Where is Cal Raleigh?
That's one of the immediate reactions to the release of the Gold Glove finalists at every position. The American League has three finalists for the award at catcher, and the Seattle Mariners' superstar isn't one of them.
No offense to Alejandro Kirk, Carlos Narvaez or Dillon Dingler, but someone has some explaining to do.
Raleigh won the Platinum Glove last season, for the best fielder in the sport. He can't even get a shot at gold this time around?
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Most casual fans know Raleigh for his slugging. He just hit 60 home runs this season, breaking the single-season records for a catcher, a switch-hitter and a Mariner.
But he's also one of the best defenders in the sport, so this omission is pretty weird.
Raleigh was fourth in the AL in catcher framing runs this season, behind Kirk, Austin Wells and Austin Hedges. Of those three, only Kirk was a finalist. Dingler is right behind Raleigh, with Narvaez a few spots further down the leaderboard.
All three beat Raleigh out in blocks above average this season, with Kirk leading all of baseball, which may have been the knock against Raleigh (who didn't have a single passed ball this season).
Narvaez was the AL's best catcher at caught stealing above average.
All told, the three finalists did finish ahead of Raleigh in the all-encompassing Fielding Run Value. So maybe the list makes sense.
It's still a bummer for Raleigh.
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