Joe Crede has been magnificent at third base for the Twins in 2009. Not only is his fielding percentage the best in the AL, but he also has the least errors at the position. In addition to this, there's a stat called the UZR, which measures a player's effectiveness at a position relative to how many runs it costs his team. Crede's UZR here is best of breed.
Crede has been very valuable to this team, not only because he has provided some power at 3B (something lacking in the Twins lineup since the days ofCorey Koskie), but because he has beengoldenat 3B (possibly a career year at 3B).
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
It'd seem that Joe Crede should be a shoe-in for the Gold Glove at 3B. All of his stats beat out the competition. Somehow, no one really seems to know what he's accomplished at the position.
In conclusion, Crede has benefited this team in so many ways. Crede has provided power in 14 HR to the middle-bottom of the order...Crede has the highest fielding percentage in the american league (.985) with only 3 errors committed. Crede ranks at the top of all third baseman in UZR and UZR/150 saving an average of 25-30 runs.
Crede should be the hands down favorite for the Gold Glove, and I'm going to predict that he won't win it. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to these things.
The Twins seemed to get snubbed for these awards every year. Save for Morneau's recent MVP award, there have been quite a few worthy fielders in recent years who haven't won the award. Castillo, Morneau, and Mauer, to name a few.
The voters for the award are far from objective, and this unfortunately shows. With a small market team like Minnesota, it's hard to get the "pull" that the bigger cities have.
Crede has been very valuable to this team, not only because he has provided some power at 3B (something lacking in the Twins lineup since the days ofCorey Koskie), but because he has beengoldenat 3B (possibly a career year at 3B).
As far as the UZR is concerned, there's a more telling stat called the UZR 150. This essentially tells you how many runs a player has either saved or cost his team over the course of his last 150 games played at that position. Crede's UZR is unbelievable, somewhere between 25 and 30. This means he's saving the team a run once every 5 or 6 games. No one else comes close to this defensively in the AL, only Adrian Beltre, whose UZR is 10 less, between 15 and 20.
It'd seem that Joe Crede should be a shoe-in for the Gold Glove at 3B. All of his stats beat out the competition. Somehow, no one really seems to know what he's accomplished at the position.
In conclusion, Crede has benefited this team in so many ways. Crede has provided power in 14 HR to the middle-bottom of the order...Crede has the highest fielding percentage in the american league (.985) with only 3 errors committed. Crede ranks at the top of all third baseman in UZR and UZR/150 saving an average of 25-30 runs.
Crede should be the hands down favorite for the Gold Glove, and I'm going to predict that he won't win it. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to these things.
The Twins seemed to get snubbed for these awards every year. Save for Morneau's recent MVP award, there have been quite a few worthy fielders in recent years who haven't won the award. Castillo, Morneau, and Mauer, to name a few.
The voters for the award are far from objective, and this unfortunately shows. With a small market team like Minnesota, it's hard to get the "pull" that the bigger cities have.
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