Chase Utley Is The Best Second Baseman On Earth

Congratulations to the 2009 Gold Glove winners, who were announced Tuesday (AL) and Wednesday (NL). The 2009 NL Gold Glove winner at second base, LA's Orlando Hudson, won for the fourth time after winning three straight Gold Gloves from 2005 to 2007.

The Gold Glove, in theory, is the award given to the best defensive player at each position on the field. Each year, managers and coaches select the elite group of nine players from each league.

A message to the NL managers and coaches who voted:

Chase Utley Is The Best Second Baseman On Earth. He's (also) the best defensive second baseman in the National League. For realsies. Sorry, Orlando Hudson.

An award recognizing defensive excellence seems less legitimate when it fails to recognize its most deserving recipient, which this year is Chase Utley. Among second basemen, Utley had the highest UZR in the NL, and was second in MLB only to Detroit's Placido Polanco, whose 2009 UZR of 11.4 is just 5.5% higher than Utley's 10.8. Polanco, of course, won a Gold Glove (his second).

What's UZR?

"UZR (ultimate zone rating): The number of runs above or below average a fielder is in both range runs, outfield arm runs, double play runs and error runs combined."

If Polanco's UZR is higher, then that must mean he is The Best Second Baseman On Earth. Right? Well, while Polanco and Utley each lead their leagues in the fielding department, Polanco doesn't come close to Utley with a bat in his hands. Utley's .905 OPS led NL second basemen, and was second overall in MLB to Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist (.948). Polanco's 2009 OPS was .727.

Why mention offensive stats in a discussion about a defensive award? Because the Gold Glove is sometimes given to "the best hitter who can probably field pretty OK." The poster boy of this phenomenon is Derek Jeter, who has been winning Gold Gloves for years (this year is his fourth) on reputation and hitting prowess. This year being no exception, check out Jeter, finishing 6th in UZR among AL shortstops, but 2nd in OPS.

Well what do you know, Chase Utley led National League second baseman in UZR and OPS. The AL (and MLB) UZR leader among second baseman, Polanco, was just 18th in OPS among 2Bs. So statistically speaking, Chase Utley is the best second baseman in the National League, both offensively and defensively. The overall MLB leaders at second base in UZR and OPS, Polanco and Zobrist, are each excellent players, but Polanco's offense has clearly declined with age, and Zobrist's defense, while very good in 2009, is difficult to judge in comparison to other second basemen who played the entire season at the position, because Zobrist played every position in 2009 except catcher and pitcher.

Getting back to basics. Hudson had a UZR of -3.3 (the eighth-WORST among all 2B and fifth-worst among all NL 2B). Utley's UZR of 10.8 led all NL second basemen.

Why even give out Gold Gloves if you don't give one to Chase Utley?