NL catcher: Cardinals’ Yadier Molina
James Rowe
smokiesradio
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