National League Gold Glove Awards

This article was taken from the National League side of things, we have the article from the Phillies.com website. Congrats to the Phillies on the World Series, and to Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins for winning gold gloves.

Rollins, Victorino snare Gold Gloves
Shortstop wins second award; outfielder first-time recipient

By Ken Mandel / MLB.com
PHILADELPHIA — The Oct. 10 box score shows Shane Victorino with two hits and four RBIs, a huge offensive contribution in Philadelphia’s 8-5 win over Los Angeles in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

Ask Victorino about one of his prouder moments from that game, however, and he’ll likely start with the “F8” that retired Casey Blake — a leaping grab against the wall that preserved a lead, keeping the Phillies in control.

Gold Glove Awards
National League
P, Greg Maddux, LAD
C, Yadier Molina, STL
1B, Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B, Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B, David Wright, NYM
SS, Jimmy Rollins, PHI
OF, Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF, Nate McLouth, PIT
OF, Shane Victorino, PHI

For efforts like that, which came with two outs and two on, Victorino earned his first of what could many Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. He and teammate Jimmy Rollins, who won his second straight and second overall, were named Wednesday among National League winners.

“Of course, you want to do well offensively, but I always take pride in my defense,” Victorino told ESPNews. “There’s times you’re struggling at the plate, [but] there’s never a time that you should struggle on defense. There’s no time that you feel, ‘Oh, my first step is not there, or my legs aren’t feeling good.’ At the plate, you fail more than you succeed in this game. When you go on defense, it’s about helping your team win.”

The switch-hitting Victorino was in center field for 134 of his 138 starts this season, after shifting from right to replace Aaron Rowand. He committed just two errors in 323 total chances in center field and had a .994 fielding percentage, third best after Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth and Milwaukee’s Mike Cameron.

Victorino is the fourth Phillies outfielder to win the award, joining Rowand (2007), Bobby Abreu (2005) and Garry Maddox(1975-82). This season is the 10th time in franchise history the Phils have had multiple Gold Glove winners.

The winners were selected by managers and coaches from each NL team. Managers and coaches couldn’t vote for their own players.

The rest of the NL winners were Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, Mets third baseman David Wright and outfielder Carlos Beltran, McLouth and Dodgers pitcher Greg Maddux.

One of the standard methods of constructing a winning baseball team is to secure adept defenders up the middle, typically at catcher, second base, shortstop and center field.

The World Series champions have two of those spots covered in Rollins and Victorino.

Despite missing 25 games with a sprained left ankle, Rollins paced NL shortstops in a league that contains sterling defenders Jose Reyes (Mets), J.J. Hardy (Brewers) and Miguel Tejada (Astros). This is his second successive and second overall Gold Glove.

Rollins led the NL with a .988 fielding percentage and a career-low seven errors in 593 total chances. Rollins is the first Phillies shortstop to win the award in consecutive seasons and first player to do so since Scott Rolen in 2000-01.

“It’s an honor anytime you are recognized as one of the best defensive players in the league,” Rollins said in a statement. “It’s something I work very hard at and I understand the importance of playing on both sides of the ball. I would like to thank all the managers and coaches for believing I’m one of the best.”

The 2008 season marked the 52nd year of the Gold Glove Award. The first were awarded in 1957 to one player at each position from both leagues, then expanded the next year to include a lineup of nine players, one from each league.

“It’s an honor,” Victorino said. “Growing up as a kid, you heard about guys winning Gold Gloves and being known as the best defensive player at their positions. To be awarded that is definitely a reward.”